Good news bad news time. First, the bad. If you're looking for something to spice up your free-to-play fancy, I'd suggest you go start collecting Blood Seals to try out Tekken Revolution's newcomer Eliza, because it'll be a while before Namco Bandai's next free-to-play fighter finally emerges. The developer recently announced that both Soulcalibur: Lost Swords and Ace Combat Infinity have both been delayed. Originally expected in the winter of 2013, a specific release hasn't been given, but the titles are expected next year.
Now, for the good news. Lost Swords' roster is getting an upgrade, as three other infamous fighters from the franchise are joining up. According to a press release, Nightmare, Pyrrha, and Astaroth have all been added to the game, and Namco Bandai as provided videos of them in action.
Nightmare - the main antagonist of the Soul series. He is the living incarnation of the cursed sword, Soul Edge, the objective of most other characters in the story. Under the sword's control, he perpetually hunts souls in an attempt to satisfy its evil hunger. He possesses an intense power and performs tough and instantaneous attacks.
Pyrrha - a young nomadic girl who was abducted as a child by minions of Soul Edge. Though she dislikes fighting, she exhibits surprising strength and defense when the odds are against her. Unbeknownst to her, she holds the innate ability to be the next vessel for the evil sword. Her excellent skills with a shield provide her with standout defense and her counter-attack stance proves useful while dodging an opponent's attacks.
Astaroth - a golem warrior created by the High Priest Kunpaetku of the cult Fygul Cestemus for the purpose of seizing the evil sword, Soul Edge. His existence comprises solely of instinctual destruction and slaughter. He is specialized in long-range attacks with his broad axe. He also possesses a tremendous ramming attack, as well as throws that maintain his superiority in battle.
These three join Siegfried, Heishiro, Sophitia, Taki, and guest from the Tekken series, Heihachi Mishima. The format will be similar to Tekken Revolution, with players alotted a certain amount of time to play the game. Once time is exceeded, more time can be purchased using tokens, which can be purchased via microtransactions. It's expected to be a slightly modified version of the most recent Soulcalibur title, Soulcalibur V. Modeling it after that game makes sense, as it's the game most players will be most familiar with, but it had mixed reviews upon arrival.
Joystiq, for example, said it's "simultaneously one of the best SoulCalibur games ever made, as well as the worst Soul Calibur game ever made." Still, it has managed to sell close to a million and a half copies since June. Even before the game arrived, it was the subject of a bit of controversy for its...well..."eye catching" advertisements.
