Soul Calibur makes a triumphant return with a vast amount of content, innovation and the typically entertaining combat...

The fighting genre may have lost some of the fire that kept gamers glued to arcades and consoles back during the early 90’s, however a handful of titles have maintained their popularity with the soul most certainly still burning in NAMCO’s Soul Calibur series.

Released exclusively for the Playstation2, Soul Calibur III is the latest fighter to join a comprehensive collection that otherwise includes NAMCO’s Tekken 5 and SEGA’s Virtua Fighter 4, easily making the PS2 the platform of choice for fighting fanatics. Unlike its slightly disappointing multi-format predecessor, Soul Calibur III makes a triumphant return to form, offering an exhaustive supply of fighters, modes and weapons to make it one of the finer contributions the genre has to offer. Long-term fans of the series will appreciate just how much content has been squeezed into Soul Calibur III, with well over 40 characters making the final cut and a huge range of weapons, items, armour and other goodies to unlock throughout the game.

The bulk of the game lies in the “Tales of the Souls” mode, which follows the story of each of the characters featured in the game, set against the epic backdrop of the timeless conflict between the Soul Calibur and the Soul Edge blades. Along the way players have a certain degree of choice when it comes to progress, often making decisions between two options that have an influence on the next bout and outcome of the story. In between the fights text dialogue pushes forth the story of each character along with the customarily bad voice acting, whilst players can also have a certain amount of interaction with the cut-scenes by pressing certain commands at specific points. Although Soul Calibur III undeniably makes numerous improvements in regards to offering a story to the player, the game does slip up on a handful of occasions by reusing the same scenarios too often and slightly iffy issues such as playing against doppelgangers, but on the whole it expands upon the detailed back story that fans will appreciate and is generally heading in the right way. Completing the story of a character can easily be accomplished within 30 minutes, making it possible for the SC fanatics to steam through and unlock the wealth of new content that the mode brings.

Wisely recognising that continued bout after bout isn’t enough to sustain the interest of modern day gamers, NAMCO’s Team Soul have also introduced a new mode to Soul Calibur III that hopes to expand upon the depth and sophistication of what we expect from a brawler. The “Chronicle of the Sword” is essentially a real-time strategy title crossed with a brawler; players are presented with a battle-map with which to move freely around, whilst engaging in combat and taking control of enemy strongholds. A story of three warring factions provides the backdrop to the mode, whilst introducing one of the game’s other significant additions in the shape of player created characters.

Choosing between gender, six different classes and a huge range of individual attributes, Soul Calibur’s “Create a Soul” mode is a welcoming touch in a fighter and is linked to the unlockable nature of the game aptly. It’s hardly the type of feature to revolutionise the fighting genre, but it suits the nature of the game mode ideally although thankfully classic characters from the series also make an appearance throughout. In turn characters can also be assigned to one of four different types, namely Cavalry, Infantry, Knight and Bandit, which in turn affects areas such as mobility, attack and defence.

Essentially players have a battle map and an increasing amount of characters to control around it. Movement is entirely in real-time so the strategy of directing your characters actually has an impact on the gameplay, as players attempt to complete various objectives such as taking over the enemy’s main stronghold or wiping all opponents from the map. Battles can take place on the map or by activating the Battle feature to switch into classic Soul Calibur action; the smart touch is the tactical element that the mode brings and the harmony this holds with the brawling action. One chapter could find players splitting the team up to conquer the land quickly, however a particularly powerful stronghold could have multiple characters located inside which in turn means you should be trying to get several characters to fight together as once a character loses one fight they’re out of the game for a temporary period.

The mode also borrows heavily from the RPG genre with Experience points and Levels to consider, whilst the initially small party develops into a considerable force with progress through the campaign. The mode is ideally suited to the wealth of weapons, items and armour that’s unlocked throughout the game, providing players with an unparalleled level of customisation and depth to the typically paper-thin complexity of a brawler. Thankfully Chronicle of the Sword doesn’t require the brains of Bonaparte to enjoy, fusing variety, tactics and depth to the intensity of the action.

On to the actual fighting front and Soul Calibur III remains unsurprisingly identical to its predecessors, and when they’ve got it so right before who are we to argue. The emphasis for anybody who may not have played a previous version is most definitely on the weapons; however Soul Calibur maintains the fluidity of movement and actions favoured by its sibling series Tekken whilst keeping a great sense of balance and variety to the vast amount of fighters available – albeit with significantly more visceral fighting styles and techniques.

Making Soul Calibur III exclusive to one format has allowed the team to maximise the game’s strengths, although it has to be noted the game is beginning to show its age when it comes to visuals. Soul Calibur III cannot quite eclipse the subtle delights of Tekken 5, but it is still a remarkable looking fighter for the PS2. One such issue that has been hindered by the decision has naturally been the lack of online multiplayer support, however NAMCO rightfully argues that online fighters have yet to be done properly with even Team Ninja’s Dead or Alive: Ultimate suffering from lag issues, so it’s perhaps the wise decision to focus on strong offline modes which simply can’t be faulted.