The game I chose to analyze was Namco’s Soul Calibur II. Like most video games today developers have made this a cross platform game which is available on multiple platforms, I.e. Play station 2, Gamecube and Xbox. This game is quite successful at enthralling the player’s senses. Soul Calibur II constantly challenges the gamer’s expertise and with feature after feature this game’s magnetism proves to get stronger day by day. Below I have noted some of the interactive elements that stand out in this game.

On its own terms, Soul Calibur II is by all means a great fighting game, and Namco has done a fine job of making each respective console version equally enticing. Since this is a fighting game, it mostly revolves around timing different attacks on each other. Avoiding and parrying clashes will save your life, as shown later in the game. There are a lot of moves to mess with, many ways to counter them at the same time, and sometimes even ways to strike back whilst countering attack. There are many different modes of play in Soul Calibur II. One mode is called Weapon Master’s. In this mode of play you fight and advance through many levels; unlocking extra modes, features and art for viewing pleasure. In this mode you have the ability to find and purchase weapons with unique stats, new costumes, and sometimes new modes.

As with all fighting games out there, there is a versus mode. This mode allows two people to fight against each other with their favorite characters on different stages and so on. When I was analyzing this aspect of the game I took a step back from playing and observed my friends challenge each other. I noticed the demeanor of my friends was calm at first, but soon enough all pretenses were dropped and the situation turned into a full scale war. Suffice to say, I had to leave and go do something else after “the battle” raged on for the better part of a hour. Sadly enough, this is not the first time I’ve seen behavior like this. That leads me to believe that designers capitalize on the raw, unbridled power of competitiveness to suck players in a get them hooked.

Since my childhood I have noticed a shift from games that were impossible to beat (unless you spent every waking hour glued to the television) to games that are challenging and rewarding at the same time. I’ve noticed that player's like to feel like their accomplishing something. If you can give them a goal such as saving the world, gaining some great artifact or piece of information or just saving their own lives they feel like they've accomplished something when their done. Often the plots of games come across as corny or half-baked. This is usually from the implementation and not the story itself. Many stories that have been given public acceptance are basically the same as stories that are laughed at. The difference is in the subtleties of the story, how it is delivered to the player. Attention to detail is one of the keys of developing a story, do not leave any holes in it, as the player will notice them and they will bother him/her. Overall, I feel designers need to focus on satisfying the player by implementing, intriguing story lines, eye-catching graphics, rich sound design and versatile gameplay.