Soul Calibur III dated for Japan

The latest issue of Famitsu reports that Soul Calibur III will be released on the PlayStation 2 in Japan this November 24. The game will slice into American stores nearly one month earlier on October 25. The magazine also revealed four additional characters that will be returning from previous installments; Maxi, Seong Mi-na, Xianghua, and Yun-Sung.

For the first time in the series, Soul Calibur III features a battle arena mode where the player can challenge fights under special conditions.

In coin collector, players are challenged to collect as many coins as they can by attacking opponents. With each blow that lands, the opponent will drop a certain amount of coins, depending on the strength of the strike. The player must fight the opponent while attempting to maneuver around the stage to collect the currency.

The second mode is "the statue dances," and in it, the player fights against a large stone statue that's nearly eight times the height of his or her character. It's speed versus strength, as the agile player must avoid devastatingly powerful attacks from the golem.

Soul squash bends the rules of physics by allowing attacks to move the victim farther than normal. The objective of the mode is to knock the enemy into the wall, which is the only way to deal damage.

The last mode detailed in Famitsu is wisp shoot. In this mode, players can only cause damage with powerful soul charge attacks. The mode relies heavily on tactics, as soul charges are generally all-or-nothing, and they take time to charge up.

Soul Calibur III is awaiting rating information and will retail for $49.99. To learn more about the game, head over to GameSpot's previous coverage.