Soul Calibur 3 [PS2]

When it comes to fighting games, Namco's Soul Calibur series has always been at the top of the heap. A solid mix of weapons-based fighting, varied characters, and complex moves have kept the series popular with the hardcore crowd, while an intuitive control scheme ensures that even a novice can pick up a controller and start playing. With Soul Calibur III, the game maintains its finely honed fighting engine, while branching out with some new modes of play. Although the new modes aren't as polished as the core game, they make a great addition to an already excellent experience.

The biggest draw in any Soul Calibur game is the multiplayer component, and Soul Calibur III is no slouch in that regard. Offering up a full suite of characters, rock solid control, and more combinations than you can shake a stick at, this is one game that is sure to suck away hours of your life.

Some minor tweaks have been made to the fighting engine, most notably to the Guard Impact system. Soul Calibur III does away with the more lenient system introduced in the last game and instead pulls inspiration from the original. You have to predict where your opponent is going to strike: high, med, or low. Guess wrong, and you've just left yourself open to attack. Guard Impact windows have been greatly reduced, so properly executing a reversal has more to do with skill, as opposed to luck, this time around.

It is this intricate balance, the give and take, that drives the popularity of the series. Sure, you could sit down with Soul Calibur III, mash a few buttons, and have fun... but once you learn the system, master the blocks, counters, and reversals, an incredible amount of depth opens up. It's about learning your opponent's play style, discovering the single chink in their armor and going in for the kill. It has the depth of chess, with the speed of a hyperactive eight-year-old.

Every character in the game has been slightly tweaked, with the primary characters becoming even more balanced and the secondary set gaining full moves sets. In Soul Calibur II, the "backup" characters felt more like clones of the popular fighters as opposed to fully realized combatants. Not so here. Returning players will notice a slight learning curve, but it's minimal.

One of the newest, and likely most controversial, aspects of the game is the custom character mode. It allows players to create a fighter from the ground up, although you do have to use a set of templates to form the basis of your fighting style. Once created, it's possible to play with your character in the main game and evolve it as time goes on. You can also tweak with the look, literally spending hours finding just the right face or piece of clothing.