Soul Calibur III is a good game. It may not be leaps and bounds better (or really all that different) from Soul Calibur II, but it's still great. Fighting games don't get much better than this, so...

WHY didn't they put it online? There's really no excuse for that at this point. Tekken 5 was fairly bashed for not including online support, but by now it should be considered standard; especially from Namco, arguably the best company in this genre.

The game Mortal Kombat Deception was online ready, and even though it is nowhere NEAR as good, I've found I've played it more (and enjoyed it more) simply because I can play people on the internet.

All of that aside, Soul Calibur III doesn't really bring all that much to the table this time around. There's a few new characters, plus a very restricted "make your own character" mode (which is quite cool nonetheless). The graphics are, as always, incredible. The gamplay is still solid, even if they did do some unnecessary tweaks to the parrying system.

Another major gripe would be the fact that it would seem the game was not tested enough. Certain characters have noticable advantages over others in general mechanics this time around - especially with the "make your own" characters. There's also a glitch that allows one of the new characters to throw you repeatedly that you cannot defend against.

All of this, and the fact that the vital aspect of online support is missing completely, do not make this game worth purchasing. If you already have Soul Calibur 2, you're not getting much more with this one. The game was obviously rushed, and Namco needs to know that the inclusion of online support is NECESSARY for fighting games at this point. Their decision to exclude it is baffling.
Soul Calibur III is a good game. It may not be leaps and bounds better (or really all that different) from Soul Calibur II, but it's still great. Fighting games don't get much better than this, so... WHY didn't they put it online? There's really no excuse for that at this point. Tekken 5 was fairly bashed for not including online support, but by now it should be considered standard; especially from Namco, arguably the best company in this genre. The game Mortal Kombat Deception was online ready, and even though it is nowhere NEAR as good, I've found I've played it more (and enjoyed it more) simply because I can play people on the internet. All of that aside, Soul Calibur III doesn't really bring all that much to the table this time around. There's a few new characters, plus a very restricted "make your own character" mode (which is quite cool nonetheless). The graphics are, as always, incredible. The gamplay is still solid, even if they did do some unnecessary tweaks to the parrying system. Another major gripe would be the fact that it would seem the game was not tested enough. Certain characters have noticable advantages over others in general mechanics this time around - especially with the "make your own" characters. There's also a glitch that allows one of the new characters to throw you repeatedly that you cannot defend against. All of this, and the fact that the vital aspect of online support is missing completely, do not make this game worth purchasing. If you already have Soul Calibur 2, you're not getting much more with this one. The game was obviously rushed, and Namco needs to know that the inclusion of online support is NECESSARY for fighting games at this point. Their decision to exclude it is baffling.