Soul Calibur III (PS2)
Namco’s continuing struggle to match the fluidity of Soul Calibur (Dreamcast/XBL) is hella pretty – just check out that rolling sea on the Pirate Raid stage – but the balance is undeniably off. Mistakes so often lead to being mercilessly hammered that matches can feel all too random and some opponents seem to almost necessitate button-mashing. It’s better than 90% of the genre all the same, but it’s no Soul Calibur.
