User Reviews

1. Review Date: 2009-11-16

   A lot of people complain about female characters in these fighting games being hyper-sexualized. I have a different complaint. How come in all these fighting games, the characters' fighting capabilities are always ridiculously skewed in the female characters' favor? Am I the only guy who has noticed that all of the big, giant, cool-looking, male characters are always painfully slow - as compared to many of the female characters, who are able to zip around the screen, make lighting-fast moves, block any attack, and hit through anyone else's block?!
   
   I'm playing Soul Calibur 3. My character is a 7-foot tall, 300-pound barbarian who looks like a bodybuilder, wearing a helmet with horns on it, armor body plating, and he's swinging a giant bladed mace as big as a streetlamp. I'm using this weapon to repeatedly bash away at my opponent, who looks like a 90-pound fashion model wearing nothing but a silk robe that is about to fall off, and her weapon is a little sword that looks like a toothpick.
   
   About two out of every three swings my big brute takes at her, he clumsily misses or she dodges. Which gives her time to fly around and give my guy about forty zaps with her toothpick. When I actually do hit her, she either blocks my giant mace with her toothpick, or only receives a minor bit of damage that makes a tiny dent in her health meter. Either way, she is able to instantly recover and get in another ten toothpick jabs at me. And somehow each of her little toothpick jabs is able to knock my health meter down a good inch or two. And for some reason my block button offers no resistance to her attacks. It looks like Kate Moss beating the hell out of the Terminator. It's ridiculous.
   
   I know it ain't just me, cause I play plenty of video games and I'm normally pretty good. And I have enough experience with different video games to feel, and recognize, the difference between a game that I'm just not good at - and a game with weird settings. This appears to be a case of the latter.
   
   The only thing I can figure is that the game designers set it up this way to give an advantage to their little sisters, who aren't as avid players and will most likely choose the pretty, dainty female characters. But it's a drag for us guy players who just get in the mood to play a couple rounds of a cool fighting game, to have fun beating the hell out of opponents, every now and then. It deters you from playing the big, cool, tough-looking barbarian guys, cause you don't feel like wasting your time watching them get slaughtered by an anorexic fashion model over and over again.
   
   Oh yes, and here is the other bonus - Soul Calibur 3 offers no Difficulty Setting. You don't even have the option of swallowing your pride and switching the Difficulty Level to "Easy".
   
   I am all for fantasy, but, seriously - Somebody please make a fighting game like this where the characters' physical prowess is at least a LITTLE BIT based on what they look like, and what similar human specimens would be capable of in reality. Gee Whiz.
   
   On a positive note, let me add that I am a longtime fan of Soul Calibur 2, and I have to say Soul Calibur 3 is a lot like 2 except more of the same. A lot of the new characters are cool and the new costumes on returning old characters look good. The graphics are nice.
   
   User: Red Demon
   Rating:
   Summary: Fast, deadly sexpots vs. slow, clumsy barbarians.
   Helpful Votes: 0
   Total Votes: 0
   

2. Review Date: 2009-10-14

   I bought this because I was challenged that I couldn't do it. I have the one that came out before this one. It was hard and frustrating, I wanted to win. It took a lot more studying but I did it. The graphics are exciting, the music blends and makes it more intense. It really pulls you into to the experience like its real. I like the characters, I feel a part of them like I'm in their world and it's up to me to save them. Makes me feel like a hero. It's awesome. It's better than watching regular TV, more entertaining. I am looking for my next challenge. NL
   
   User: $review.reviewer.Names
   Rating:
   Summary: Soul Calibur 3
   Helpful Votes: 0
   Total Votes: 0
   

3. Review Date: 2009-08-28

   Then I bought SCIII for PS2.
   
   I was incredibly shocked. At the time I purchased the game, I also bought a few others (used) from GameStop - because I planned on breezing through and moving onto the next kewl thing.
   
   Much to my surprise, I have actually NOT. BEGUN. TO PLAY. any of the other games I bought. Soul Calibur III has actually kept me entertained for months on end. That's right! A FIGHTING game has kept me solely (pun) entertained for months! Suffice to say the level of replayability for this game is ridiculously high for its genre--or for any game, for that matter.
   
   I ascribe this to the following main points: SCIII has a ridiculous amount of unlockables; customization and original characters are by far the best characters availabile; and strategy mode--an advanced 'capture-the-flag'-like game with a SC twist--is insanely fun.
   
   As far as technicalities go, of course all SC games are pretty good for their genre, so the basics--controls, handling, visuals, etc.,--are naturally all stellar, or at least above averagely pleasing, per the usual.
   
   However, SCIII is the best in its series yet. Unlike some series, SC is always adding new content: in addition to adding new characters to a new twist on the "story" mode, they have also added missions, original characters, highly detailed character customization, and Chronicles of the Sword, the "capture-the-flag-like" game as aforementioned (believe it or not, by far my favorite part of the game). Trust me: you will never regret a purchase like this. Hands down, it is one of the best games I've bought in quite some time.
   
   User: K. Leach
   Rating:
   Summary: I didn't think I could love the series any more...
   Helpful Votes: 0
   Total Votes: 0
   

4. Review Date: 2008-12-06

   the fights are fast pace and fun. you can create your OWN fighter if the default characters arnt good enough for you, graphics are really good.
   and there is ALOT of unlockables and extras such as "Tales of Souls" and "Chronicles of the Sword" in Tales of Souls you can select a character and go on a Choose your own adventure type thing.
   in Chronicles of the Sword you can use your created characters to go on a pretty fun adventure. its like a RTS/RPG/Fighting game you can level up your characters to become stronger it is very. very. easy though
   
   ..there ARE a few cons though
   for an example. there is alot of clipping issues when you make a character, im not exactly sure how a cape can go through a robe but whatever.
   and there is a VERY bad glitch that can wreck up your Chronicles of the Sword data if you delete memory card files AFTER you save on the game it will be corrupted
   and a few of the female characters are a bit suggestive looking so i would reccomend this game for kids 12 and up.
   
   Overall it is a AMAZING game.
   buy it now
   
   User: $review.reviewer.Names
   Rating:
   Summary: one of the best fighting games ever! no scratch that.. one of the best GAMES ever!
   Helpful Votes: 0
   Total Votes: 0
   

5. Review Date: 2008-08-30

   It seems as though Soul Calibur is taking the same route the MK franchise took during its later years pre 3D arena combat(which is just became appauling, not to be confused with making mention that this as a good thing) and while the game is just as fun as its predecessors, it feels like Namco is comfortable with just phoning it in. A lot of the gameplay mechanics feel either weighted with slower reaction times despite how quickly you do react to an attack in real time (i.e. Rolling and getting back up or attacking while getting back up is now slower and feels sluggish especially with the heavier characters like Siegfried.) or reusing quite a bit of the mechanics from SCII. I'm all for sticking with a good thing (that being said why aren't Hwang and LiLong not part of the main story line and their prime story battles not involving the beating of their replacements? (Hong Yun-Seong and Maxi respectively.)) Shiny, Pretty graphics are great to bring in a new audience (but seeing as how a game like this as so very little competition with having a niche of using weapons; that shouldn't be a hard thing to do.) The only reason i would write something like this is now after the game has been out for a few years now is with the premier of SC IV and how it feels as though the SC Team is using the same game mechanics to once again turn a fun and creative game in a potentially irritating experience. Things like this were forgivable when "Soul Blade" came out as the first of its series but I would think after so many sequels they would have figured out the glitches to assure veterans of the series that there wouldn't be any reason to be skeptical when picking up the latest installment.
   
   BTW Namco, that Memory Card glitch was a really lame thing to overlook prior to releasing this. The level of frustration of that alone would make a fan an enemy of such a great series very quickly.
   
   User: Ben
   Rating:
   Summary: Phoned In
   Helpful Votes: 0
   Total Votes: 0
   

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Product Details

1. Chronicles of the Sword mode allows your original character to play through a mode much like real-time simulation -- you can see your own character in the battles that unfold
2. 3 all-new characters - Zasalamel, Tira and Setsuka wield their specialty weapons to join the classic cast, for a total of over 25 characters
3. All-new stages for battle, from a castle in Germany to a shrine in Greece, or even at the top of a clock tower.
4. Prepare yourself for battle in Practice mode, enjoy unique battles in the Soul Arena, or view the history of the franchise and everything you've unlocked in Museum mode

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