Slashdot Mirror
Soul Calibur II Sparks Subdued Joy
Thanks to GameSpy for their (similar, and in descending score order) Xbox, Gamecube, and PlayStation 2 reviews of the newly-released Soul Calibur II, plus a detailed Soul Calibur II: Pile-On! article, where-in "...a battle royale of GameSpy's biggest SCII fans pick apart a hit." Opinions? One editor suggests: "It's a fabulous game, but the original Soul Calibur wasn't just an excellent game: it started a new age for fighters. On the other hand, SCII - no matter how good it is - is just an incremental upgrade, a fairly routine fighter sequel."
Methinks it would be interesting if someday they made a variety of Soul Calibur II allowing you to pit the three "exclusive" characters against each other - it might make for a most interesting competition at a big gaming show, like E3.
--- Bwah?
Ya know I would start to believe that the X-Box title is a *little* better than the Gamecube title which is a *little* better than the PS2 title if they didn't rate EVERY multi platform game that way. Its almost like a rule because the games SHOULD look better on the X-Box.....
PaleHour
I'm getting this no matter what any reviews say about it... firstly because Soul Calibur was so awesome, secondly because of Link... oh.. and the arcade stick peripheral... mmmm :)
5468652047616D65
...frankly, it's not that much better than the first. New characters, yes, but the textures, at least on the Xbox version (which is the only one I've seen, as it's the one my local game store has the demo for) on the characters are really really flat. The models themselves are smooth, and move just as gracefully as ever, but they look like they're molded out of liquid plastic. Hard to explain, but it feels like they either tried to make it "cooler looking" either out of overzealousness or intentionally. The change is simmilar to the change in the models between Tekken Tag Tournament and Tekken 4.
It plays EXACTLY the same as SoulCalibur, which again isn't a bad thing, because SoulCalibur is the best fighting game ever, IMHO. I don't blame them for not messing with a proven formula, but I vainly hoped that Namco would switch things up a bit like they did with Tekken 4's gameplay (which is my favorite of the series, by far the most balanced Tekken game yet).
All in all, I'm certainly going to be buying it, but it's not something I simply must have now now please now gimme now. F-Zero GX on the other hand...
*watches phone waiting for the game store to call about my preorder*
It's interesting that they would say that, as the GameSpy article placed the GameCube closer to PS2 than XBox...
XBox: 96
GC: 94
PS2: 93
But of course, this is just bickering over little scores (1% here!). I'm just going to buy the one for my system, it can't really be THAT different.
So where are the fighting games for a PC? If you port to the xbox why not take the next step?
Personally I don't own a console. I can't really justify it but I would be willing to purchase a figting game for the PC now and then.
The old excuse was lack of a controller but there are plenty of good ones on the market these days.
One should not theorize before one has data. -Sherlock Holmes-
That pile-on thing was a load of crap, Fargo was the only one to get it right. They're sort of blasting the game - not because it's bad, they all said it was super - but because they expected it to "revolutionize the genre". Uh-huh.
I seem to recall an earlier Slashdot article (from yesterday?) discussing whether people want original games or not. Well, this is a prime example of a sequel that does absolutely everything right. It keeps the controls and the feeling that worked so beautifully in its predecessor, spices up the graphics, adds new characters and new playmodes and a ton of unlockable goodies (oodles of weapons, kata theater, concept art gallery, new costumes, etc etc). This is a must-have game, beyond excellent... and still it catches flak because "um, you know, it didn't radically change the way we view fighting games". Feh. I don't WANT Namco to change Soul Calibur. Yeah, I want them to sharpen it, refine it, make it better... but keep the meat, the stuff that makes it legendary. Which is exactly what they have done.
Anyway; I imported the Japanese SC2 for my cube several months ago, and I can only say buy this game now, whichever platform you're on. I fired up the old SC next to it, just to check the difference... and no matter what the cracksmokers at GameSpy have to say, it's a HUGE upgrade. It's the best fighter available, and I have a feeling it will stay that way until the next iteration (at which point the GameSpy editors will yammer about how SC3 STILL won't brew coffee for them).
The closest thing to a fighting game coming out in the near future is probably One Must Fall: Battlegrounds. It's a 3D brawler based on the old concept of big, smashy robots. Way back in the day (1994) they had a 2D fighting fighting game, which was rollicking good fun.
Don't forget that Bikini Karate Babes came out last year.
"Max, come over here. French-Canadian bean soup. I want to pay. Let them leave me alone." - Dutch Schultz
.::: EDGE magazine (UK) is also very strict on 'revolution' within games. They still awarded SCII with a 9.
Also interesting tidbit; they thought the GC controller was most suitable, followed by the Dual Shock 2/Controller S and the original Xbox controller coming in last.
damn thing never catches my linebreaks; i have to use HTML.... heres what i wrote with breaks, hopefully easier to read:
RTFA! Spawn fits right into the game, while link (although a very exciting addition) and heiachi don't. Also, the GC's controller isnt good for fighting games (i would debate that, i think its just different -- not worse) it says it right there.
"While Spawn was an unexpected choice, he fits into the world of Soul Calibur II pretty seamlessly. He's a lot of fun to play, too, as he's gifted with supernatural powers. Like GameCube's Link (and unlike PS2's Heihachi) the developers have taken an established character but made him their own, and consequently his presence enriches the game to an unexpected degree. The Xbox's Controller S is also pretty handy for SCII, so no complaints there. "
"Heihachi is the weakest of the platform-specific characters by a long way. He just doesn't fit with the rest of the SC crew; even fellow Tekken alum Yoshimitsu has a sword. Worse, his stale punch-punch-punch combos stink of the inferior series he was dragged out of. He's an effective character, and the graphics team has gone a long way to presenting him as lavishly and seamlessly as can be in the world of SCII. He just isn't up to snuff, however. On the other hand, the Dual Shock is easily the best pad of the three for playing the game, which makes everyone control just a bit smoother."
"Link is probably the most exciting of the platform-specific characters to most hardcore video game fans; everyone I know, just about, imported or preordered the GameCube version to get their hands on the little green elf. He turns out to be an excellent character in SCII although he doesn't quite fit into the mix visually. Namco has lovingly recreated all of his signature attacks, and created an effective and fun character that you can really get a lot out of. The GameCube's pad is a detriment to playing SCII -- while you can get used to it, it's extremely awkward. "
Plus, the XBOX supports 720p, (the other consoles dont) which although most people wont benefit from, is still there and should get the marks.
Newsie, Moderator, www.tauniverse.com
For anyone who's looking forward to Spawn in Soul Caliber II on the XBox, or who is disapointed that Spawn isn't on the version they got, he's got his own game coming out soon. And unlike previous versions this one doesn't totally suck :) Since both Soul Caliber II and Spawn are being produced by Namco, the Soul Caliber II team helped out with the play mechanics some.
This Space Intentionally Left Blank
I ver played all 3 versions at least a little bit, and honestly they are all pretty solid, the cube and x-box versions were neck and neck graphicly, and the PS2 version trailed a little bit in that respect but I don't think anyone is going to be disappointed.
For me, the choice came down to the bonus character I wanted, and I choose Link. Spawn I could care less about only if it were possible to medically remove my ability to care, and Heihachi or whatever his name is seemed cool, but not as cool as our Pajamma wearing Elf friend.
Hope you all have the next week off work, your going to need it....
On Wall Street they say "buy low, sell high" On the pad we say, "buy high, sell high" Isn't that somehow better?
Is it just me or do the pile-ons just end up being a lot of people expressing the exact same opinion.
As for my opinion on SC2, I played the import version. I was bummed, not because it didn't revolutionize the genre, but because it stripped out the coolest feature in the arcade, the Conquest Mode.
I played it in some arcades in the US, and I read here about how it was the same in the Japanese arcades...but they stripped it out of the console versions!
If you're unfamiliar with the Arcade version, Conquest Mode was a mode that stored characters on the Arcade Machine. You picked an army faction to join up with and created your character with a password on it. Then you'd fight against the AI versions of other people's characters to gain land for your country.
The AI of the opponents would be based off of scripts generated from your actual fights. Plus, your fighter would have stats based on your fights as well. It was awesome. The best feature of the arcade game, in my opinion.
But there's no multiplayer in the home version. I'd give the console version an 8, and the Arcade a 9.5. If you only had a chance to play it as it was...you understand how much cooler this game could have been.
But aren't the scores representative of the other games on that specific console? Meaning a 96 on the XBox one means of all the XBox games, it's in the top 4% of the good games? Comparing the same game three different times, seperated only by HDTV support and minor slowdown, with the PS2 ranking lowest means there's more quality titles on the PS2, then. Right? Or is the slowdown that bad?
The fine folks at Gamespy seem to have forgotten the fundamental principle of game reviews:
Link always wins.
Anything you might ever need to say about anything has already been said better by Penny Arcade.
I think Link fits in better myself.
The version of spawn they chose sucks.
No cape (from what I have seen in the demos), poor texture detail. Things like that.
I havent seen much Heiachi footage yet so I cant say how he compares.
From what I've read so far (and besides the characters thing), the controller has been a major differentiation point for this game. Most people made a point of the the PS2 controller being more suitable for this type of game (some exceptions have said that the GC controller also feels good).
I think there might be an opportunity here..since accessories are a major profit item for manufacturers, there could be 2 pad versions, the traditional (general purpose) and the fighting pad (And leave the 3rd category -arcade pad- for 3rd parties).
That will probably help developers (they can just make their game without worrying about the interface), and make some money for the console manufacturer. Consumers benefit because of choice... those who don't like the genre(like myself - wasted 2~ years playing SFII derivatives), can pick up the generic, while fans can pick the fighting pad.
In another note, I believe that the PS2 pad has the edge because it's basically the (SNES controller -the best fighting game pad ever) with steroids. It's easier to slide your fingers to make a combo/juggle move because of the diagonal configuration. In the button part, the SNES was a bit better, because the YX and AB had a different feel, making the learning curve much easier. Also, since early fighting game fans are Street fighter-schooled, this constitutes an easier transition.
Any other ideas?
I got the PS2 version last night. I don't know how anyone can play it effectively with the gamecube controller, since the d-pad is the best way to move around.
It's still a 480p window within a 720p screen. Theres not point really because you're not gaining anything. And the comments about controllers is off, if you dont like a controller on a specific platform, you can use whatever other controller you want. You simply cannot rate controllers for a GAME .. I know people who use XBox controllers on their Gamecube, for instance. ($2 adaptor) .. And as far as the general concensous is concerned, Spawn is a terrible character in the SC2 universe. I dont know a single person who even remotely likes him. Link on the other hand... Sounds to me like some reviewers are just flat out bias.