The fastest, slickest beat-em-up around! (Soul Calibur (DC))

Member Name: lilmanweddle

Product:	Soul Calibur (DC)
Date:	09/03/01 (35 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Addictive gameplay, stunning visuals.

Disadvantages: Nothing here.

Not a huge fan of beat-em-ups! Never have been, and so I was pleasantly surprised when Soul Calibur kept my attention for so long.

Hearing nothing but praise for the game since it’s release I thought I’d give it a go (£15, can’t complain!).

Now while the majority of games of this genre tend to have a rather dull and repetitive one player mode and make up for it in multiplayer options, Soul Calibur tries it’s hardest to lengthen the solo experience, and succeeds. Most games offer the arcade mode, where you battle a series of competitors and get a pretty ending sequence. This is true to Soul Calibur, and it’s a riot while it lasts. Of course I can understand fans of the genre having to be pulled away from such violent activity. But in Soul Calibur, you are offered a completely different solo experience where your characters travels around a map and competes in various training levels, fights and challenges. This adds a lengthy piece of gaming action to those who don’t always have mates around to go head to head with.

A fighting game nowadays is expected to have mammoth multiplayer options and Soul Calibur certainly does. Simple options like health bars and round time can be adjusted and even turned off, and there is a vast number of well designed characters and gorgeous arenas to choose from.

Which leads me nicely on to the visuals. My word, so slick, so beautiful and so smooth. Possibly the best seen on a console fighting game. The backdrops are simply gorgeous and if you take a moment to admire them during a frantic battle, it will bring a pleasant smile to your face. With seasonal variations occurring on some of the stages it gives you even more reason to go and have a good scrap. Characters movement is incredibly smooth and lightning fast and every single one is a joy to take control of, ranging from the nimble staff-wielding Kilik to the enormous axe-swinging Asteroth.

Control wise
this is a gem to play, simple actions can be pulled off with ease, with throws, vertical and horizontal attacks assigned to the four main controller buttons, and the others used for variation in moves and powering up your characters weapons. As you’d expect from a quality fighting title there is a huge list of moves and combos for each character, after playing for around a month I can honestly say I know about half the moves for about four characters. So while experts and fans will love learning and mastering these moves it is not essential, the game allows pick up and play as much as it encourages mastery.

Any complaints? Not one. Finally a fighting game arrives that allows a lengthy solo experience and multiplayer options that easily surpass anything seen before in a console or arcade fighting game.

This a must have for beat-em-up fans and more than worth a look for anyone remotely interested in games. Please, you won’t regret it. . .

Summary: