Soulcalibur II

I never had the privilege of playing the first Soul Calibur game so I can't compare that and Soul Calibur II. It sort of has a Tekken III feel but the control is better and you have more to do in your environment. However, fighting games are very limited as far as their gameplay goes and have been for a while up until now. Soul Calibur II changed some of that, it gives players more to do than just sitting there mashing buttons and hoping you can beat the computer which can duck and block your every move, there is some strategy in it, most of it (as mentioned previously) has to do with the environment, also the variety of weapons and characters, and most importantly, the gameplay itself.

Aside from having beautiful graphics and some of the most detailed areas I've ever seen, the environment also has a lot of hidden dangers in some cases, which makes the strategy more intense. At times you will play special missions in which the only way to defeat the enemy is by knocking him against the wall, throwing him out of the ring, and things like that.

What would a game be without characters and their kick-tail weapons? The answer of course is nothing. And this game is far from nothing with the variety of characters and weapons at your command. With secret characters and dozens of battle gear to unlock, there is a lot of replay value because you'll always be sitting there thinking "just 100 more gold and I can buy the Razor Sword for Link, just 100 more."

And finally the gameplay itself. The controls are tight which makes it easy to swing that two-ton battle axe out there giving great pain to the reciever. The game is sometimes repetitive as far as the actual fighting goes, especially in the dungeons where you have to navigate and take paths that are usually the wrong ones. But one thing that can fix all of that in an instant is multiplayer mode! You'll have to take turns with all of your friends because it's only two player but it's well worth it. You can unlock different kinds of multiplayer modes which is a plus. One cool multiplayer option I like is team battle. In team battle you can choose up to six characters and you battle another player who has there six people. If one in your team is defeated then next character in line enters the ring. It's great fun, especially when your friend is losing all his guys trying to beat Raphael who is the first person in your team.

Good areas, characters and weapons, and gameplay itself, make an awesome game, and that is exactly what this is. If you love fighting games then this is the one!

I haven't played a true beat em up for a while; the last one I played before this game was Smash bros. melee which is a radically different fighting game. SC2 is overall richer than the average fighter in terms of replayability and lastability. As well as the arcade, practice, versus, time attack and survival modes, there is the Weapon master mode similar to the Edge master mode in SC. This is the main story playthrough for the home version of the game and has to be completed twice to unlock the majority of the games features. Via enemies defeated and money earned through battles won for various reasons, the rest of the game's features are unlockable, and there are many. Over 200 weapons are unlockable for the characters, as well as costumes and arenas, the 'extra' versions of each of the other gameplay modes,which allow you to use weapons acquired in weapon master mode, the museum features such as art galleries, character profiles, fighting theaters and demonstrations. As a hardcore gamer, I completed weapons master mode fully in a week, and still love it a week on, which is more than can be said about most fighting games after their main gameplay feature is completed. This is not a button mashers game; each character has their own unique style of play and mastery of their moves is essential to victory in matches. The graphics and sound are excellent, as is the gameplay; very fluid, and each character has layers of combos. The GCN version is the best in my opinion due to the most responsive controls, coolest exclusive character and faster loading times. This game will take the average gamer a few months to complete fully; achieve 99 ranking (i'm currently on 74) buy everything for every character etc. and the versus mode, while dissapointingly lacking a human-cpu free fight option, will never become repetitive. This game is the ultimate fighting game and should be in every fans collection.

Soul Calibur 2 is probably the second best fighting game ever made. Soul Calibur happens to be the first. The graphics are much cleaner, the music very dramatic, and overall, it plays almost exactly like the first game. I know that doesn't sound great, but with a smaller controller (unless you have an X-Box or Gamecube) it makes life a lot easier. Though I've only had this game since yesterday, I feel that it is worthy of a 10. Great sequel, and a must-have for any fighting game enthusiast.

This is THE greatest fighting experiences since Bushido Blade II. Don't get me wrong, i am no big fan of fighting games, but this game was truly great! The gameplay is fast-paced and the graphics are supreme, but as with most masterpieces you don't care for the graphics, this games greatest advantage is it's gameplay. The game doesn't contain that much "combos" as such, you rather have to find your own style and flow with the various characters. There are as many styles as there are characters, from the fast-footed ninja Taki to the powerful Nightmare and his two-handed sword Soul Edge. Fast-paced, precise control and High replay value, it deserves a strong ten.

10/10

If you find yourself hating the SoulCalibur series from the get-go, you just simply need to be more patient. Underneath the simple exterior lies a game that is so strategically deep and rewarding that I cannot stop playing it for more than a few days at the most.

At its core, it's a 3-Dimensional fighting game. Easy as that.

Scratch the surface and you find cool moves. Dig deeper and you find ways to get around those moves (Hands down, 8-Way Run is the best innovation in fighting games since the addition of a 3rd dimension, period). Then you learn how to properly evade and defend against these moves, and launch appropriate counterattacks. This may seem very daunting at first, but trust me on this, this game is far more satisfying than the Tekken or Dead Or Alive series.

Once you familiarize yourself, you'll begin to see the small nuances of each character. Their speed, their attacks, their range...it all adds up eventually, and I found myself playing less of a fighting game and more like playing virtual chess moving at dozens of maneuvers at once. Feints, fakes, deception: these all play a part in the vast mechanics of SoulCalibur 2. It helps to have a friend (or friends, preferably) to learn with however, seeing as the computer opponents have no real gray-area - it's either easy as pie or tough as nails.

Once you discover the exquisite, artful fighting game that lies underneath, you'll be thanking yourself for the best $20 you ever spent. I guarantee it.