Soul Calibur II is a pretty game with a deep combat system and lots to do.
The Bad: Voice acting is hit or miss, there are a few clone move sets to be found, stage designs are also hit or miss, which is pretty important to a fighting game.
Soul Calibur II is the sequel to Soul Calibur which is a popular fighting game series from Namco, those crazy guys who brought you Tekken. It adds an unusual twist on the fighting game genre-- you use weapons and not your bare hands. It brings some interesting features to the table. Large rosters of weapons for each character all have different aspects to them, which is overlooked by many. When you know the person you’re facing and their tendencies, you can really adjust your fighting style to counter theirs, and the weapons are a big factor in this. Also, while it’s no Dead or Alive, Soul Calibur II relies a lot on countering attacks and throws. Last, it has a ‘Soul Charge’ where your character pauses for a moment to make yourself all around a bit better, or emphasize certain aspects of weapons if the case may be. That’s what Soul Calibur II has going for it in a nutshell.
The gameplay is solid and it is the game’s main focus to keep it so. A is your horizontal attack, Y is vertical attack, B, R, or L is guard, and X is kick. To grab you use A or Y and guard, and to deflect attacks you use guard and the joystick in the direction of the attack. The guard system works like a rock paper scissors type thing. Guard neutral to match neutral attacks, but you also have mid and low attacks, which in turn you will duck below or guard low to avoid. So an experienced player that knows the move sets well can flow his attacks from the guard position the opponent is in to an unguarded area to score a hit. It’s hard to do, but satisfying when you do it. Another interesting aspect is the ring out, where if you fall out of the ring, you automatically lose the round. This can help because some attacks that are strong enough push people back even when they are guarding, so if you play your cards right then you can knock the enemy off the stage all together. Also, there’s the Soul Charge I was talking about earlier. It’s interesting on paper, but if you’re playing anyone who knows how to hit the A button then you’ll usually get hit before you can even get the charge off, which wears off the first time you get hit anyway. However, some weapons make the SC quicker which is good, and as I already stated some weapons have added effects when you SC, which can also be interesting.
You have a large selection of game modes to give a whack at. There’s a standard Arcade, Training, Survival and three variations, and also Time Attack, Team Battle, Vs. and probably some others that I’m forgetting (is that unprofessional?). Also here is all of those aforementioned gametypes, but the ‘Extra’ versions, where you can play with any acquired weapons instead of the normal. Then there’s Weapon Master, where you play through many arduous levels and areas gaining experience and ultimately earning money to buy weapons, costumes, and other extras. Now, it isn’t just fighting match after match after match, but instead there are a ton of variants of these standard matches with often times crazy--and sometimes devilishly hard--objectives. Weapon Master always offers something fresh and interesting aside from the usual fight-to-your-last-breath matches. The graphics in SCII are some of the finest there are on the little purple box. Nice lighting on stages and character models, fluid animations, and detailed weapons and costumes. The characters all have very distinct looks and stances as well. There are some cool effects like streaks as your weapons dance through the air and interesting crackling electricy looking effects where throws are dealing damage on the enemy character. The graphics are nice and shiny, to put it shortly.
The sound is ok. The music is nice and epic and sometimes feels like it belongs in a movie like Lord of the Rings and not in a fighting game where the fights happen one on one. The characters’ backstory in the story modes and in their profiles paint the picture of a huge journey across continents searching for the swords Soul Calibur and Soul Edge, which is fine, but when the player does not experience these journeys the music that fits into them sometimes feels out of place. That said, the music is actually pretty good. The sound effects are as well. Characters grunt and yelp and shout when they are struck with these would be lethal weapons, and nice touches like thumps as they fall to the ground and cries of agony. Also, you will hear sick noises like bones cracking and swords being ripped out of their places inside people. It’s pretty nice. The voice acting is where it falters. Some of the characters are quite good and fit their roles, and others are just plain annoying. In terms of lasting value, multiplayer and singleplayer are both very good and offer a lot. There are lots of unlockables, like stages, characters, and weapons, and you’ll be at it a while before you do it all.
The tilt is slightly above average. It’s a bit different from most fighting games, there are a few unique things going for it, and it is incredibly deep.
The bottom line, the game has a lot to it, with or without friends, and will keep you busy a pretty long time. With a deep fighting system and nice visuals, it’s easy to recommend to any Gamecube owner or fighting game fan.