Pros: Stunning graphics, easy to pick up, plenty of modes
Cons: Button mashing. Curse that button mashing.
The bottom line: With its stunning graphics, great gameplay, and plethora of modes and characters, this is the fighter to beat for years to come.
I put down all my video games for a long time, what with work, finishing school, and still finding time to spend with my friends and family. Recently, I've had a glut of spare time, so I've been spending some more time with the Gamecube, playing some of the games that will soon be condsidered "classics" once the next gen race really gets underway. Going through my box of games, I found Soul Calibur II. I blew the dust off the case and popped it in, and realized I'd forgotten just how much fun it is.

I have recently been turned off of fighting games. Now they're all muddled in plots that are too complex for a simple fighter, not to mention the constant complaint of AI that goes beyond being artificial intelligence and becomes eerily psychic. You know what I'm talking about. You're on the last level, you've got your opponent cornered, and all of a sudden said opponent crushes you with a fatal combo. This has resulted in many thrown controllers in my house.

Anyway, back to Soul Calibur II. Sure, there's a plot, but not much to speak of. There are some who follow the plot in great detail, but I'm going to give to you in short form: you're one of a slew of fighters seeking the Soul Edge, a sword with demonic powers, and you just happen to have to lay the smackdown on several other people to get there. That's about it.

What I've really enjoyed in the Soul Calibur series is the simplicity. Sure, there's no multitiered levels, and it lacks the memorable characters of Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter. I can name almost every original character in both series, but would be hard pressed to name half the characters in Soul Calibur. The beauty of it is that it doesn't matter. You just pick a character, and you get thrown in the ring. There's no movie to prelude everything, and there's (thankfully) no crazy franchise crossovers, like SNK vs. Capcom, or whatever that game is called. Ok, to be fair, Link from the Zelda series is in this game, but he's cool, and he's only one crossover, as opposed to games based on them.

Probably the most important aspect of a fighter is its controls. Soul Calibur excels in this area. Even though the Gamecube controller doesn't lend itself particularly well to fighters, except the ones in Nintendo's own realm, like Super Smash Bros., they work with precision here, and the combos are easily executable. Sure, if you're used to the Xbox and PS2, there might be an adjustment period, but it's nothing that can't be overcome.

Earlier I mentioned the lack of multitiered levels, which seem to be the trend in fighters now. However, the levels are beautifully designed, and give you a lot of cool stuff to look at while you pound on your opponent. Plus, you still have the ability to knock your enemy off the stage, resulting in an instant, albeit, cheap win.

The characters look great too. If nothing else, Soul Calibur can boast the best looking fighters to date. The women are beautiful, and the evil characters look appropriately evil. The point is, they all look almost real, and they move smoothly.

If you grow bored of just plain fighting, not to worry. Soul Calibur II offers a Weapon Master mode, in which you fight your way through any of tons of scenarios to gain gold, which can be used to buy new weapons. Sample scenario: you have to beat your opponent, but the floor is quicksand, so you have to keep moving or you'll sink. These battles add a different twist to the basic battle, and a much appreciated depth to the game itself. There's also a time attack, survival, and all the other modes that other fighters boast.

Now it's time for my one and only problem with this game. I'm no expert fighter, but I must say I was pretty good at the first Soul Calibur. If you gave me Kilik to fight as, I was sure to win. When I first bought this, I had a friend and my girlfriend over, neither of which had played Soul Calibur before. All that either of them did was mash buttons, but by God they beat me but good. This game lends itself to button mashers quite well. Give it a try. Try fighting your way through the game doing all the combos, or whatever it is you do, and then play it through just mashing buttons, and see which one gets you through fastest.

And that's about it. If you own a Gamecube and don't have this game already, get it. Yes the button mashing's a little annoying, but if you're like me and like to have a well rounded collection of games, and you're looking for a solid fighter, you need look no further. You'd be hard pressed to find a better one for the Gamecube, Super Smash Bros. notwithstanding, or any system for that matter. Soul Calibur, unlike its competitors, can boast a clean record of consistently putting out an excellent fighting game everytime.