A Soul Calibur II Review By Me...From 10 Years Ago

On 10/04/2013 at 07:38 AM by Vice's Assistant

No, that's not a typo. This is a game reviewed by me from 10 years ago. I was a much different person convinced that I was going to be a video game journalist. So convinced in fact, I wrote and self-published my own reviews and magazine called "The Black Reviewer". Yeah, the name was bad in retrospect. Nevertheless, I wrote many reviews for myself back then and this is where my passion for writing (and subsequently fighting games) really started. The following is from one of my favorite reviews that I ever wrote. It is almost completely unedited with the removal of one small detail. Unfortunately, everything else is the same include the really terrible typos amassed throughout. So with that...um..enjoy? I think?

THE BLACK REVIEWER

SOUL CAILBUR II (PS2/ XBOX/ GC)

THE SOUL BURNS AGAIN…

In 1999, video game company NAMCO released on the DreamCast a fighting game that was like no other out there. Soul Cailbur was its name. It had an excellent story, cool wepondry, and graphics so good that there 75% better than a normal Xbox game. Four years later its still one of the best fighting games out there.

For those who don’t know what the SC series(SC= Soul Cailbur) here’s a quick history. Origally called Soul Blade; the series was 16^th century a wepond-base fighting game. At the time, fighting games like Tekken 2 andVirtua Fighter 2 were the undisputed champions of there game. That all changed when Soul Blade entered the arena. Orgianal story lines and the cool weponds made it a classic at the arcades and on Playstation when its was realsed. The sequal to Soul Blade was on the DreamCast entitled Soul Cailbur and it really rocked. It had the sharpest graphics back then. In 2001, SCII was annoced for the GC, gamers got really excited. But in early 2003, however, a changed happened. It was decided that SCII would go to all of the consoles each getting a different character. So the big question is which version to buy? Let’s skip that and comeback to that later on in the review.

All of the versions have the same modes. There’s arcade, survival, team battle (although, I wish they would add a tag mode), but the most fun you have is with is the Wepond Master. That’s where you go around to different places and fight in certain conditions, earning gold to buy you hundreads different weponds, clothes, and other items. And there’s another mode where you can use them in. There are 23 charaters in all.From old vets ( Maxi, Ivy, Yosumitchu,Taki) and some newbies( Rafiel a flamboyant fencer, Talm a fifteen year old with switch blades, Charade a creature who copy anyones attacks, and Cassandra a girl with a sword and sheld).

All is not well in the land of SCII. The biggest and worse thing about SCII is the different chacter you get each version (Link from The Legdon of Zelda for GC, Heochchi for Tekken for the PS2, and Todd McFarlane’s Spawn in the Xbox version). Its not the fact the chacters the delepors chose were bad, in fact there excellent, it that it would be a heck of a lot easyer if they all put them on one version. So which version is the best? Here’s the lowdown:

GameCube

Controls: o.k.
Graphics: Better than the PS2, but not as great as the Xbox
Character: Link- plays fairy-ally (pun intended) good. Plays like the Smash Bro. version of link
Misc. Info: fast load times

Xbox

Controls: BAD! The Xbox controller was not ment for fighting games!
Graphics: THE BEST! You must see them a HD-T.V.
Character: Spawn- moves slow but is powerful and cool
Misc. Info: Fastest load times, supports HD-T.V. and 5.1 surround sound

Playstation 2

Controls: THE BEST! Easiest of the all of the version
Graphics: BAD! Worst of the them all. Very buggy.
Character: Heaoctchi- even without weapons his still kicks but. Faster and better looking than in his last outing, Tekken 4.
Misc. Info: Long loading times

WINNER: GC!

With great graphics, a cool character, and O.k. controls, the GC is your best play. Xbox comes second will great graphics and zippy load times.PS2 comes dead last due to buggy graphics and long load times.

Whatever versions you choose to buy get ready to have some fun. Soul Cailbur is definably worth your time and is the best we pond-based fighter ever. PERIOD!-Corey

DEV: NAMCO

PUB: NAMCO

PLAYER: 1-2

ESRB RATING: T (violence)

THE VERDIC(S)

PS2: 9.5 out of 10

GC: 10 out of 10

Xbox: 9.5 out of 10

So yeah, that pretty much how many reviews were like. Far from perfect and with some clear bias I still had back then. Though I'm still proud that I wrote them, though seriously embarrassed for the crazy amount of typos. I decided to throw this one up because of a few blog ideas I have in my head and wanted to reference some of my older stuff. I figured it would be easier to show a piece of my work than reference it, even though I am slightly embarrassed by it. I love to hear hear your thoughts on it, so feel free to leave them. Also, please don't hesitate to ask questions over the meaning over any confusing sentences....

By the way, before anyone asks, I do know that I misspelled "verdic". Why I did spell it that way? Monsieur Linkara, s'il vous plait?

Cary Woodham

10/04/2013 at 07:58 AM

Soul Calibur 2 was great. The SC series is one of my favorites.

Vice's Assistant

10/04/2013 at 08:06 PM

The SC series is my favorite 3D fighter too. Though my favorite one is SC3, SC 2 still very special to me too.

Matt Snee Staff Writer

10/04/2013 at 08:44 AM

I don't think I ever played Soul Calibur 2, but I've heard it's really good. IT's interesting that the different versions all had their advantages and disadvantages and no copy was perfect.

Overall, a good review, man!

10/04/2013 at 08:16 PM

Sometime later this year Soul Calibur II HD will drop featuring online play and both guest characters from the PS2 and Xbox verisons. You should definately check that out as well as the oringials.

And thanks for the complement.

SanAndreas

10/04/2013 at 01:07 PM

Yeah, I bought the Gamecube version of SCII, no contest. I didn't have an Xbox and I think Spawn and Todd McFarlane's characters in general are lame. For the PS2 version, Heihachi seemed kind of phoned-in, and I'd rather Namco have made some deals and gotten a character more representative of PlayStation, like Cloud, Sephiroth, Squall, or Dante, for the PS2 version.

With Link, they really did their homework on Zelda lore when choosing his weapons. Plus, they did a great orchestral rendition of the Zelda Overture.

10/04/2013 at 08:27 PM

Though I admit bit of bias was in that part of the review, OK maybe A LOT of bias, the GC verison will still be my favorite. Link was awesome and really thought out. Its funny about Heihachi though. I hated him in the PS2 verison but now in Soul Calibur V, I'm really starting to like Devil Jin, even though he's very cheap.

10/04/2013 at 11:02 PM

I used SCV's create-a-character mode to create Tifa using the Devil Jin template. I did a pretty good job on her, if I do say so myself.

jgusw

10/04/2013 at 02:03 PM

I'm pretty sure the series started with Soul Edge (ARC) and became Soul Blade when released on the PS. I remember playing Soul Edge in the arcades. I still think Soul Blade as one of the best intros around.

I own Soul Calibur 2 (XB) and (GC). I like them about the same. I had an arcade stick for the XB, so I didn't have any control issues, that I can remember. I also played the game with the S controller. I don't recall having too much of a problem playing with it either though. I didn't play the PS2 version because I thought having Heihachi as a bonus characters was freaking retarded. That alone kept me from getting the game.

10/04/2013 at 08:38 PM

I've always wanted to go back and give the Xbox verison a better look. That I review I never gave it a fair chance. Its funny that I said that the Xbox wasn't built for fighters yet one of my favorite fighting games, Guitly Gear XX # Reloaded, was on it and I played it to death.

KnightDriver

10/04/2013 at 04:08 PM

It's neat to see old reviews. A piece of history. Soulcalibur II was such a big deal back then. I don't know if I even noticed the Soulcalibur V release last year, but then I'm not much of a 1v1 fighting fan. However, I did want to play Mortal Kombat and Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom in 2011.

10/04/2013 at 08:43 PM

Its weird when people say that there were any fighting games before Street Fighter 4, yet games like Soul Calibur 2 were promoted so big it was hard to escape.

Alex-C25

10/04/2013 at 08:17 PM

Well, if you ever read any of my old blogs when I started on 1up, this blog would be Hamlet compared to my old stuff.

Anyway, I never owned Soul Calibur 2, but I did played the game sometimes (the Xbox version). I loved every minute of it. I really hope to play a Soul game again.

10/04/2013 at 08:45 PM

Well, there's Soul Calibur II HD coming out and the F2P Soul Calibur dropping some time later this year too. And another Soul Calibur is possibly in th works too, so there will be plently of chances to play a new Soul game.

PixlBit