Namco has really taken the fighting game genre out of Capcom's hands.
I had been a fan of the Tekken series for about 7 years and decided to finally give their other staple fighting game series a try.
I was not disappointed.
The first thing I noticed was how very different the controls system was from any fighting game I had played. This was confusing at first, but easy to pick up.
The graphics are impressive for the time and while the lines and voice acting sometimes had me scratching my head, they were mostly done pretty well.
Soul Calibur II has a large and lively cast of characters with a variety of weapons and fighting styles to keep you entertained. Guest characters are also available. The PS2 version has Heihachi, from Tekken, while the XBox and Gamcube versions have Spawn and Link respectively.
Now what I really love about Namco's fighting games is that they actually put an effort into the story. Street fighter is fun, but let's be honest, the story is absolutely dreadful.
So let's summarize into an easy-to-read section.
The Good
*Compelling story, for a fighting game
*Interesting characters
*Innovative combat system
The Bad
*Some characters borrowed a few too many moves for my liking.
The Just Plain Ugly
*Voldo's pretty ugly. :p
So now the final scores, and we can wrap this up.
Graphics: Good for it's time, (8/10)
Gameplay: Solid gameplay, (9/10)
Story: Good for a fighting game. (7.5/10)
Sound: Good sound effects, mostly well done voice overs, (7.5/10)
Multiplayer: Very fun, especially on team battles. (9/10)
Re-playability: Quite good. (9/10)
Overall: 8.3/10
All in all, Soul Calibur II is a game worthy of it's reputation.