SoulCalibur was famous for its blisteringly fast frame rate and its gorgeous character models. With a frame rate of sixty frames per second, for once, 3D fighting games actually eclipsed their 2D counterparts. No longer did players have to witness slow animations and blocky polygons. Instead, they could play as characters who swung their weapons with ferocity. These fearsome warriors managed to look convincing, not only because of their blades of death, but because of their excellent character models. Ivy looks like a cold dominatrix, because of her tall frame and icy glare; Mitsurugi looks like a fierce samurai who’s braved countless battles, because of his military garb and intimidating stance; and Nightmare will make players lose sleep with his massive sword and shiny armor. This variety makes each character feel unique, and is achieved without resorting to balloon-sized breasts and panty shots.
Not only do the characters look splendid, but so do the backgrounds. You’ll often find yourself battling on a raft in the middle of a body of water (I guess that’s what warriors do), but the surrounding environments generally look gorgeous.
Players duel opponents in beautiful temples, dark caverns, and all sorts of environments that are now common in 3D fighting games. Some of the textures don’t hold up as well in this era of HD visuals, but SoulCalibur still looks plenty impressive on an analog TV.
As any free pc games full version download fighting game fan will tell you, the visuals are only something that serves to draw a player in. What’s more important is the underlying gameplay.
Thankfully, SoulCalibur delivers a timeless experience that will appeal to all types of gamers. It has plenty of depth!