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Profile
General: Soul Calibur 2 builds upon the solid foundation that the epic Soul Calibur created. Several new unique characters, with their own unique fighting styles, have joined the series, making the game experience even more diverse and well rounded. The new battlegrounds are full of detail, and are much more "open" and realistic this time around, unlike the classic "water surrounded rings" of the past. The home versions contain the "Weapon Master" mode from the earlier Soul Blade, which is a fun play-through for single players. But of course, the real fun of this game is the VS mode; because SC2 dishes out some of the most unique, dynamic, and fun 3D gameplay the fighting genre has ever seen.
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Where Soul Calibur 2 stands out most visually, is definitely within it's animation and style. The traditional (and sometimes un-traditional) weapon styles are dead-on, and undoubtedly impressive, unique, and brilliantly done... The samurai, Mitsurugi, in the hands of a skilled player, can look like a true Japanese swordsman when in action; while the giant, axe-wielding Astaroth, moves slowly but unleashes devastatingly gruesome attacks that always make you cringe. SC2's animation was at the top of it's class when compared to any other fighting game (or even video game in general) to date. On a side note, if you actually watch SC2 in slow motion, you can appreciate the animation even more-so... If you haven't watched a good tournament-style match in slow motion, you're missing out on some ouch factor!!! They really did a great job on the collision detection, and making the attacks look like they hurt... And hurt bad.
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Soul Calibur 2 sports some of the most dynamic and solid 3D fighting gameplay of all time. The "8-way-run," which allows players to quickly move in all directions, is now faster and more fluid then in SC1. "Guard Impacting" (parrying) is one of the games most crucial elements and also feels better and more satisfying than before. With the exception of only a few moves, almost every offensive technique can be parried if the defending player can "see the move coming," and taps Guard + Forward or Guard + Back. Whether you want to shift your opponents weight backward or forward is an intense strategic element that makes SC2 stand out above all other 3D fighters. The parrying feature not only balances the game out, but it drastically separates the good players from the noobs... And to me, that's what makes a "great" fighting game.
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The characters of Soul Calibur 2 aren't only cool just by looks alone, they are actually some of the deepest and most dynamic characters ever seen in a fighting game... Under the control of a skilled player, that is. It's not all about blocking and attacking in Soul Calibur 2, it's really about "mix up," or faking out your opponent. You can actually cancel most attacks, but tapping block right after the attack... And you can even mix up the timing of it. Characters have a ton of stance changes, move transitions, and potential to be used how the player wants to use them. For example, no two Ivy players are alike... No two Mitsurugi players are alike... SC2 gives you the creativity to create your own fighting style, using the character you choose as your base. If you truly learn a character in SC2 (their moves/combos, range, strengths, weaknesses, etc) you will feel completely "in control" and confident with your character at all times. But you have to put in the work to get to that point... Practice!!!
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Along with sleek menus, a handful of different modes, and the entertaining "Weapon Master"mode; the home version of SC2 includes three bonus characters not seen in the arcade version (Necrid, Assassin, and Berserker), as well as console exclusives like Heihachi (PS2), Spawn (Xbox), and Link (Gamecube). Museum mode is back from the original Soul Calibur, and includes some great artwork, the cool exibition theater where you can watch the awesome character's katas; and character profiles, where you can read each characters full bio, and even listen to every single phrase that they say in the game (upwards of 100 different things, and in both languages). SC2 also has some great options, like the ability to toggle between English and Japanese voices. Needless to say, Soul Calibur 2 is a must have for any fighting gamer.
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Manufacturer: Namco
Platforms: Arcade,
Playstation 2, GameCube, Xbox
Release: 2002
Characters:
Mitsurugi,
Hong,
Cassandra,
Taki,
Voldo,
Maxi,
Yoshimitsu,
Ivy,
Kilik,
Xianghua,
Nightmare,
Astaroth,
Lizard
Man, Rafael,
Talim,
Charade,
Heihachi,
Spawn,
Link,
Necrid,
Seung
Mina, Sophitia, Cervantes,
Berserker,
Assassin
Related Games:
Soul
Edge, Soul Calibur, Soul
Calibur 3, Soul Calibur 3: Arcade
Edition, Soul Calibur 4
Review is for PS2 version of Soul Calibur 2
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Closing Comment: So does Soul Calibur 2 have any flaws? Truthfully, not many; but there is some slowdown on certain stages, and maybe a few balance issues... but overall, pretty much every character can be used effectively; and in my opinion, this game is quite balanced. When SC2 first came out, I actually hoped for a few more new styles. Although, Namco did re-define a lot of the returning characters styles, almost making them seem completely new themselves. The backgrounds could have also been designed just a tad better... Some more "environmental interaction" wouldn't have hurt either.
Other nitpicks
I have: While the characters in SC2 speak a lot more than characters in
any other fighting game, I think in the future of the series, they need
to speak just a little bit "better." The silly one-liners get kinda old...
Especially in English. (I prefer Japanese dialouge myself). It's odd though,
because characters tend to repeat themselves during their intros in VS
mode... But if you actually play through the Arcade mode with 1 character,
they nearly say a different win quote after every battle, and even
a different quote when they lose! Why don't they do that in VS mode??? 
I guess those nitpicks I have are simply because I've played the hell out of this game... Never has a game kept me coming back time and time again. Here in 2008, me and my comrades are still playing Soul Calibur 2, and with a taste as picky as mine, it truly says a lot about a fighting game to be coming back to it for such a long time running. SC2 still remains as one of my favorite 3D fighting games for it's epic presentation, balance, and most of all; gameplay. ~F.Yagami, Webmaster of TFG
