Soul Calibur II Review

Developer	Namco
Publisher	Namco
Genre	Fighting

Does your soul still burn? Soul Calibur fans have heard that question hundreds of times since the sequel was announced for Xbox a couple years ago. There are a great many things in this world that burn. For instance, toast, that nasty rash I've had since spring break '99 and, as far as I know, London all have the potential to burn quite intensely. My soul isn't amongst the list of things that are flammable and I'm quite thankful for that. But despite the flame-retardant nature of my soul, I still found Soul Calibur II to be in a class of its own on Xbox and a worthy successor to the classic Dreamcast original.

Humans are comparative beings. Judgements regarding quality and character are often made relative to the nearest and most obvious competitors. How fitting it is that Virtua Fighter 4: Evolution and Soul Calibur II release within a few days of each other, each one attempting to reach 3D fighting nirvana. But Soul Calibur II and VF4: Evolution are two fundamentally different breeds that happen to fall in the same genre. Comparing the two would be like comparing apples and oranges. Well, who am I to deny human nature? Lets get the comparison out of the way.

Gameplay – Evolution can be likened to that big burly Austrian woman who taught your 10th grade geometry class. She is disciplined, she is strict, and she can bring the hammer down with National Socialist-like fervor if you don't do your homework. Soul Calibur II, on the other hand, is like that attractive English teacher who's only a few years removed from college. She is still in that "free-spirit" phase where homework is optional and discipline consists of little more than a wag of the finger. Both have their respective merits, but I think we can safely guess which one most people would more comfortable with.

Virtua Fighter's focus on the technical nature of martial arts can be very rewarding, but to the uninitiated it can be an exercise in futility. Things can get frustrating real fast if you aren't already familiar with the series or aren't willing to put in the time to practice. Soul Calibur II possesses a fighting system with plenty of depth, but it doesn't sweat the details. You won't have to spend hours mastering the countless techniques and combos to achieve success in this game. There is a rhythm to it that almost anyone can pick up on in a matter of a few rounds. SCII's pick up and play accessibility lends a sense of urgency to the game since even newcomers can be a challenge to arcade-hardened veterans.

Let us not forget about the differences between hand to hand and weapons based combat. There is more to it than simply appearance. Weapons really do require a different type of strategy. Understanding the "tripartite relationship", the use of vertical and horizontal strikes and 8 way runs, is much like a game of rock paper scissors. Vertical strikes have the ability to cancel out horizontal strikes. 8 way runs allow you to dodge vertical strikes. Horizontal strikes can put a stop the 8 way run. Rather than simply blocking an opponent's combo, you can quickly use one of these moves to put yourself in an advantageous situation. This encourages the player to take a more proactive and aggressive role which stands in contrast to Evolution's conservative, "wait and see" style.

Now some of you are probably thinking, "Okay, so Soul Calibur II is different from Evolution. That’s pretty obvious. But how well does the game fare on its own?" Well, to answer your question, it fares exceptionally well. The layout of Xbox controller is quite similar to that of the Dreamcast's. Anyone who's played Soul Calibur should have no trouble acclimating to the sequel. Even if you haven't, the controls are fairly simple and you can map them any way you like in the options menu. The control is intuitive and responsive regardless of which Xbox controller you choose, but I found the Controller S to have a slight edge because of its more traditional D-pad. If you are amongst the legions of people who will never be satisfied with the Xbox controller, I suggest that you purchase the Naki arcade stick, which was designed specifically for Soul Calibur.

Soul Calibur II has all the standard game modes like Arcade, Vs., Time Attack, Survival, and Team Battle. It also has Weapon Master mode, which is in essence a quest mode that provides a text-based backstory interspersed between various battles and challenges. Win enough battles in Weapon Master and you'll unlock new characters and arenas and earn points to spend on new weapons and costumes. I personally loathe having to unlock stuff in fighting games, but if that’s your bag, then you'll have a blast unlocking over 200 extras that are available. Weapon Master is a nice diversion if not for the interesting handicaps you'll encounter during some of the fights. These handicaps range from relatively simple, such as defeating your opponent using only throwing techniques, to significantly challenging, such as fighting an invisible opponent on quicksand. It would've been nice to be able to use these handicaps to spice up the other game modes, but alas, they are only available in Weapon Master.

All the game modes in the world don't mean a thing without cool characters that you can kick some serious ass with. Fortunately, Soul Calibur II excels in this department. 15 characters are at your disposal when you first fire up the game and 8 more can be unlocked by progressing through Weapon Master. Carryovers from previous games include the shapely selling point known as Ivy, and the bandaged, angst ridden Voldo. New characters like the saccharine sweet Talim and the suave fencer Raphael round out the cast. Of course, no discussion about characters would be complete without touching on Spawn, the exclusive character for the Xbox version of the game. Spawn has a nice assortment of moves at his disposal that makes him stand out, but not to the point where he feels totally out of place. Commentary about questionable marketing tactics aside, I found Spawn to be a balanced character that functions quite well in the Soul Calibur universe.

Graphics – The original Soul Calibur ventured into virgin 3D territory and blew everyone away with its unprecedented graphics. While there are substantial graphical improvements in SCII, it simply isn’t going to have as big of an impact as its predecessor. But that’s not to say that it doesn’t look fantastic. So fantastic, in fact, that it comes pretty close to the bar set by Dead or Alive 3. That’s pretty impressive considering that this game was designed with all three consoles in mind.



The character design is probably one of the overall best features of the game. It doesn’t rely exclusively on T & A like Dead or Alive does. It isn’t an amalgamation of bastardized characters like those found in Tekken. Every character in SCII has a distinctive, artistic look to them, but at the same time, they really look like they belong in the same game together for reasons other than their enormously proportioned breasts (Ivy excluded).

Continuing with the trend of looking fabulous, the arenas hold up their end of the bargain. You won’t find destructible environments or rubbery walls with which to endlessly bounce your opponent off of. You will find some remarkably detailed, well crafted backdrops that suit the game equally as much as the characters do.

The Xbox version supposedly has a slight graphical advantage over its PlayStation 2 and GameCube brethren, but most people won’t notice a difference. If you have a whole lot of money to blow on a HDTV, then the Xbox edition is probably the way to go. It supports up to 720p, which is nearly twice the resolution of a normal television picture.

Sound – As John aptly put in his review of the PS2 version, you will not find any “cock-rock” here. In its place you will find a nice orchestral score that draws its inspiration from a number of European and Asian sources. There isn’t any particular piece that’s memorable or catchy enough to want to hum in the shower, but collectively, the score sounds quite nice.

Something you will remember is the clang of swords or the thwack sound produced by Kilik’s bo staff. Never underestimate the importance of sound effects in a fighting game. When we move to strike our opponent with beautifully animated monster combo, we expect to hear some heads cracking, limbs breaking, and weapons colliding in a convincing fashion. SCII does not disappoint as the sound effects are superb. And since the Xbox supports Dolby Digital 5.1, you can hear them coming at you in all directions if you have a surround sound setup.

I’m not going into details about the debate surrounding the redubbing of the voice track into English. The option to switch back to the original Japanese language track is available for those who wish to “keep it real.” I will say that I do like the game’s announcer though. He combines the melodramatics of a golf commentator with the inflection of the P.A. guy at a monster truck rally.

Overall Value - People may criticize Namco for their unwillingness to risks with Soul Calibur II. Perhaps online play or a whole new cast of characters would have been enough to satiate their hunger. But it is hard to find fault with a game that improves upon its groundbreaking predecessor in every category.

If you’re even remotely interested in fighting games, do not hesitate to go out and buy this game. Without question, it is the definitive fighting game available for the Xbox. The deep yet accessible weapon-based fighting system combined with the high production value will keep you coming back for a long time. No matter how much I play Soul Calibur II, my soul just won’t burn, but if I continue at this rate, my Xbox will.

Review by Erick Kelsen