E3 Reveals More Soul Calibur 3

We met with Namco yesterday at E3 to get more details on the sequel to
one of the most succesful fighting franchises in video game history,
Soul Calibur 3. We were able to get some great screenshots and hear a
bit more about the game’s offerings, even though the representative we
talked to had little to offer in the way of hard facts.

What we do know is that Soul Calibur 3 will feature over 25 characters,
all pulled from the various iterations of the game in addition to 3
brand new characters.

• Zasalamel is the scythe wielding warrior with a solid gold eyeball
• Tira uses a deadly razor-edged hula hoop to slice through her enemies
• Setsuka uses elegance, beauty and an umbrella with a hidden blade to strike at her foes.

Additionally, players will have nearly infinte possibilities in the new
character creation mode. Choose the sex, occupation, fighting style,
weapons, all the way down to eye color to create your perfect
combatant. Then take your fighter to the Chronicles of the Sword mode
and play through using real-time strategy like gameplay.

Soul Arena mode pits you against gradually more difficult challenges,
changing the rules of physics, eliminating weapons or going head to
head with a 100 foot stone statue.

Speaking of arenas, though we lack the numbers, the game includes more
maps than ever before and are destructible. For example, in previous
games, kicking an opponent out of the ring for an easy win was a source
of ridicule and frustration, but SC3 forces you to first break a fence
or barrier before even the smallest of openings before you can even
make the attempt.

We played a limited demo at the Namco Booth that featured old school
Mitsurugi against newbie hottie, Tira. No question, the game is as
smooth as ever. Veterans to the fighter will have no problems picking
it up and getting right into the fray with new combos and animations. A
particular new enhancement (especially for those one on one games) is a
bullet-time-esque cinematic that shows any particularly devastating
hits and combos. You’ll likely be able to disable it, but it wasn’t
over used and really made rubbing your opponents nose in it that much
more lasting.

Disappointingly, no online play is planned and even worse is that the
game is planned exclusively for the PS2. We couldn’t get a straight
answer from our Namco rep as to why they wouldn’t treat all system
owners to the game, but one theory is that the SC developers will have
other systems, say Xbox 360, to be developing for. Expect Soul Calibur
3 in stores Fall of 2005.