Soul Calibur 2 - available for PS2, Xbox and GameCube
01/12/2003 . Source: Phil Jones 

pub: EA Developer: Namco. Price: £39.99 (UK). Players 1-2. PEGI rating: 16. (PS2 version reviewed).

check out website: www.namco.com

The shards of the sword still influence the world. 'Soul Calibur 2' charts 13 familiar warriors journeys and some new ones' path to find and use the Soul edge for their own purposes.

The first 'Soul Calibur' appeared on the Dreamcast after a successful bout as an arcade game. The prequel 'Soul Blade' made an appearance on the PS1 but this was always over shadowed by 'Tekken' and its sequels, which also came from the same stable that is Namco. Unlike 'Tekken', though, each character has his or her own weapon and style of using it.

This new incantation of 'Soul Calibur' has though been put on steroids. It still maintains a beautiful control system, easier I would say than 'Tekken'. It still has simple actions assigned to single buttons with more complicated combos activated by combinations.

The graphics though are lush, arcade perfect with picturesque animated backdrops ranging from Chinese mountain monasteries with fluttering cherry blossom to windmills and dungeons. The characters are varied, ranging from foil fighting gentlemen to huge ogres and scantily clad warrior women. In other words, the usual range of fantasy fighters, each with their own style.

They are all beautifully animated and drawn with following hair and costumes to match. There are a few familiar characters from 'Tekken' hidden in there, too.
Coming back to the controls, you can pull off some highly impressive moves quite simply but to master the whole range will take some time and effort.

You are not, though, limited to having to learn a whole load of complex sequences to get anywhere, you can simply get stuck in. Blocking though becomes nearly as important as attacking. This though remains faithful to its arcade roots being at heart a pure beat 'em up.

One area that a lot of beat 'em ups fall down in is the one player mode. 'Soul Calibur 2' makes up for this by having the wonderful Weapon Master mode where you follow a story and have various challenges set for you to complete to progress.

These simply range from beating a series of opponents to having to get a ringout, etc. Along with the multitude of extras and modes you can win by completing arcade stages you can also purchase new weapons, costumes, theatres and modes while progressing through Weapons Master mode.

The CPU AI is also extremely good, don't expect this to be a push over in anything but easy mode. In two player mode, this is just as enjoyable but now fights tend to be a bit more on the tactical side.

So, overall this in the grand scheme of things this doesn't push the boundaries of fighting games but what it does it does extremely well. Presentation throughout is extremely well, barring one small area.

The end cuts scenes for characters and also the story in Weapons Master is just presented with artwork and text and just feels a bit flat after all the lavishness of the rest of the game. That though is my only real gripe. This is a beautiful game and if you haven't got another beat 'em up on your shelf then you can't go far wrong with this.

Phil Jones