Buy first, read review and agree later...

I'm a huge fighter fan, and I've played all the best since SFII, but
I never was a big fan of Soul Edge (now Blade) in the arcades.  It
always looked pretty cool, but I didn't want to get into it.  Well, I
bought it for the PSX tonight, and was I ever missing out!  This game is
terrific, and at only about $40, it should make the N64ers cringe. 
Killer Instinct for $70?  Ha!  Take your cash to the PSX and spend the
extra $30 on ANOTHER great PSX game, since many are coming way down in
price.  (Buy Worms used, would be my suggestion.)  Then invite a friend
with an N64 over and ask if she's sure she did the right thing...

Graphics: 9.9/10
	The images in this game are just superb.  It has bright, colorful
fighters that always keep you interested in the action.  The animation,
supposedly at half the rate of Tekken II, is smooth as silk with very
little slowdown.  Even if there was slowdown, you probably wouldn't
catch it since there is so much going on all over the screen.  Great
background animations really bring you into the action... I always like
to think I don't value backgrounds too highly, but this game shows how
important they are to bringing a complete feel to the gaming.  All the
backgrounds are 3D, too... none of that Tekken 2D scrolling action
here.  Big, billowing flags and bobbing, tipping fighting arenas--you
gotta love it.
	Really, really amazing light-sourcing.  You've got to see it.  And of
course, Soul Blade's "trademark" weapon trails are just damn cool.  Wait
until you zoom in on a fight from an image of a flaming torch.  Great
visuals!

Sound: 9.0/10
	I love the clashing weapons, and the in-fight voices are well-done. 
Having never been near an actual weapon-style fight, I can only guess
this is what a cool one would sound like.  The music is dazzling... it
would stand on its own without the game to back it up.  The song titles
are weird, though (did they just throw together any English words they
could think of?).  The only down side to the sound is the annoying ring
announcer.  It would be better if he just said, "Voldo Wins" instead of
"The gruelling battle is over, and Voldo has emerged victorious," or
something like that.  It's not too annoying, though.

Control: 9.5/10
	I'm far from an expert at this game, but the control feels tight and
responsive.  You know that, though, if you've played the other terrific
Namco fighters.  Each player has tons of moves, unlike other "flashy"
fighting games.  Of course, it does not come close to the complexity of
Tekken 2, but it's a different style of game.  Don't get me wrong,
though, since there is plenty to keep you occupied.  One neat little
thing... sometimes, it seems, your slashes will knock your opponent to
the left or right, and it's useful to know which to use when you're near
the edge.  Cool stuff.
	Also, this is probably the first game that really gets the 3D fighting
system down to my tastes.  Toshinden's sidesteps were too wild, and
Tobal may have had a cool system, but just was not appealing visually. 
This gets it all right.  It's cool that some slashes will hit a dodging
character while others won't.  Knowing which one to use is key.

Options: 10/10
	Everything you've gotten out of a fighter and more.  The "Blade Master"
mode is really neat.  You've got to kill your opponents using certain
techniques.  For one guy, you can only throw.  For another, you must
destroy his weapon.  And sometimes, you've just got to survive for 30
seconds.  All this innovative action will keep replay value high, even
for one player.  Also, practice and team battle are here, like in TK2.

Overall: 9.7/10
	If you are in any way interested in fighting games, and you already
have Tekken 2, then get this game.  If you don't have Tekken 2, buy that
first, and then buy Soul Blade during the same shopping trip.  Hey, with
a price tag of $40 apiece for two of the best fighters ever, how can you
go wrong?

-Zach Smolinski (zsmolins@law.uiuc.edu)