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General: Several new characters, with new fighting styles of course, have joined the series, making the Soul Calibur seem more well rounded and fun to play. The new battlegrounds are full of detail, and are much more "explorable" as well as realistic this time around, unlike the classic "water-surrounded rings" of the past. The home versions contain the "Weapon Master" mode from the earlier Soul Blade, which is a fun play-through for single players.
   Where Soul Calibur stands out most is definitely within it's animation, style, and graphics. The traditional (and sometimes un-traditional) weapon styles are dead-on, and undoubtedly impressive, unique, and brilliantly done... The samurai, Mitsurugi, in the hands of a good player, can look like a true Japanese swordsman when in action; while the giant, axe-wielding Astaroth, moves slowly but unleashes devastatingly gruesome attacks that make you cringe. At this point in time, it's safe to say that there is NO other game that can match the fluidity of the 3D animation within Soul Calibur 2. You're looking at the best of the best right here... Could be the best fighting game, or game, ever.
    Soul Calibur 2 is hands down one of the most detailed and most beautiful games of it's time... The game looks so good infact, that the action must be slowed down to truly appreciate all the animation. If you haven't watched a good tournament-style match in super slow motion, you're missing out!
   SC2, needless to say, sports some of the most dynamic and solid 3D fighting gameplay of all time. The "8-way-run," which allows players to quickly move in all directions, is now faster and more fluid then in SC1. "Guard Impacting" (parrying) is one of the games most crucial elements. With the exception of only a few moves, almost every offensive technique can be parried if the defending player can see the move coming. This gameplay feature not only balances the game out, but it separates the good players from the scrubs.
   If you truly learn a character: Their moves, range, strength, weaknesses, combos, etc.; you will feel completely "in control" at all times. Since SC2 is so accurate on emphasizing range and timing, it actually might teach you a few things on how to apply these same elements in a real fight... Not to mention beef up your reaction time! Within the game you can also perform stance changes, guard breaks, fakes, and so many other techniques that are somewhat easy to learn, but incredibly hard to fully master.
   Overall, one of the best "video games" of our time... Those of us who played Haohmaru back in 1993, are now playing Mitsurugi in 2004... It's a beautiful thing. And if one could ponder the thought, one could imagine and realize that the series still has room to improve greatly.
Manufacturer: Namco
Platforms: Arcade, Playstation 2, GameCube, X-box
Year: 2002
Characters: Mitsurugi, Hong, Cassandra, Taki, Voldo, Maxi, Yoshimitsu, Ivy, Kilik, Xianghua, Nightmare, Astaroth, Lizard Man, Rafael, Talim, Charade, Heihachi, Spawn, Link, Necrid, Seung Mina, Sophitia, Cervantes, Berserker, Assassin
Comment: So what's not to like about Soul Calibur 2? Well, the returning characters are pretty good, but I actually hoped for a few MORE new styles... The backgrounds could have also been designed just a tad better. Some more "environmental interaction" wouldn't have hurt either. And while the characters in SC2 "speak" a lot more than any the characters in almost any other fighting game, I think in the future of the series, they need to speak just a little bit better. The "silly one-liners" get kinda old... Especially when they don't make sense. (Just play it with Japanese dialouge and it's all better).
Rating: Was: 9.5
        Now: 10
Rating Comment: For some reason, well after the release of Soul Calibur 3, my comrades and I still have the desire to go back and play some Soul Calibur 2 (sometimes more than SC3). The previous versions of characters are still quite fun to play as they were in SC2, and the game still has a very smooth and balanced feel about it... Which proves SC3 didn't make SC2 irrelevant by any means, changed and improved a lot. SC2 still remains as one of my favorite 3D fighting games for it's great presentation, balance, and most of all; gameplay.