SoulCalibur

The Good
Have you been looking at used Dreamcasts piling up in resale stores and wondering why Sega bothered? Look no farther than this little gem, unfortunately released for an almost stillborn system. Seriously, if you do not own a Dreamcast, and you are a fan of fighting games, you NEED to pick up both of them. Trust me.

Soul Calibur was an epiphany for me. It showed me that 3D and fighting CAN go together in perfect harmony. Every character, even the ones who I'm not so fond of (Seung Mina, Rock), are perfectly capable of defeating any other character provided you have the skill to use them. This is, in my estimation, a perfectly balanced game, and I've never experienced its like since.

Soul Calibur was released in 1999 - I'm STILL whomping on my friends with it almost every day. For the uninitated, Soul Calibur can seem sticky, imprecise, a button-masher's game - but once you delve deeper and discover the true art of the game, there is absolutely no turning back. Ever. Needless to say, I am anxiously awaiting its sequel.

The Bad
Nothing major, really. I'm hoping that Soul Calibur 2 will reduce the number of near "palette swap" characters to a bare minimum (hence, begone, Rock!).

The Bottom Line
Genius. Fighting game genius.

The Good
This game has more extras than any other game I know of, starting with a plethora of game modes and over 200 pieces of CG art, concept sketches, and even fanart. The graphics blow the rest of the fighting genre away completely. The moves are amazingly easy to execute, all the way up to 2-button parries. Even the voices are well-done.

The Bad
Almost half the characters are remakes of the other half, forcing you to unlock, say, a faster and weaker version of your previous character with maybe 5 new moves. Button-mashing is almost encouraged (the difference between an intermediate player and a newbie is that one of them knows when to hit the guard button). The music is just like every other fighting game: out of place sometimes, too heavy at others.

The Bottom Line
Those of you who would rather jump into a game than spend a week reading strategy guides will love Soul Calibur for its great presentation and better graphics. If you're looking for intricate gameplay, don't waste your money, but if you just want to knock someone 10 feet up with a giant demon blade, this game is right up your alley.

The Good
The fighting style and button configurations are perfectly balanced for this genre of game. Well balanced characters and amazing graphics make is one of the most playable fighting games.

The Bad
It is slightly too easy and short and of course there was no 2nd one on Dreamcast.

The Bottom Line
Think of Tekken with weapons and better graphics and gameplay and thats Soul Calibur.