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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."
Penny-Arcade said that the Cube and XBox versions looked identical, though the XBox won out slightly in the sound department thanks to 5.1 surround (as opposed to Pro Logic II for the Cube); both versions looked and sounded better than the PS2 version, however.
--- Bwah?
...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*
Having played both the XBOX and GCN imports (but not the PS2 one), I can say I enjoyed the GCN one more (especially playing Link), but can say that there's a slight graphical increase with the XBOX version.
The main problem I have with SC2 on the XBOX is the controller, which isn't as "tight" as the other two tend to be with fighting games. Hopefully that new SC2 stick, which works on all three platforms, will make this comment null.
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
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
I was wondering why I thought the GCN version looked just as good as the X-Box... I'm neither crazy nor blind... I just don't have an HDTV. :P
At any rate, I've played all 3... and I saw the PS2 version on an HD, and it was spectacular. The GCN version is definitely my favorite of the group, and it's all because of the controls. The PS2 analog is just in too awkward a spot for me, and the X-Box controls feel, I dunno,... loose I guess, the analog joystick doesn't seem to respond as well as I'd like. But, as I don't own an X-Box, my preference there is pretty mute. Other than the controllers themselves, the 3 versions are practically indistinguishable.
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I'd rather be flamed than ignored.
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.
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