Jason Axelrod

It looks like in addition to the official MadCatz Soulcalibur V FightSticks, Hori has been licensed to create their own SC5 sticks as well! While the quality of the Soulcalibur IV arcade sticks from Hori were a bit questionable, it looks like Hori is trying to fix it this time around with a brand new model.

Unlike the SC4 stick, which was based on the Hori FS3 model (probably the worst stick Hori has ever made), this new model seems more similar to the Hori RAP3, although slightly altered. It appears to have a cut out bottom, a myriad of control buttons and switches, as well as ports for microphones and keyboards (PS3). I must admit, I like the design much better than MadCatz's offer, but at the same time, I still can't stand that awful NOIR button layout.

This is just a preliminary plan. Nothing has been decided yet and we don't even know if Namco-Bandai is planning anything. But if they are not, we need to have our own.

I have not had much discussion with others interested in running Nationals; but I was hoping to get support from Idlemind, AkazukinChaCha, Hates, and Neorussel. In efforts of transparency though, I'm posting my ideas publicly and hoping for approval, criticism or ideas from the tournament community.

So these are my initial ideas... Most have been determined based on past history...

Since this Fanart Friday results are after the announcement of Ezio, some people decided to include him in the fanart... thats fine; I expected as much. This marks the end of the Fanart Friday series. We've received lots of fanart over the past few months, some interesting, some disturbing; but we're glad to have them all.

All prizes will be sent out at the end of the last poll.

First lets get some history out of the way... Growing up, I never really liked fighting games; I played them, but very rarely, and often with disapproval. Then Soulcalibur II came out, and all that changed. Suddenly the idea of a fighting game that didn't require physical dexterity to play was apparent. I could use mind games to win matches, instead of muscle memory.

To this day, Soulcalibur II is still one of my favorite games; even though going back to it is often hard because of the lack of "flashiness" we've grown accustom to in more recent games. However, when SC3 came out, I became soured on the series. I very publicly decried the game and hated it with every fiber of my being. Even SC4, which is arguably, an extremely good game, took a long time to grow on me in the aftermath of SC3.

Earlier in the week, someone broke NDA and it was leaked that Ezio Auditore da Firenze would be a guest character in Soulcalibur V. Today, I can confirm that the leak is absolutely true! Ezio will be available for both consoles on launch, and as it stands, is the only confirmed guest character.

Also announced during Monday's press conference is confirmed release dates for western release. Soulcalibur V will be released on North America on January 31, 2012 and February 3, 2012 in Europe. Now I know what you're thinking, but I can tell you, I had a bit of time to play the game and its far further along than you may think.

Okay, so technically, we all knew these characters were coming... Nightmare was leaked by Daishi several months ago on his Twitter, Leixia was soft-announced at this year's EVO, and Raphael was pseudo-revealed through some clever detective work dealing with the resumés of musicians.

I myself got a chance to play these characters and more at the closed-door press conference earlier in the week and I will give some short impressions about them, and the game in general tomorrow. There are many more announcements coming during the next few weeks, so keep paying attention!

As most of you probably know by now, there was a press event held by Namco-Bandai today in San Fransisco. During the event, I got to spend some time chatting with FilthieRich, Hisaharu Tago and Michinori Ozawa!

Details of the event will be released throughout the week, so be sure to follow the official Soulcalibur Facebook page, @filthierich, and of course, @Daishi_CALIBUR.

We will keep you updated with the pertinent information as it becomes available.