If the magazine were paid for product placement, Budweiser would owe us big.

Soul Calibur II
In this game there is an evil, powerful sword called Soul Edge. The previous wielder of Soul Edge was a mysterious black-armored knight named Nightmare. He was once a bandit, leader of a group called Der Schwarzwind (The Black Wind). He found Soul Edge, but gradually it took over his body. In the original Soul Calibur, Soul Edge was shattered by its nemesis, the spirit sword Soul Calibur. In this game, some seek to destroy the pieces to prevent the sword from regaining its evil power. Others…blah, blah, blah…it’s a frickin’ fighting game! Apparently someone went to too many Renaissance fairs.

My associates Sacha and Ryan chose characters and fought. And fought. And fought. Round after round, beer after beer, the paddles went around. There was taunting, yelling and absolutely no commenting on the graphics or the overall gaming experience. I can’t remember even asking them to switch it over to 720p. What happened is anyone’s guess, though I vaguely remember an unfamiliar blonde showing up. That could have been good or bad.