OPERATION:

The Soul Of The Weapon

DATE: 2003-05-21 23:11:04

Without question, Soul Calibur II is probably one of the most anticipated fighting games coming out this year. Soul Calibur II is a skill-oriented, weapons-based fighter that is not only topping the charts in Japan, but also eating away the small fortunes of many gamers one quarter at a time in the arcades.

The follow-up to Soul Blade on the PSX, and Soul Calibur on the Dreamcast, Soul Calibur II boasts over 15 warriors, both old and new to the series, each on a quest to gain control of the mythical Soul Edge. Most of the characters from the original Soul Calibur will make a return, and will be joined by newcomers Yunsung, a broadsword toting character similar to Hwang in the last game; Raphael, a quick French fencing master; and Cassandra, the younger sister to Soul Calibur's Sophita (and my personal favorite character). As an added bonus, each version of the game will feature a brand-new fighter exclusive to each console. PlayStation 2 owners will get the chance to play as Heihachi from the Tekken series, while Xbox players will have a chance to play as Spawn from the Todd McFarlane comic book. And, in perhaps a move that will send just about any Nintendo fanatic into a tizzy, GameCube owners will have a chance to fight as Nintendo's famous sword wielding hero Link, from the Legend of Zelda series. These new console specific characters will also be joined by Necrid, a large, angry-looking character designed by Todd McFarlane, who will appear in all three versions of the game.

The console versions of Soul Calibur II will feature a variety of gameplay modes, including Arcade, Versus and Practice. The only mode not making the jump to the consoles from the arcade will be Conquest, which would be rather hard to pull off since it requires a massive number of players. To make up for this loss, the game will provide additional replay value via the Master Mode, which has characters taking part in numerous mission objectives in order to accumulate wealth. After amassing a small fortune, players will be able to use their spoils to purchase new upgrades for their characters, such as new weapons, which can then be brought into other gameplay modes. Graphically, all three versions look on par with each other, so deciding which one to get should balance on controller preference and which exclusive character you'd rather play as. Regardless of your system choice, Soul Calibur II promises to be a fantastic fighter and is something no fan of the genre should miss out on.

Starscream aka Ricky Tucker
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