#913 SoulCalibur II (XBOX) Guest Characters (2/3): Spawn playthrough.

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Published on June 2, 2018 6:20:08 PM ● Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24OOYtO7SRk

Game:

Soulcalibur II (2002)

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Let's Play

Duration: 9:02

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A playthrough of the exclusive guest character Spawn in the Xbox version of Namco’s SoulCalibur II.

This is something I’ll touch on more when I cover the Dead or Alive series (particularly a certain guest character there), but the Xbox has always had something of an identity crisis, unable to really identify itself with any particular series outside of Halo and The Gears of War series. Indeed, one of my favourite jokes is how, for branding, early Xbox One cases had Master Chief, Marcus Fenix, Lara Croft…and a car. Yeah, a car. Truly the most iconic of characters. Unless it’s Daytona USA we’re talking about, but we’re not. Oh, and speaking of Halo and Gear of War in regards to guest characters, keep that in mind for a certain game I’ll cover in the distant future.

So SoulCalibur II was released in 2002. At that point in time, the Xbox hadn’t really defined itself. Halo was very much in its infancy as a series (a ramble which I’ll develop more on when I get to DOA4, as you might imagine), with the release of the phenomenal Halo 2 still being two years away and the first game not really making as much as an impact as Microsoft probably hoped, although certainly securing an interest in the console. Gears of War was still four years or so away by this point, the Tomb Raider reboot was 11 years away and Namco certainly weren’t brave enough to include a car as a playable character (though Forza is a great series, I can’t deny), but that might have been fitting, considering the original Xbox was effectively the successor to the Dreamcast (it was even originally going to be backwards compatible with it!). So, Namco had to think of an appropriate exclusive character for the Xbox release so they wouldn’t be left out. So, what did they go with? Well, they’d worked with Todd MacFarlane to include an original character called Necrid in the game (who will never return, by the way), and so at some point I guess…they asked to also include Spawn. Spawn is a badass, underrated character, but as a choice he is a damn weird one it must be said. He’s a bit edgy for a game which is actually quite light when it comes to tone, and his comic-book-looking outfit makes him stick out like a sore thumb, more so somehow than even Heihachi.

In terms of moveset however, Spawn is pretty interesting. I expected him to be a powerhouse or something of the sort, but he’s actually really nimble as a character, which I found surprising. His attacks generally emphasis agility, leading to some decent quick combos which he is able to pull off, as well as some rising uppercut attacks and a special stance where he flies into the air, before lunging down on the opponent. Indeed, it’s a pretty unique moveset for the game, and with a character this unique it’s a bit of a shame that he can’t be emulated. Indeed, thank goodness this game is compatible with the X360’s backwards compatibility, although there is the HD version of SoulCalibur II which has both Spawn and Heihachi as guest characters. Still, I’m always glad to have an excuse to use my capture card. Spawn, to this day, remains a pretty odd choice, but that hardly matters because we’ll see odder down the line anyhow.

Although gimmicky, I can’t deny that getting to cover a unique character from each version of the game is pretty awesome, as it makes each version of the game worthwhile in its own right, and it’s almost a little epic to be able to cover three versions of a game for three wholly unique, beloved characters.

Speaking of which, next time we finish up the guest characters for this title with the only truly appropriate one of them.

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