Namco has always been known for going above and beyond the call of duty when it comes to home ports of their arcade fighting games. Soul Calibur 2 is no exception to this as Namco has included a plethora of extras. While the transition from arcade to PlayStation 2 wasn't flawless, fans of the game should be pleased with Namco's efforts.

The arcade version of Soul Calibur 2 was developed on Namco's System 246 arcade hardware. This is basically a PlayStation 2 with a few extra bells and whistles. Tekken 4 was also developed on the System 246 which allowed for a near flawless PS2 port. While Soul Calibur 2 looks almost identical to its arcade counterpart, there are a few noticeable drops in frame rate when the action gets too intense for the PS2 to handle. If you haven't played the arcade version, you will likely not even notice. Even arcade veterans shouldn't be affected too much by this slight drop in frame rate.

Home theater buffs can rejoice. Soul Calibur 2 supports Dolby Pro Logic II and well as progressive scan (525p). If you have a receiver capable of producing Pro Logic II you will experience Soul Calibur like you never have before. The music simply encompasses the player as you battle. The game also makes good directional use of the right and left channels as the combatants move around the various arenas. You'll even hear some rear effects around the edges of certain stages.

If you own a high-definition television, put your PlayStation 2 in progressive scan mode and reap the benefits. At 525p the game looks incredible. Everything is smooth as silk with the vibrant colors jumping off the screen at every turn. The experience is enhanced even more if you have a wide-screen TV (16:9). You can change the aspect ratio from 4:3 to 16:9 in the options menu to get a wider view of the action. It does a great job of adding new depth to the already vast backgrounds. If you don't have all of the high tech electronics equipment, the game still looks good. You may however, find a few jagged edges here and there, but nothing that detracts from the overall splendor of the game.

Once you've cut through the juicy layer of audio and video options, you get to the heart of Soul Calibur 2; the gameplay. If you have no experience with the arcade version or the original Soul Calibur, it plays like a sped up Tekken with weapons. In Tekken and several other fighting games you can turtle up and slow the game down to a crawl by blocking continually and backing away from your opponent. In Soul Calibur you always have to be on your toes. Almost every attack and be parried two different ways. One simply pushes your opponent back and gives you a slight advantage, while the other knocks your opponent to the side and has the ability to give you a free attack. Couple that with ring outs, delayed and unblockable combo strings and attacks, the ability to control where you land after getting knocked into the air (to possibly avoid a damaging juggle), and extra damage opportunities from knocking your opponent into a wall. What you get is an intense fighting game experience that keeps the game moving at a fast pace.

The PlayStation 2 version of Soul Calibur 2 includes all of the characters from the arcade version as well as a couple of returning characters from the original Soul Calibur that were left out of the arcade. Soul Calibur 1 fans will find Sophitia and Seung Mina returning to the lineup. Meanwhile, Tekken fans now have another reason to give Soul Calibur a try. In addition to Yoshimitsu, Heihachi Mishima has made the jump from Tekken to Soul Calibur and is an exclusive addition to the PS2 version of the game. The grand total comes to 19 playable characters to choose from.

Anyone who has played the original Soul Calibur on Dreamcast should already be familiar with some of the extra modes of play featured in SC2. Weapon Master mode returns as you take any of the 19 characters through mission after mission of challenges. Players will find everything from standard one on one battles, to team battles, to penalty fights (one player is poisoned, has a healing ability, etc.). It plays very similar to an RPG as you gain experience points enabling you to level up, and gold allowing you to purchase various items. Here you will be able to unlock many of the secrets hidden within the game. Up to twelve new weapons for each character can be obtained as well as art galleries, character exhibitions, and Extra modes (Extra Arcade, Extra Versus, etc.). These Extra modes are very similar to the standard gameplay modes, with the main difference being that you can use the weapons you have unlocked in Weapon Master mode.

While the Weapon Master mode will keep players busy for several days, Namco has also included all of the standard fighting game modes. Players can battle their way through Arcade, Versus, Time Attack, Survival, and Team Battle modes, as well as hone their skills in the Practice mode. For most fighting games these game modes have become standard fare, but some games new to the genre tend to leave some of these options out.

Soul Calibur 2 was well received in arcades due to its gameplay depth and outstanding graphics. The PlayStation 2 port of the game picks up where the arcade left off with even more options, characters, and game modes. From the CG intro, to the character art galleries, SC2 is packed full of fighting game goodness. Serious fighting game fans will be hooked after they see how deep the gameplay is, while casual gamers will enjoy the fast-paced action and extra modes of play. If you don't have the necessary equipment to enjoy the audio and visual enhancements packed into SC2, your experience will be slightly dampened, but it's still a quality game from almost every angle. The only thing that remains is for Namco to include online options in their fighting games.