Soul Calibur (Namco's sequel to Soul Edge, or Soul Blade, as it was named in the USA) is nearing completion and should be in arcades sometime this July. While the first game proved to be extremely popular both at home and in the arcades, it most certainly raised issues in some gamers' minds. Despite the depth added by the inclusion of a sidestep, gameplay relied heavily on preset combos - even more so than Namco's "other" fighter, Tekken 2. Other gamer criticisms of Soul Blade were sluggish response time, slow gameplay, and, in stark contrast to Tekken 2's supersmooth frame rate, an all-around slow game (it ran at 30fps).

　　This time around there will likely be no such griping. Soul Calibur appears to have fixed up just about every complaint leveled at its predecessor. Recently, at this year's E3, videogames.com decided to check in with current progress on this anticipated fighter.

　　Visually, Soul Calibur is possibly the most gorgeous, graphically extravagant fighter around, and that's not something you say lightly. Tekken 3, Tobal2, Ergheiz, even Virtua Fighter 3, none of these match the sheer impact of seeing Soul Calibur in action. Granted, we haven't seen Fighting Vipers 2 yet, but running on Namco's System 12 board (essentially a PlayStation-based graphics engine with loads of RAM), Soul Calibur puts to shame games with over three times the processing power.

　　Running at a silky-smooth 60fps, Soul Calibur instantly impresses you with the speed of the characters themselves. For example, using Taki to lunge in for her trademark "throat-slicer" was so intuitive it was sick. Slashes, lunges, sidesteps, and kicks were all handled flawlessly as it quickly became apparent that the programmers made sure the button controls were responsive and precise. Combos are now more open-ended and not as reliant on preset animation's, thereby allowing greater flexibility and added strategic depth.

　　Speed and control weren't the only improvements. Light sourcing seemed to come from multiple directions, adding an incredible feeling of solidity to the characters. Particle effects, as well, were included so that every instance of steel striking steel was greeted with a shower of sparks that also served to illuminate the combatants. As in Tekken 3, polygon counts have gone way up, so much so that the characters in Soul Calibur may indeed be the most realistic-looking 3D fighters yet. You'd be hard-pressed to find a blocky edge in this game, let alone a polygon. Although the backgrounds are not interactive (a la Virtua Fighter 3), they too are highly detailed and as striking, if not more so, as those in Soul Edge.

　　Returning to the fold are original characters Mitsurugi, Sophitia, Taki, and Voldo. Rounding out the cast are newcomers Maxi (a Li Long clone), Nightmare, Kilik, Xiang Hua, and Astaroth. Two characters rumored to be exclusive to the Japanese version of Soul Calibur are Arthur and Hwong. Supposedly they replace Mitsurugi and Xiang Hua, and vice versa, but it's likely they will appear as time-release characters.

　　Soul Edge fans had better get ready to wait in line down at their local arcades, because there will be a wait - this game is that good. Although a PlayStation version isn't out of the question, it would be a stretch (and I mean a stretch, but look what they did with Tekken 3).

　　While nothing is planned at this time, you can expect Namco's at least thinking about it. However, until that time comes, you'd better start saving your quarters - you're going to need them.