Namco knows how to port an arcade game to a home console. Time and time again they have proven that they alone can get the arcade to home port right. They have once again proved this with their latest arcade to Xbox port, Soul Calibur II. In addition to the standard fighting game modes we've become accustomed to in Namco fighters, the development team went the extra mile by adding Spawn as a playable character in the Xbox version.

The arcade version of Soul Calibur II was developed on Namco's System 246 arcade hardware. This is basically a PlayStation 2 with a few extra bells and whistles. While the PlayStation 2 port of Soul Calibur II had a few graphic differences from the arcade version, the Xbox port looks nearly identical to its arcade counterpart. If you own an HDTV, the game can be played in 480p widescreen or standard, and 720p in standard viewing mode (4:3). The lack of 720p in widescreen mode was a bit disappointing, but doesn't deduct from the graphical splendor of the game.

Home theater buffs can rejoice. Soul Calibur II supports Dolby Digital 5.1 to go along with the progressive scan support. If you have a receiver capable of producing DD 5.1 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.

Once you've cut through the juicy layer of audio and video options, you get to the heart of Soul Calibur II; 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 can 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, but makes it easy to a novice to pick up and play.

The Xbox version of Soul Calibur II includes all of the characters from the arcade version as well as a few returning characters from the original Soul Calibur that were left out of the arcade and Japanese versions of the game. Soul Calibur fans will find Sophitia, Lizard Man, Rock, Huang and Seung Mina returning to the lineup. Meanwhile, Spawn fans now have a truly inspiring reason to give Soul Calibur a try. The anti-hero is now a playable character in the game, complete with chains and a giant axe. Once you learn his attacks, he's actually one of the best characters in the game. So Namco didn't simply toss another character in, they made sure he could handle himself with the rest of the crew. The grand total comes to 21 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 SCII. Weapon Master mode returns as you take any of the 21 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 II was well received in arcades due to its gameplay depth and outstanding graphics. The Xbox 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, SCII 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 SCII, 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.