Namco Bandai has thrown a bone to gamers worldwide today who haven’t yet bought into the next-gen console race, as they’ve uploaded Soul Calibur 2 HD Online to Xbox Live for Xbox 360 and PlayStation Network for PS3. Soul Calibur 2 HD Online technically launched for the PS3 yesterday, giving the Sony platform a one-day exclusive, but the game’s now available on both current-gen consoles for $19.99.
Soul Calibur 2 HD Online re-imagines the 10-year-old title, which is revered by many fighting-game fans as one of the best fighting games ever created. Its return to consoles includes upgraded high-definition visuals and an all-new competitive online mode for the first time ever. Seeing the classic game return with new high-definition graphics and online multiplayer support is great, and it’s likely a key reason fans will want to pick up Soul Calibur 2 HD Online today or this weekend.
Fans of the original Soul Calibur 2 will be pleased to hear that two legendary heroes, Spawn and Heihachi, are playable on both platforms for the first time. The characters were originally exclusive guest characters. Those two fighters join other in-game opponents (and playable characters) including Ivy, Mitsurugi, Talim, Kilik and others.
The online infrastructure will feature brand new net code overseen by the PROJECT SOUL development team. Soul Calibur 2 HD Online will also feature all the modes found in the original game. For those who don’t recall them all, that means you’ll be able to play Arcade, Survival, VS Battle, Time Attack, Team Battle, Practice, and Weapon Master modes.