A next gen fighter for a next gen system

Background information: Soul Calibur 2 is the sequel to the highly successful arcade and dreamcast soul calibur game. This review is based upon the Japanese and US version as both are very similar.


Features: Soul Calibur II has the strong point of having a weapon based fighting system. Thus a weapons master mode is integrated in order to receive the weapons for your character letting the player keep interest in this fighter. As in the original soul caliber you also have the ability to get character profiles and character galleries as you progress within the game. More options should have been looked into, but in all the feature set is quit impressive. (9.7 out of 10)

Control system: The gamecube controller works rather well with soul calibur 2. Combos and standard moves are surprisingly easy to execute. Movement and control input is very responsive and fluid. (10 out of 10)

Game play: As with the original, soul calibur 2 remains one of the fastest fighting games available. I can think of no other fighter that behaves this well during fights. (10 out of 10)

Graphics: Wow is the only way to describe how soul calibur 2 for the gamecube looks. The capability for 16x9 aspect ratio and progressive scan make for very clear and high quality graphics. Also the gamcube has the most fluid frame rates for this game as the other consoles seem a little choppy regenerating the real-time graphics. Environments and lighting are all fluid in frame rate and very detail, as are the character models. (10 out of 10)

Audio: Soul Calibur 2 has a Dolby surround based sound system with very good sound environment effects. The sound effects dynamically change echo and pitch acoustics to best fill the environment, adding a sense of realism to it. The music is also very good for a fighter style game. (10 out of 10)

Conclusion: If you own a gamecube this game is worth purchasing, you will not be disappointed.