What makes a player who is constantly playing LIVE to give it up to play an offline game ? The answer is…..SOUL CALIBUR II. This game is the ultimate sequel to one of the best weapons-based fighting games.

Let me start by saying I never played Soul Calibur on the Dreamcast but I did have SoulBlade on the Playstation which was a version of Soul Calibur. I thought that game was so much better than the usual beat em ups, as you could use a wide range of weapons depending on what character you used, so I was looking quite forward when Soul Calibur 2 was released. Needless to say I was not disappointed from the moment I placed the CD into the machine and switched it on. Most players bypass the intros to get to the main menu quicker and thus start playing, I do too but not until I have seen it at least once. It’s amazing !! It’s a ten on the WOW factor and I haven’t even started to play yet.

The main menu appears with the usual options – Arcade, Time Attack, Survival, Versus and Team Battle modes with one more feature called ‘Weapon Master’. This mode is the story driven based game where you move across a map completing several battles on each stage using any character you like. So what…another story that no-one cares about or wants to play. Wrong !! This mode is where you can gain experience points and gold to access a shop to buy extra weapons and unlock many new features for the entire game. Again, you might say to yourself…so what ?

Let’s start by mentioning that you have 15 warriors to begin with, some familiar, some new and a couple of warriors EXCLUSIVE to the Xbox. Ever heard of Spawn ? This warrior is not the only character to be created by Todd McFarlane, you can also play as Necrid. Of course, you will have your favourites…who doesn’t !! Along with these 15 fighters, you will be able to unlock an additional 5 more with another 3 special fighters. In other words, you have a total of 23 Fighters to play around with and if that doesn’t make you happy, than there are over 200 collectible weapons and items to be unlocked or bought. This game is massive.

What more can there be in this game ? Well, you can also unlock new costumes, arenas and various other options you can view from the main menu, but wait….there is more. Whilst you play in the Weapon Master mode, you will gradually unlock ‘Extra Modes’. These modes are the same as the features you can access straight away but you will be able to use any of the weapons you have found or purchased. There are eleven Extra modes to unlock.

OK….I’ve told you what the game has to offer but does it play well or even look any good. The answer is Yes…oh Yeah….Off the scale Yesssss. The graphics are so smooth and uses the full potential of the Xbox, but unlike Dead or Alive 3 where the scenery was very interactive with the game, not so much in Soul Calibur. This doesn’t go against the game as you can still beat your opposition into submission or even go for a ring-out if the landscape allows it. The controls of the game are fairly simple and standard issued and you could get away with button bashing to start with and still win, but you do have access to a menu which shows you all the types of moves available for that fighter. You don’t feel like you are ever out of control of your fighter and the response to the controls are fantastic.

As with most beat em ups, you get the groans, grunts and ahhhhhs and a wide selection of comments to go with each fighter. This can get repetitive but you are not exactly playing this game to hear a comment…..now are you ? The background music is appropriate for the scenario and flows quite nicely.

So how long do you think it will take to finish the game and how long will it last before I get bored with it ? Two very important questions that I always ask myself especially when it is not a LIVE game. For starters, I have played over 9hours and am only half way thru the Extra Weapon Master mode. (Yep, extra missions appear once you have completed it once.) If you are trying to unlock every feature and weapon in this game, gain the high scores in all the modes and general want to beat the hell out of your friends than this game is going to last you for a long long time until they either bring out Soul Calibur 3 or something as close to this one on LIVE.

Overall, this is the best fighting game ever and is a must for any beat em up fans.

Pros:

• Many unlockable features to aim for.
  
• Outstanding Graphics.
  
• Many extra modes to last a life time.
  

  Cons:
  

  • Sound can be repetitive.
    
  • Not LIVE.