Soul Calibur2 now even Cheaper, A bargain for xmas (SoulCalibur II (GC))

Name: jamesmonkey4u

Hello doyoo user, You have to be logged in to use these functions... Login or register Close window

Send message to member

Product:	SoulCalibur II (GC)
Date:	28/11/04 (485 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: stunning graphics, amazing gamplay, Lifespan will be playing this for months

Disadvantages: Only if you don't like fighting games.

A little History
***************
Back in the days of the Dreamcast, Soul Calibur appeared, a game I had never heard of before this point, I remember thinking the game was amazing and the Dreamcast’s Tekken beater in my opinion.
Namco is a great company, they are behind the success of the Playstation with bringing out ridge racer on launch and what a game. So knowing Namco was behind this game I rushed too the shops to and purchased my copy for £39.99.

The story
**********
The story is based on a legend on a sword called soul edge, which is meant to contain all power, and greatest, The legend was lost and now it has returned the sword was broken and evil returned to the land, then a good sword came to the rescue of the land the soul Calibur, so you have to save the land from the evil soul or the world is doomed. Can you save the world?

How to play
*************
For those of you who have never played a fighting game before, which I’m sure there are not many, let me tell you a little bit about how to play. Firstly you and your opponent each choose a character, then you enter an arena, some of the arenas will have ledges which you can fall off or throw your opponent off, falling off means you lose the game throwing your opponent off means you win the game.
Once you enter the arena you start to fight trying to get your opponents energy bar empty so they faint, you have to win two games to win the match, there is also a 50 second timer in each game if this runs out the player with the most energy remaining will win the match.

Game modes
****************
Clicking on original mode then this will put you onto a list of game modes.
Arcade mode, Vs mode, Time Attack, Survival, team attack, VS team attack, and practice. Let me tell you a little about each mode.

Arcade mode
***************
This is where you play against computer opponents if you have to beat all the seven characters before facing Inferno the final boss, once you beat inferno you will get to see an ending.
You get a different ending with each character and each time you complete it with a different character you will there character profiles added, you also get extra modes and players depending on the difficulty and how my times you use continues. This mode is good fun but can be hard depending on what level you are playing it on, the opponents get progressively harder with each one you defeat.

VS mode
**********
This mode is where you play against a friend, and you can give handicaps to any of the characters you have available and the levels you want to change the characters handicaps.
You can also take the timers off or make it longer or shorter. This mode is really good fun its always a good laugh to beat a friend, ideal mode if you’ve watched the footy and having a couple of beers with mates.

Time attack
*************
You have a choice of playing this mode on three different difficulty settings I would use standard if you’re new to the game because it can be quite hard. The idea with this mode is to defeat your opponents and win the games as quickly as you can, The one down side to this format is that you cant pause the game which is annoying if the phone or door goes or you need the little boys room. ;)

Survival
*********
The idea here is to play through 50 levels without dying, this can get very hard, the further you get the tougher the enemies are. The same problem as above can’t pause during this mode.

Team battle
*************
In this format you each have a team of 3 characters to battle with, you play this format against the computer, if you defeat all three members of the opposing team you advance to the next round. This format is fun but is much harder then the single player mode, its good to choose the characters you are strong with other wise this is almost impossible on the harder settings.

Vs Team mode
*****************
This is the same as above but you can play against a friend in this format. You can play with handicaps so one team has 2 characters and another team has 3 characters.
This is really good fun, and is good because if you are playing someone not as good you or much better you can even it up which is brilliant.

Practice mode
****************
This is where you can practice against a dummy computer opponent, try out all the moves on them and combos and throws before doing it in the real battle arena. While you do this mode if you press start you can check the command list that will tell you about all the moves available and how to do them.

Extra mode
*************
This lets you play arcade mode but with a difference, once you have won some extra weapons you choose a character and select a different weapon from his or hers usual weapon.
There are other extra modes but I’ll let you find them out for yourself, these basically let you use the weapons you have bought from the shop with your gold.

Weapons master mode
***************************
This mode is where you have missions, its basically a training mode to begin with it teaches you how do each move, if you do it right you will pass your mission, for completed each mission or even if you don’t you are given gold. Once you have enough gold you will be able to buy one of two hundred weapons and other objects available to you.
If you do complete missions successfully you will be able to go on to the next chapter, this is a fun extra on this game it takes a while to get use to so be patient.

Museum
**********
This is also another little extra on this game, once you have completed the game with a certain character for example say link you will get a to see his character profile by clicking on character profile then his picture, this will show you link's options available, Profile which will tell you a bit about Links history and why he came to save this land.

Stage which tells you about the stage and what is and what’s happen to it. Voice this lets you can test the sound of the characters, victory noises and intro noises.

The Camera, this allows you to zoom in and out on the characters and see what they look like. This is a brilliant extra and is really enjoyable to use and to learn about the characters and the game.
You can also see the endings of the each characters game you have completed the game with so, click on demo theater then choose your character and which the ending, the endings are short but very well done, basically a short story.

Controls
*********
You use the d-pad or control stick to move your character. The R L and B buttons both defend you from opponents attacks, you can also move to get out of the way of attacks while holding R L or B. Y is used for vertical attacks e.g. link will strike vertically with his sword when pressing Y.
The X button is the kick, you can do flying kicks, but running and pressing the x button, you can do sliding kicks by pressing the x button then running and pressing down on the control pad.
The A button is used for horizontal attacks so if you use link he will strike horizontally with his sword when pressing A.
The c stick allow stick helps to do combos when pressing either the A and x button or A and b button at once.
The controls are quite easy to use and are free flowing the attacks come so quick sometimes it's hard to block. I'll tell you about the z button later on in the review. This game also features a rumble program that you can switch on or off.

The moves
************
Within this game you have all the standard moves e.g. kicks, basic sword attacks.
But they are harder moves which can be pulled off, such as the throwing moves and the combo attacks, for example playing as link if you press A and B this will make you will grab your opponent and throw them, then do a jumping stab into them, these moves are more powerful but can be blocked.
You use the Z button to power up your character, this is increases the strength of their attack but you must attack you opponent before you have been hit other wise it wont work. Each Character have their own moves Link can throw bombs and use his boomerang, Ivy uses an electric whip which she consistently batters you with. The moves in this game are really great and are easier to use then in games like street fighter 2 turbo where some of Zangiefs and Dalsims moves are very hard to do.

Characters
************
They are 16 playable characters to begin with. They are total of 9 hidden characters you have to complete different game modes to unlock these characters I wont tell you these as I don’t want to ruin the game for you.
Here is a list of the available characters.

Mitsurugi – Link– Necrid – Taki – Talim – Cassandra – Yunsung

Raphael – Xianghua – Maxi – Nightmare – Ivy – Astaroth – Voldo or better know as David Brent when he’s dancing, if you want to know what I mean just ask.
Link is only available in the Gamecube version, link is from the legend of zelda series, this game also came out the Playstation and Xbox they each had they own unique character. Each character his they’re own weapon Nightmare has a massive sword the soul edge, link has the master sword, bombs, boomerang and bow and arrow, Necrid has A plasma ball called Maleficus. Ivy has a whip like sword called valentine. Most of the players have a type of sword, and all of the players have their own type of moves and special abilities.

Levels
********
There are ten playable levels in this game; Links stage is the Ostrheinburg chapel this kind of reminds me of the temple of time in the legend of Zelda ocarina of time, apart from its destroyed in places and big wholes in the walls, it’s a really realistic looking level. Ivy’s stage is the Egyptian Crypt with this is really colorful with statues and with amazing look steps and passageways. Also Inferno the final bosses level is like hell with the fire coming through the floor, the stage is dark and atmospheric.

Graphics
***********
When you first turn this game on it shows you a short film with the main characters in the game in it, this is really amazing and takes your breathe away Namco have created wonderful graphics, the levels them self are quite dark and scary in places, links stage looks brilliant the walls the stain glass windows look so real.
The human characters look realistic e.g. Ivy Raphael and Xianghua, you can even see face movement during the game the weapons are great and some of the special moves are fantastic to watch. I would say the graphics in this game are as good as any I have seen in any other fighting video game if not the best.

Sound
*******
This game has Dolby surround sound. The music for each level is not outstanding but it goes well with this type of game, links stage you get the Zelda tune.

The music is dark and slow in some levels but fast and loud in others this really gets your heart beating.

The sound effects are great you can help the swords clashing against each other. The characters when they go in for an attack make a noise, and when your character wins they say some kind of taunt.

Playability
************
This is very similar to other games of its kind like Tekken and Virtual fighter, but I found the buttons and controls much easier to use on this game, the moves are easy to pull off.
The game play never slows now, with the graphics remaining at the same high level. I think almost anyone could get the hang of this game and you can even button bash.

Overall
********
I think this game is suitable for children 10years of age or older, because they is a certain amount of violence, if you do let the kids play this game make sure its not just before bedtime because they wont sleep for ages. The graphics are brilliant the stages and characters look impressive. The sound is also good not the best music I have ever heard but the sounds effects are brilliant from the clanging of swords to the yelp of Link when he’s been attacked. This game is easy to play and most of all fun to play one of the most enjoyable games I have played in ages it is very addictive. Once you start playing the weapons master mode you will want to collect all of them 200 items available in this game. They are so many different types of game modes available in this game it’s going to keep you coming back for more and more. I paid £39.99 for this game I think its well worth it, and you can probably get it for second hand now at half that price definitely one to look out for.

I give this game 5 out 5
Likes graphics playabitily and selection of weapons and characters. Sound effects

Dislikes
The first seven enemies can come across quite to hard to beat at first. Inferno the final boss is too easy to beat. The music could have been better.
Update 04/10/04
Soul calibur 2 has not been added to the Players Choice range meaning you can now get this beauty for £20 brand spanking new a bargain.

Summary: