Does anyone remember 1999? On September 9th, a console called the Sega Dreamcast was released and Namco launched the console with a fighting title called Soul Calibur.
Soul Calibur to this day remains the most impressive fighting game ever. From the graphics, to the sound, to the immense replay value, the game is simply amazing. Needless to say the buzz for Soul Calibur 2 was immense – many people had to have this game when it was released in Japan earlier this year. Launch events happened all over the country on release day. Is it worth the wait?
Starting up the game you are provided with many different modes – "Arcade" (play a game against CPU opponents to win, "Vs Battle" – a 2 player game, Time Attack (beat all the enemies and race against the clock), Survival (beat up your opponents with the same health bar), Team Battle (new to SC, you have multiple characters on your team and they fight multiple characters in an elimination match), vs Team Battle for multiplayer excitement, Practice (duh), and the "new" Weapon Master mode which is similar to story mode on ye olde Dreamcast.
First, let's tackle the graphics. They are excellent. However, if you have seen the Dreamcast version of the original SC, they don't look much different, which actually is a credit to how incredible the graphics were on the Dreamcast system. Load times are very fast (amazing on the archaic PS2) and you easily go from game to game without having to get a drink between matches – very impressive.
As far as the control goes, the PlayStation 2 version is very good – however, believe it or not, I still like the original Dreamcast controller. I don't know why or maybe my senility has kicked in, however, I liked the triggers on the DC version. On the PS2, everything is labeled according to what SC 2 wants, not what actually matches up on your controller – something I most definitely hate but you can get used to it (ie the screen says press "A" for a horizontal attack, press "B" for a vertical attack and press "K" to kick. Of course these buttons are nowhere to be found on your controller, so you'll just hit square, triangle and circle respectively). Hitting the right buttons for combos, once you get used to the system, is pretty easy.
Just like the original game, you beat your opponents by reducing their strength bar, knocking them out of the ring or having more strength when time runs out. You can also 'draw' a game by being killed and killing at the same time which can go into sudden death, which is always exciting.
Weapon Master Mode is very similar to the 'story 'mode in the original except now you also receive experience points, gold and unlockables. It's very similar to the original, except the map looks much better and there's a lot more text describing the scenario – which I appreciate, but this isn't an RPG. Let's fight!
Sound effects are very good; you'll really appreciate the small touches they made in these effects. This time around, players can choose Engrish or original Japanese voiceovers. Always go with the Japanese voiceovers as even if you don't know what they are saying, it just sounds so much better than the lame Engrish translations.
If this was any other fighting game, I'd probably be giving it a marginally higher score but this is Soul Calibur 2 and I expect more – probably because the original Dreamcast version was just so incredible. I fully admit, I'm holding SC 2 to a higher standard. It is definitely an amazing fighting game – it's a great challenge to play and the fifteen different characters do give you a lot of replay value. If I had to choose between VF4 and SC2, that would be a very hard choice. With VF4 being only $20 and having just an incredible amount of extras, I think it wins by a hair. Either way, you'll have fun playing these games – so much fun, I'm going to dig out my Dreamcast and get misty eyed for my first SC experience 4 years (wow, has it really been 4 years) ago. -Dan
Company Line
The sequel to Soul Calibur, this is the game you've been waiting for! Featuring the likes of Astaroth, Cassandra, Ivy, Kilik, Maxi, Mitsurugi, Nightmare, Yoshimitsu, Raphael, Taki, Talim, Voldo, Xianghua, Yunsung, Charade and Cervantes. Also included as an exclusive to the PlayStation 2 version of Soul Caibur II is the Heiachi character from the game, Tekken.
Countless legends surround a sword known as Soul Edge. Some claim it was the ultimate weapon. Others refer to it as the "Sword of Heroes." …A phantom sword with immeasurable power of the spirits…the key to eternal youth…treasure without equal…a panacea to cure all illness… There are even those who consider it the "Sword of Salvation."
Although no one could ever be certain of the sword's whereabouts or true identity, various rumors and folklore spread across the world. In reality, Soul Edge was comprised of twin blades that fed on human souls.
In the latter half of the 16th century, a warrior on a divine mission for the ancient god of forge successfully shattered one of the evil blades. Tragically, shattering the sword produced the opposite effect of what was intended. The balance of power between the swords was destroyed, and the evil of the blades spiraled out of control; its malevolent energy diffused into the sky in a form of eerie light. The phenomenon, which later became known as the Evil Seed, scarred the world with its evil legacy.
The remaining sword possessed the body of a man who took the evil blade into his hands and embarked on a killing spree throughout Europe. Macabre accounts of merciless killings spread fear throughout the entire continent.
Yet the massacres ceased after three years. Four more years passed, and the horrors became a distant memory and people felt safe once again.
…No one knew.
Four years before, a spirit sword named Soul Calibur appeared from the East, as if to answer the call of the raging Soul Edge. No one witnessed the final battle to the death where Soul Edge was shattered. No one knew that the spirit sword was left behind in the vortex of evil to stop the demon sword's powers.
Most people were oblivious to the fact that the peace that followed was the result of this battle, and the spirit sword's existence remained a mystery.
Unfortunately, the peace was merely a facade; the evil blade began spreading its influence, quietly yet surely, throughout the world once again. People unwittingly transported the sword to every corner of the world in the form of metal shards. These pieces of Soul Edge still embodied evil powers. With Soul Calibur lost in the void, it was only a matter of time before the evil sword's dark powers infected the entire world.
The following tales of swords and souls are of those who pursued Soul Edge for their own convictions and reasons...
-Dan
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