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I should mention that I rather enjoyed the Resident Evil 4-type moments where players are called upon to press a direction and/or a button during a cut scene. But, given that SC3 is only on the PlayStation 2 why couldn't Namco refer to punch, kick, and guard by the button they're mapped to instead of flashing "G" at you? My poor character got hit by many a giant falling object.
If you enjoy getting new toys then you're going to love Soulcalibur 3; where playing through any of the modes unlocks something at a rate unheard of in videogames. Namco practically hands out new content to players just for showing up. Just playing through one of the character's stories netted me several new weapons to purchase, and just a single chapter of the "Chronicles of the Sword" mode unlocked half a dozen items in the museum.
Look ma, I got one of them "Shoulder Pads of Evil"
However, it's the things Namco makes you work for that will annoy. For example: "Character Creation Mode," the one feature I've been looking for in fighting games ever since the beginning finally makes it into Soulcalibur 3 but not in the manner one might expect. Instead of being able to customize your favorite character you instead "create" a new character from scratch.
Making a new character is actually really fun, and the tons of content I talked about earlier makes a big difference here. I'd almost compare it to your average wrestling game in the ways in which you can create costumes. Except that in Soulcalibur 3 Namco really pushes the concept of "layers." You layer on armor, gauntlets, masks, and even tattoos in order to create your fighter.
This part of the custom character creation mode is without reproach in any other fighting game. Heck you can even choose different voices! This is without even mentioning that players can have the game create a random custom character for vs. mode play. The first time we tried this out my character appeared in the game sans pants. I won, and from then on everyone feared the pant-less wizard.
My issue is with Namco's decision to create "jobs" (i.e. "fighting styles") just for these custom characters. So instead of getting to just create a Mitsurugi-clone that looks like Superman with white hair, you create a "samurai" with the weapon discipline of "katana." This is actually sort of ok, because it allows players to really get creative with how their character will move and what type of weapon they will wield. However, when you first turn on your PlayStation 2 you'll only have a few jobs and weapon disciplines to choose from.
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