Whether you have played any of the SoulCalibur games or not, chances are you probably know that since
SC2, one of the quirks of the
franchise has been the use of recognizable special characters, starting with the
inclusion of Link, Heihachi Mishima, and Spawn in the GameCube, PS2, and Xbox
versions of SoulCalibur 2,
respectively. Well, those looking
forward to the January 31st, 2012 (or February 3rd in
Europe) release of SoulCalibur V who are curious about new guests to the roster need wait no longer, as screenshots were
leaked last week that show Ezio Auditore da Firenze of Assassin’s Creed 2 fame
as one of the secret characters. 
In SoulCalibur IV, the inclusion of the Star Wars characters Yoda (on 360) and Darth Vader (on PS3) seemed a strange fit for the setting, but Ezio does seem like someone who belongs in this universe. Also, considering the past games, it would not be surprising if they limited Ezio to one platform, and then released another character that would be exclusive for the opposing platform. But Ezio has always been a multiplatform character, so maybe they have decided that everybody’s favorite assassin will come out across all platforms, which might also increase the tournament potential of the game, because everyone would be playing with the same roster across all platforms. Nonetheless, look out for SCV in early 2012 and a review of the latest Assassin’s Creed game, Revelations, on the site soon.