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The Soul Still Burns
1up.com has up an in-depth preview of the PS2 exclusive Soul Caliber 3. From the article: "... Yotoriyama and team Calibur's latest effort -- a true PS2 exclusive set for release this fall -- will be packed with gameplay modes (we'll get to those later) designed to entice all types of newcomers. 'We developed [Soul Calibur III] with features that will appeal to a variety of consumers in order to get them to pick up the game and experience that great gameplay. That goal hasn't changed since we developed the first Soul Calibur [on Dreamcast].' On the gameplay side, not a whole lot has changed either -- which, for many Soul devotees, is a good thing."
not Soul Caliber 3.
It's easier, faster, and makes the game look better if it's focused on one console. Porting the game to X360 wouldn't be wourth it, as they'd make more money just selling it on PS2. Same goes for porting it to GCN or XBX. This is especially true for PS2. To make something look great on PS2 it really has to make good use of the console, which is obscure in archetecture. Porting away from this archetecture takes time, effort, whatever, and while it would be good fan service, it's a lot easier for them to focus on one console and the one with 91 million sold is an easy choice (a 65 million console lead on the nearest competitor).
It's Soul Calibur, not Soul Caliber. Common unnessecary spelling misstake on the intertron - especially since the game's name is written in big, bold letters on top of the page.
My guess it comes from Excalibur.
I'm not all that disappointed over the supposed PS2-only launch. The hardware is obviously dated, but I'm sure you guys can stomach only a slight increase in bounce realism as far as Taki is concerned. The real issue is something that everyone else seems to be overlooking - The PS2's perfect controller. I know, I know, 'Link is super sweet omgwtf', but the Gamecube's controller is disgusting when it comes to fighting titles (and some other popular genres). I can't count how many times I failed to chain attacks properly because the adorable (3) bean buttons were never designed to be used the way SCII requires them to be with some of it's characters. The X-box controller is a matter of preference. I think the D-pad feels horribly placed (too low) compared to how the PS2's is located right around the thumb's neutral position. Seriously though, I love the Xbox controller; it's only way to fly right now for PC gamepads (Psychonauts is pure digital love with it in hand)... until the 360's native USB hits and changes everything for the better (is that still a touted feature, or am I ten or so press releases behind?). Don't think that I'm making this call purely based on what I've seen of the GC controller from the other side of a glass case at Best Buy. I purchased it for my GC (only system I have, by the way), and played countless hours. Unfortunately though, it was ruined for me after I was at a friend's house for a bit of gaming. After a half hour on the PS2, I was sold, and still can't bring myself to play it again on the GC. Either way, PS2 takes the cake as far as I'm concerned.
P.S. I guess you could always just use a converter, but I'm told those do not fly so well in tournaments.
In these days, bleeps and bloops mean something more