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Soul Calibur
Anyone remember that game on the PlayStation by Namco that was excellent? It was a cut above Tekken, but never gained the same amount of status as the monster that is Tekken. Remember? Soul Blade. Does that ring a bell? Well, Namco deemed the title fit for a sequel. And what better console to bring what could be its masterpiece to, than the Dreamcast! Soul Calibur is the sequel to end all sequels. It has
the vital ingredients that a sequel should have – improved graphics,
sound, gameplay and lifespan. It also, unlike many sequels, manages to
keep in it what made the original good.
It has weapons based combat instead of hand-to-hand. It has cool
characters. It has a storyline (kinda). So, let Lets start with the thing that will amaze you to
start off with. This is a graphically impressive game. The engine is
solid, and creates a stunning world in which some breath-takingly
beautiful characters can fight to the virtual death (or knock out,
whatever…). The game looks realistic in style, yet at the same time does
not look so realistic. A contradiction, yes. However, it is a true
statement. If you look at the screens, you will see what I am talking
about. The style fits the game to a tee, and the detail makes Soul Calibur
that bit more special. Bits of clothing move as your character is waving
his/her weapon about, or being thrown to the other side of the arena. Hair also moves, which adds to the realism. The characters also move super-realistically, due to the state-of-the-art motion capture techniques that Namco utilised. Every character looks amazing – yet they do not look completely realistic, which is good. The style of the game is such that complete realism would spoil it.
The backgrounds/arenas in the game are also amazingly detailed, with leaves blowing around, rats crawling everywhere (not in every stage…) and lavish effects and detail. Enough about the graphics. Lets go on to what compliments those luscious graphics… sound! Every good game needs great sound to compliment it. And Soul Calibur can proudly raise its head high and say, “I HAVE GOOD SOUND EFFECTS AND MUSIC!!!” The sound effects on this game are brilliant. Each characters weapon has its own set of sound effects, making each sound different from all the others. Each character also has his/her own voices and such, which really add to the games atmosphere. All the characters speak in Japanese, but there are subtitles to translate the characters winning speeches. The screams and war cries of the characters are extremely satisfying to hear as you pull off that impossible move, fly across the stage or simply stab your opponent in the stomach. The music is great too. It is just right for a beat ‘em up – fast paced, banging and wicked (in both senses of the word)! Wow! This game has gameplay coming out of its ears!
Fight with the computer, with a friend, go through a series of seemingly
endless missions, practice, try and beat your time in Time Attack, try and
survive for the longest in Survival mode… the list goes on and on!
Fighting is a breeze with the control system Namco have implemented, but
it is not too easy to master so as to take the fun out of the game. There
is A LOT to be mastered in this game, and all the special moves that can
be pulled off will have to be learned. Lifespan is also something that
Soul Calibur succeeds in. This game will last you a VERY long time,
considering that there are well over 50 missions to beat (many are simply
variations or
"The best game on the Dreamcast so far, no doubt. Unparalleled as a fighting game, untouchable as a DC great. More than worthy of your attention. In fact, you should be bowing down and worshipping this game for the god that it is!"
F**k that was a long final verdict by Andy!
That’s because a game of such high standard deserves such a
verdict. I’ve tried hard to
find flaws in this game, the only one, which isn’t really a flaw, is
that it’s quite easy.
9.5/10 - Along with Dead or Alive 2, this game makes the Dreamcast a beat 'em up fans haven; the question isn’t ‘Are you going to buy Soul Calibur’ but is ‘How many copies of Soul Calibur are you going to buy…’
Related: >>Check out the full set of 34 hi-res original screenshots! >>Download some exclusive Soul Calibur wallpapers! >>Buy this game or get more info! >>Compare prices for this game and get the best deal! >>Discuss this game and share your opinions in the Forums! >>Read other Dreamcast reviews
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Reviewer:
34 original screen captures by Faz
>>Check out the full set of 34 hi-resolution original screenshots!
>>Download some exclusive Soul Calibur wallpapers!
Click to see the game for yourself:
Compare prices for this game and get the best deal!
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All copyrighted images and names are trademarks of their respective copyright holders. All original work is copyrighted by Farooq Asif. Unauthorised reproduction of any material from this site is strictly prohibited. © 2000 DreamcastSource.co.uk |
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me
take you into the world of Soul Calibur, a world that will swallow you
whole and make you dependant on its brilliance…
harder versions of a mission – but this does not matter as challenge is
always welcome in the world of Soul Calibur!), many, many characters to
get, as well as around 20 stages, hundreds of pieces of artwork to buy
(you get points for completing missions and for defeating other game
modes), new modes of play and some interesting features like Exhibition
Mode (watch all the characters show off!), Battle Theatre (watch two
characters battle it out), Opening Direction (you can control who will
appear in the opening credits!) and Character Profiles (lets you take a
closer look at your favourite characters). Basically, there is so much
here to keep you interested, that you will probably never want to leave
your DC again! As sad as it may sound, I have watched the Exhibition Mode
many times, as it is an impressive sight. You can even control the camera
during this mode, and you can do the same with Battle Theatre and some
others.
By 
