Being able to fit in select company & worthy to be deemed a great fighter is far & few between. It is a feat when you can create a game 5 years prior & have it still look as good as the current incarnation. Namco has figured the secret ingredients to making games that push the systems limits. Such is the case of Soul Calibur 2, once again as gamers we are blessed with a great game. It took a while to get it into our anxious hands but it is here & across all 3 major platforms. The Nintendo GameCube version of course sports the very popular Link from the Legend Of Zelda series. What you are given is a awesome 3D fighting game that is topped with options & features to keep you interested & increase the replay value. You have practice modes, battle modes, endurance modes, quest modes, vs modes & so much more. You are granted access to different weapons in Weapons mode once you defeat & unlock various quest you will be able to wield just about anything you could imagine within reason. The sounds are top notch & more times than often fit the pacve of the game & mood of the arena. The graphics are above that of other fighters, the character shadows are realistic, the movements are fluid, the motions are truely dynamic, The environments are stunning & detail is found in abundant supply throught the arenas. The controls are decent, granted you enjoy playing fighting games with the Gamecube controller. It is not really to my liking having the buttons so oddly paced & trying to execute razor timed moves can become annoying. I guess it's just a basic learning curve, to get used to the close proximity of the buttons & getting use to the layout/button placement. The characters are really unique & add several new characters besides Link. This adds to the replay value as some unlockable characters from the previous Soul Calibur return to claim the Evil Soul Blade. Favorites like Klillk, Mitsurugi & Sophita return & continue as dominant players, while others take time to learn, control & master. My only main gripe about the game lies with Link. To me he is out of place in terms of how others in the Soul Calibur series play. He has very cheap moves & has the ability to turn the match in his favor because of the ability to throw items, bombs, arrows & boomerangs. While this is cool & truely novelty to Nintendo & Zelda fans it is really unnerving to have such cheap characterstics in a game that requires skills & counters & where throwing or tossing items is nonexsistant. Link can really throw the match just by tossing bombs at someone as they try to get up. Speed & dodging really becomes your only offensive to defeating him If you can deal with that fact alone I'm sure you will not only like it, but love Soul Calibur 2. I give it a 9 & it is really a high 9 on a scale of 1-10.
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