Overall: 5/5

“Transcending history and the world....a tale of souls and swords, eternally retold.” So begins the intro to Soul Calibur II, one of (if not the most) anticipated fighting game sequels ever. I don’t mind telling you, dear readers, that I was breathless with anticipation and giggling like a schoolgirl when I picked up my copy. For those not familiar with the history of this game, it was an arcade smash several years ago and when the console wars started it was released on Dreamcast (one of the most underrated consoles ever, in my opinion, but I digress) and then released on the Playstation as Soul Edge. This was where I got my introduction to the series at any rate. At the time, it was the best fighting game I had ever played, due in no small part to the fact that it rewarded not only skilled combo tacticians but also pure button-mashers and everyone in between. Personally, I wasn’t a pure button-masher but neither did I know how to do juggle combos and all the fancy stuff. Still, I managed to unlock every level, character and feature. But, let’s face it, you didn’t come here to read about me and my game habits or the history of an old game. Let’s get to the review, shall we?

Soul Calibur II takes place some four years after the events portrayed in Soul Caliber I with some characters making a return appearance to search for the ultimate evil sword and a host of new characters that have decided to seek out the sword as well. To my delight, the game has a decently in-depth story to it (at least for a fighting game) and it just adds another touch to the beauty that is Soul Calibur II.

Let’s talk about beauty for awhile. I was in awe of the characters, the weapons, and the stages...all are masterfully done. Some of the touches that impressed me the most were the trails that follow almost all of the weapon attacks. It’s not much I know, but I’ve always liked stuff like that. Another impressive thing was the characters’ outfits. Every character has 2 to start out with but you can unlock an additional outfit (or 2, in some cases) for most characters. I can’t say all characters because I’m still playing and I don’t know if I’ve found every outfit yet. Yet another impressive feature is the voices. The game features an extensive sound library, providing somewhere between 50 and 90 sound bites for each character, ranging from taunts to attack and damage noises. Another cool thing is the victory poses. In most fighting games, each character has probably two victory poses. In Soul Caliber II, every character I’ve seen has around 5-6 victory poses, which adds some nice variety to the game.
Gameplay is crucial in any good fighting game, and Soul Caliber II is no exception to that. Fortunately, the gameplay mechanics that were present in the first game have carried over, so anyone that is familiar with Soul Calibur I or Soul Edge should have no difficulty jumping right in. For people who haven’t played any of the earlier games, the controls aren’t hard to pick up at all. You have a horizontal attack, vertical attack and kick button, as well as a guard button. By pressing different combinations of buttons and directions you can execute all kinds of awesome looking attacks and combos. I think the game is pretty lenient with you in performing attacks, so you don’t have to execute the commands perfectly, which is nice in the heat of battle. Each character also has the ability to charge “soul energy” into their weapon, increasing damage for a limited time. The longer you charge your energy the longer the effect lasts. Even at maximum charge the effect doesn’t last long, but it can provide a crucial edge in a tough fight.

Soul Calibur II has a multitude of ways to play. There are practice, survival and time attack modes as well as the return of Weapon Master mode. By far the most challenging, Weapon Master mode lets you choose a character and venture off on a globe-spanning search for Soul Edge. Weapon Master mode is broken up into chapters with anywhere from one to six battles in a chapter. Each battle has a difficulty rating (one to five stars) and there is usually a special condition to contend with that is associated with the story. For example, the story might say that you’ve been poisoned, so when you fight, your health goes down over time. There are too many conditions to list here, but all of them make the matches pretty challenging. Weapon Master mode is made all the more challenging with the addition of dungeons. When you enter a dungeon, you have to fight your way through in a series of battles and defeat a boss, who usually isn’t that much tougher than a normal opponent. By winning battles and completing chapters you accumulate experience and gold. Gold is used to buy weapons and extra outfits for characters, as well as weapon and art galleries and weapon exhibitions. Experience is used for...bragging rights I guess. At least, that’s what I use it for

I see a lot of replay value in this game, due to the fact that you have to play it through multiple times to unlock various gameplay modes, characters and stages. Also, not to be overlooked is the vs. battle for you and your friends which makes this a great game for parties and casual tournaments. I guess to sum it all up, Soul Calibur II is just about the finest fighting game I have ever had the pleasure to play. If you like fighting games, pick up Soul Calibur II. I promise you won’t be disappointed.

P.S. There is a unique character for each console. Gamecube owners will get to play Link, those that favor the XBox are rewarded with Spawn and those with Playstation 2’s will get that guy from Tekken.