A Game with Soul


Character Creation is the hottest new feature in Soul Calibur III.

Continuing the coolness roll they’ve had since releasing Tekken 5 a couple of months ago, Namco of Japan is set to release their next landmark fighter, Soul Calibur 3 later in 2005. The game will continue the saga of the many brave and deadly warriors whose lives revolve around the cursed sword Soul Edge, and it’s nemesis weapon Soul Calibur. Apparently the last game’s story ended with the rapier-wielding Raphael getting hold of the evil blade, thus turning him into an evil version of his former swashbuckling hero-self. Three new characters join the struggle- Setsuka is a geisha armed with a bladed parasol, looking to ‘avenge her master’. Tira is a green-haired wild girl who has a fetish for large, circular blades and ripped clothing (mmm), and finally Zasalamel is a scythe-wielding Egyptian who seems to be behind some of the sinister goings-on in the plot.
However, the biggest news in Soul Calibur III isn’t the new cast members- in fact, if you don’t find killer hula-hoop girls and slashing geishas sexy, you can create your own perfect blade warrior in SC3’s spiffy new Character Creation Mode.


Finally, you can make your dreams of a Barmaid of Doom come true.

Taking the character customization feature found in Tekken 5 to the next level, SC3’s Creation Mode lets you construct a new character from the ground up. You select from several character occupations, including Knight, Dancer, Assassin, Ninja, Guardian, Barbarian, Monk, Samurai, Pirate and Thief. Choose your fighter’s gender and you’re off! Incredibly enough, you’ll be able to customize your created character’s looks literally from head to toe- from hairstyles to facial features to layers of clothing to footwear and weapon- it’s your call.


When Custom Characters Go Wild.

Amazingly, the graphical quality of the characters seem to be on par with the more established cast, so this should result in quite a lot of designs. It’s almost certain that you can use your created character in some of the modes, as well as a special mode created specifically for customized warriors. I’m hoping we have as many options for actual gameplay as we seem to have for creation- it would be a shame to create a character and not use them to their fullest.


Dancing over an enemy’s corpse takes a new meaning.

Anyway, I’m really lookin forward to Soul Calibur III… perhaps the last and greatest PS2 fighter. But even then I’m licking my chops at the possibilities in the future. Will we see character creation in a future Tekken? On PS3? Daaaaaamn. It’s good to be a gamer. Heh.