Our recent discussion of tiers sparked some interesting side discussion about why people select their main characters. Think back, for a moment to how you came to play your main character(s). What motivated your decision? Was it strategic, or did it just happen?

As with all new iterations of the game, SC5 will probably herald another large-scale shift in mains—I’ve mained a different character in every version of Calibur, myself—and we’ll also have an influx of players new to competitive Soul Calibur who are also looking for characters.

That being the case, I thought I’d devote this week to the ins and outs of character selection.

Some people may have missed this, but along with today's announcement of the four newest characters to be added to the Soulcalibur V roster, Famitsu also released details and images from the game's story mode. Also included is the first images of Patroklos wielding Soul Calibur, Tira handing Pyrrha her mother's weapon, and images from various cutscenes.

If you can read Japanese or use Google Translate, you can go to Famitsu's website to read the details on Soulcalibur V's story mode.

Today, Namco Bandai released the first of what I hope to be several tutorial videos for Soulcalibur V covering the new mechanics within the game. This particular video covers quick step and appeared during the opening for SCV Live, however in Japanese. I'm glad that they made an English version available on YouTube for people to check out.

If you haven't watched it already in the Media section, you can watch the video after the break or by clicking on the video icon to the right of this post if you are viewing this on our front page.

Today, Famitsu announced four new characters for Soulcalibur V! While Yoshimitsu was "sort of" announced in the custom character trailer, there was never any real confirmation. As well, hints about Aeon Calcos comings from soundtrack leaks (the same way Raphael was discovered early). Aeon Calcos in case you don't know, is the original Lizardman!

In addition to the return of the immortal Cervantes, Namco has revealed a new staff user by the name of "Xiba". Xiba, a character clearly designed around the Monkey King from the Journey to the West story in Chinese Folklore. Several months back, Daishi stated on his twitter that Kilik was an "ill-fated" character. With the introduction of Xiba, it begs the question: "What happened to Kilik?"

With all apologies to my erstwhile friend and fellow writer Hates, and you the readers, this piece was a little late for a couple of very important reasons; Skyrim, and of course, just plain writers block. Both of these things have been sorted now, so enjoy the article.

Before I go spouting off like I know things, a brief introduction. I've been participating in tournaments for fighting games since 1995. I've seen a ton of good tournaments and bad ones, and after 16 years of tournament experience, let me say this:

A Major Tournament is literally the most fun you can have with a fighting game, period.

Project Soul and Tokyo Game Night will be holding a special event for Soulcalibur V at TGN 30th Night, where there will be 14 hours of Soulcalibur V coverage in two 7 hour blocks, and is taking place at the Clark Memorial International High School in Akihabara, Tokyo, Japan.

The event, which will run from 12PM - 4AM Japan time, will include multiple sessions where the developers will talk about the game, exhibition matches with the development team, and a singles tournament. Further details, local start times, and an embed of the stream can be found after the break.

Gnouz Corp has posted a video interview with Soulcalibur V producer Hisaharu Tago that was conducted at Paris Games Week which took place a few weeks ago. The video covers Namco’s presence at the annual event, Ezio, Dampierre, the emphasis on online play, possible arcade release, and Tago-san's dream crossover project.

If you haven’t seen the video already in the Media section, you can check it out after the break.