Soul Calibur 2 | New footage

Link, someone you wouldn't expect to be on a Namco title, but, he is and the latest footage does reflect on perhaps a side that Nintendo haven't explored of the young Hylian hero - a mischievous and cunning hero, who does appear somewhat wreckless, but, nevertheless astounding, to say the least. With familiar moves, and very rapid combinations, the childish judgements about him can be diminished - powerful emotive styles and stances, coupled with brutal attacks and specials... truly something that has been carefully considered.

Whilst a majority, well, all but one of today's videos are FMV sequences, the ingame footage does actually sustain the level of detail, and the very high speed rendering that we could only have visualised several years back - slick motion, and fluid combinations provide something that could be perceived to be beyond realism itself.

Link's clothing is something that has been developed upon - instead of his, somewhat plastic ensemble of the SSBM fame, this time, it actually looks like he is in his silk tunic, and the subtle animation on his clothing do five the impression of realism. Notably, his leather boots, which actually do look like they are made of this material, provide the sense of being part of the game.

The contact between characters seems very solid - each attack provides a suitable amount of damage, and the lack of exaggeration again provides the extra feeling of realism the game has been acclaimed to provide. Much to my surprise though, is that the backgrounds have, like the characters, been superbly designed - from the lush waterfalls in the caverns of newbie, Lixard man, to the ancient Chinese temple of the Mitsurugi fame.

Now, enough of me rambling because I have been consistantly watching this brilliant clips, it's time for you to view some of the best footage to date.

All of these videos require the Quicktime player. Download from Quicktime.com