Already widely praised by critics and fans alike as the main reason to own a Sega Dreamcast system, I was extremely looking forward to continuing my 'education' with the home translation of the two-player competitive arcade fighter. But much like the first day at any new school, I didn't get off to such a good start. I had some serious reservations and what appeared promising at first was starting to look an 'incomplete' grade.

According to ESRB, this game contains: Animated Violence, Suggestive Themes 

Soul Calibur is simply a joy to watch, but thankfully, it's even more fun to play. The moves are easy to pull off (that scores big with me every time) and look great while they are being performed. And they all flow into each other without much any interruption in the animation (my personal thanks to the motion capture people and programmers).

There seemed to be limitless amounts of depth in the attack moves, grappling holds, reversals, and counters. And if you've ever seen it in the square-circle, chances are it's in Wrestlemania. Even more amazing is how it's all filtered through an incredibly simple and easily grasped control scheme.

I'll say one thing for House Of The Dead 2, it's easy to get into. Who needs a training mode in a game where you just point and shoot? I will argue for the addictiveness of the game because I think it is more so than Chi did.

The home version of House Of The Dead 2 is a pixel-perfect console port of Sega's popular arcade gore-fest franchise and as far as light-gun shooters go today, it's as straight forward as it gets. You won't find heated 2-player competition like in Point Blank, no ducking feature like in Time Crisis, or any attribute build-ups like in Elemental Gearbots.

According to ESRB, this game contains: Animated Blood & Gore, Animated Violence 

According to ESRB, this game contains: Animated Blood & Gore, Animated Violence

Taking a look at Resident Evil 3, you may not find too many new things that weren't tried in Dino Crisis before it, but everything comes together rather nicely. Most of the annoying things prevalent in the first Resident Evil are long gone and the new additions make me look forward to new versions of the series no matter what system they appear on. I would have to say this is the most complete Resident Evil ever released and a fitting finale to the series.

Resident Evil 3: Nemesis is a classic case of too much of the same too soon. When Dino Crisis was released in early September, it had been awhile since I had played a game in the 'Survival-Horror' genre.