Soul Calibur
For: Dreamcast
Genre: fighting
Reviewed by: Escee (Brandon)
Developer: Namco
Publisher: Namco
Released:9.9.99
 
Soul Calibur was released on Dreamcast launch. For a first-generation game, this is truly amazing. Let's hope that the Dreamcast's second-generation titles continue to show this power.
 
Graphics
Unbelievable. The details are amazing. While I would have liked to see some FMV, the ingame action is simply stunning. The animations are created with the same detail as the models. And all this is carried out at superb framerates. You truly must appreciate the power of the Dreamcast when playing Soul Calibur.
 
Sound
The music is fairly well-done, but it doesn't really conribute much to the game itself. Although the sound in no way detracts from the experience, it just doesn't enhance the experience much. The voices are well done, but not in English. The sound effects are well placed.
 
Gameplay
The weapons-based fighting engine is awesome. The characters are very equally balanced, meaning you can excel with any character if you take the time to master them. And mastering the characters is also a very in-depth process, because of the sheer number of moves, skills, and counters. Not only that, but the counters and moves are very well initiated and set up. You are never "invincible" by defending, because there are unblockable attacks, soul charges, and three levels of attack (high, standard, low) meaning the game is never at a double-defensive halt I have come to hate in Virtua Fighter games.

Control
The controls are very well set up, with jump, vertical attack, horizontal attack, and block on the main pad, and soul charge on the back triggers. Moving your character is very easy on the analog pad, and very natural. The game is easy to pick up at play immediately since the controls are easy to master.
 
Lastability
There are just so many modes! Lastability is so high on this game. Not only is there arcade mode, there are many others: adventure mode, in which you engage in "quests" which follow a storyline (most "quests" are consisted of fighting enemies with adjusted game rules); tagteam mode, in which you control multiple characters one after another; survival mode, in which you fight against as many enemies as possible until you die; the museum, in which you collect pictures and get prizes for special ones. And, of course, you can play with your friends in these modes as well. Then you can play arcade mode and unlock all the hidden characters. Then you can play adventure mode and earn points to buy pictures in the museum in order to unlock hidden levels new museum features (in addition to the picture gallery), new special features (such as the customizing of the game's intro), and much more. Lastability up the a.........
 
Ratings