The guys at McFarlane Toys are once again giving videogames their delicate attention. This time around, it's for the Soul Calibur II, which is nearing console release. And, this serves as no real surprise as McFarlane helped design Necrid, a new character for the game, and McFarlane's own Spawn is going to be in the Xbox version of the game.

Along with Necrid, the initial series (no word of a second line, yet, but you never can tell) consists of Astaroth, Ivy, Nightmare and Voldo. With such a great cast of characters, I would think McFarlane Toys should seriously consider a second series some time down the line. This may hinge on the sales of the first series, though.

This time around, though, things are a little different as the new line will run at about 4 inches in height, noticeably shorter than the standard McFarlane figure. The figures have fewer points of articulation, but come with a base and backdrop for display purposes.

Even at the smaller size, the figures show a lot of fine detail and represent the characters well. It's amazing at how well detailed these figures are. And to accent this is a top notch paint job that makes the line really impressive.

If you enjoy Soul Calibur, you should check this series out. Even with the smaller size, the line is pretty impressive. As said before, I really hope they add more characters later on, but this initial five figure line is more than enough to wet collector's appetites.

- - Vane