Anybody get the Soul Calibur 2 artbook?

[slade]

I just picked it up when I went in to ask whether they had the game yet or not. Short answer, game will be in tomorrow but I got an artbook for preordering the game. The artbook's got charcter backgrounds, charcter art, character weapons but not the description of the weapons and photos of the various stages in the game. I think I got the PS2 artbook though because it shows Heihachi's weapons instead of Link's. Anyways, this is a pretty cool bonus for hardcore fans of the game.

[Gaming Geezer 78]

Yup, I got two copies since I preordered both the Xbox and PS2 versions. I didn't know anything about a different weapons section until you mentioned it! Both of my copies have a section for Heihachi with various wristbands, trophies (like those of Heihachi's head in the Tekken games) and other stuff.

It's a damn nice looking book & it's free! It's 96 pages (100 counting the covers) with a cool, embossed, glossy Soul Edge on the front cover and a matte black background. It's heavy cardstock w/glossy interior pages and awesome artwork! A book like this would sell for $20 or more (comparing to other anime/artbooks of similar quality). I also got two lithographs the day I put my preorders in. They are approximately 14 x 9 on heavy cardstock.

Nice huh Slade? BTW...it's nice to be back. They finally got my info worked out a few hours ago! What do you think of my avatar?

[slade]

Cool avatar. I wish the size limitation was a little looser because I've got a few bigger ones that look better then the one I'm currently using.

The artbook is a nice plus especially since the actual game manual is so bare. Is it the same for the other versions? They've got no character info in there.

[Gaming Geezer 78]

They have about four more pages in each. But that is taken up mostly by a few big, honkin' pics of Spawn & Link in the respective versions. There is no character moves lists in any of the manuals. The free book is only available at Gamestop stores and their affiliates like Babbage's and FuncoLand. It is a damn nice book and I would gladly have paid $20 or so to get one if that was the only way. The character profiles are especially nice.

Which version did you buy by the way? The PS2 version comes with a Namco demo disc with videos, playables and downloads that unlock all the characters in Tekken Tag & 4 and some other stuff. Pretty nice. The GCN version has a little promo card for I-Ninja. The Xbox has a little promo card for Kill-Switch. Kind of fitting: a kiddy looking game advertised with the GCN version and a "gore-fest" advertised with the Xbox version.

both the PS2 and GCN manuals are printed on heavy stock paper with cardstock covers. The Xbox version has a flimsy cover that feels like the same paper cheap comics are printed on. To me, the PS2 version feels like the "true" version of the game. My reasons for saying this are:

1) Heihachi is a Namco character just like the SCII cast.
2) The PS2 SCII logo is blue, same as the logo in the game while Xbox is red and GCN is green.
3) I've bought other Namco fighters that came with SCII PS2 promo cards inside the case.
4) PS2 version is the only one to include a demo disc.

Regardless though, I bought the Gamecube version yesterday. I know-I'm freakin' nuts. Now I have all three. The graphic differences on my television are almost completely unnoticable. All have aliasing to some minor extent. The characters in all three look exactly the same. The PS2 version has no slowdown that I have yet to see and I've played the hell out of it. The Gamecube version loads the fastest with Xbox behind it by a second and PS2 taking about two seconds longer than the Xbox version to load each ring. Wooo....big deal, right?

As far as my favorite exclusive character goes, I would have to say Heihachi is my favorite followed by Spawn and then Link. Link just seems out of place "graphically" with the other cast. He also seems a bit too powerful with his bombs, boomerang, rapid stabbing attack and everything else. Though, all three exclusive characters seem a bit overpowered compared to the rest of the cast. Spawn has an annoying habbit of showing his crotch at the end of each match (he leans back and his crotch is right in front of the camera). Heihachi is far from unarmed with his power bracelets. Cracking an enemy upside the head or putting them in a life-sapping headlock then pummeling their head gives great satisfaction!

[slade]

So far, I've only got the GC version. I'm still debating over whether to pick up the PS2 version by next week. What sort of unlockables are on that demo disc? Is it anything worthwhile or just some extra costumes? Are there any extra stages?

Also, I'd heard that the exclusive characters were overpowered compared to the rest of the cast. Although you can easily dodge Link's projectiles because of their startup time, he still has way too much priority over the other characters. Seems like a bad move on Namco's part.

Anyways, since Heihachi showed up in this game, maybe Nightmare or Siegfried will show up in the next Tekken game. His ending seems perfect for that sort of thing.

["The Game"Evolution]

Nice book.I bought the Xbox version of SC II.My book had Heihachi's different selection of power bracelets too.I was kind of mad about it,but I got over it.If they are going to show his then why not show Links and Spawn's different choices as well? Oh well.

I do love everything from the bios to the page showing all the different weapons you can accquire.