Soul Calibur III

We go hands-on with the third installment of the popular weapon-based fighter.

Ah, fighting games--one of the few places an impressionable gamer can go for magical melee combat coated with necessarily violent bloodshed. Soul Calibur may the reigning champion of brutal console brawlers, but that certainly doesn't mean Namco is skimping out on the series' third installment. In fact, it is quite the opposite.

Any Way You Want It
Where few fighting and/or wrestling games have dabbled in character customization, Soul Calibur III hosts a complex Character Creation mode that allows for MMORPG levels of modification. Players can craft unique characters with selectable options like gender, occupation, clothes, facial structure, fighting styles, and weapon types--specific choices affect a character's overall personality. Clothing can even be layered so that in-game sword tears reveal the presence of sexy undergarments. Ooh la la.

Once you've birthed a proper combat contender, drop him/her into the newfangled Chronicles of the Sword mode, a single-player story mode specifically designed for custom characters where battles unfold in real-time simulation. A world map that reveals plot paths and battle locations emphasizes a more detailed story structure that unfurls as an epic battle between three nations. Combat locales span from a German castle to a shrine in Greece, and even atop a clock tower.

A Logical Progression
Namco has added three brand new characters, Zasalamel, Tira, and Setsuka, in addition to an array of enhanced Soul Calibur returnees. Five occupations (Barbarian, Monk, Thief, Dancer, and Ninja) have several learnable fighting fashions for each, and progressing through the single-player campaign unlocks additional combat schools and tons of usable items. Job types define a player's specific strengths and weaknesses, as well as the brand of weapon they should wield. For example, a Thief is cautious and the essence of his/her attacks revolves around taking an enemy by surprise. Suited to brandish daggers, it would be unwise to suit a Thief with a heavier, less mobile weapon.

Technically, Soul Calibur III is performing appropriately well for an end-of-generation PS2 release, and though the Namco crew is yet to reveal all of the game's content, we're confident that the revamped engine can handle proper melee mayhem.

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