Ugh, this game. The beginning of the end. And proof that Namco and Team Soul have no idea what people want. This was back in the day when reservations and pre-paying for a game were fairly uncommon in my town, and for me in general. And this is one of the first ones I took the plunge for. And one of the only games I've ever traded back in for store credit to get other games. Not immediately, I tried for over a year to enjoy the game, but just couldn't. There were a few redeeming qualities, the graphics were fairly decent. It was pretty. But ugh. The terrible loss and addition of characters, the weird changes to some fighting styles, that damn tower that was like the ONLY THING YOU COULD DO IN SINGLE PLAYER. Soul Calibur 2 and especially 3 totally spoiled its fans. Tons of characters, tons of decent fighting styles, tons of things to do. Both a story and chronicle mode, as well as generic arcade if you want. And the cut scenes were actually rendered. There were paths and choices. Then they decide that the best you get is a picture. Not even a color picture. They obviously thought people only played Soul Calibur 3 in online matches. Since that's like the only thing you can do with a fighting game, right? Because those online matches on the PS2 were the best yo. smurf you Namco. smurf you Team Soul. Get over Ivy's boobs and make a real game. I need a beer.. lol /rant