It's back.

The users of GameFAQs have nominated 64 video game characters and it's time to let them battle it out. Starting September 12th, the 64-character winner-take-all tournament will begin. Using the Poll of the Day to decide, the most popular series will take the this year's title.

Year number five of the Character Battle is a battle between the sexes: Four 8-character female divisions, four 8-character male divisions. The winners of each meet in the final, and then it's time for the Battle Royale.

The four champion characters, Link, Mario, Sephiroth, and Cloud, will be joined by the top male and female characters from the final, and they'll all battle it out at once, with the character receiving the least votes being eliminated each day until only one remains.

Your mission is simple: Choose which character will win each day's battle. Fill out your best guess at how the final brackets will turn out, and win a prize. Don't forget: This is not a contest to see which character is your favorite, or even which one is the most powerful. It's all a big popularity contest, and visitors who have never visited GameFAQs before will be sure to stop in and vote.

For the first round of 32 polls, picking the correct series that wins that day's poll will score one point. For each successive round, picking the winner will earn double the points of the round before (Round 2: 2 points, Division Final: 4 points, Quarter-Finals: 8 points, Semi-final: 16 points, Final: 32 points). Each character placement that you correctly choose in the Battle Royale will earn an additional 8 points each. The sum of all points earned is your final score.

A valid GameFAQs Universal account is required to create a bracket, and in order to be eligible for the prizes, you must provide your real name and address. Once you fill out your bracket initially, you can make as many changes as you like, but you can only enter for prizes once per household or Internet connection, so if you share board accounts with others, make sure only one of you enters a prizes-eligible bracket. Due to legal restrictions, only residents of the US and Canada may enter the contest for prizes, but anyone with an account may enter a bracket (or more than one) for fun and bragging rights.

Remember: This is a popularity contest, and nothing more. While we do make every effort to stop individuals from voting numerous times without restricting anyone from voting that wants to legitmiately, outside forces can and will attempt to push the vote for their favorite. As in the past, we reserve the right intervene in the daily tally when there is a clear evidence of mass voting fraud. Take all of the above into the account when filling out your bracket!

This year's prizes are as follows:

• First Place: A $400 online store gift certificate
• Second and Third Place: A $250 online store gift certificate
• Fourth and Fifth Place: A $150 online store gift certificate
• Sixth-Tenth Places: A $50 online store gift certificate

The GameFAQs Great Character Battle V

OFFICIAL RULES

Sponsored by: CNET Networks, Inc., 235 Second Street, San Francisco, California 94105 (referred to herein as "CNET" or "Sponsor").

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. Submitting an entry constitutes your full and unconditional agreement to and acceptance of these Official Rules and the decisions of the Sponsor and judges which shall be final and binding on all matters relating to this Contest.

The GameFAQs Great Character Battle V (the "Contest") begins at 8:00 am Pacific Time ("PT") on August 26, 2006 and ends at 5:00 pm PT on September 10, 2006 (the "Entry Period").

1. The Contest is open to legal residents of the United States (except for Arizona) and Canada (except within the province of Quebec) who are at least 13 years of age or older as of August 26, 2006 and who have an active email account and Internet access. Employees of Sponsor, and its parents, subsidiaries, affiliates, and advertising and promotion agencies, and their immediate family members and those living the same household, are not eligible to participate. Void in Arizona, the province of Quebec and outside the United States and Canada or where prohibited by law. Contest subject to all applicable federal, state and local laws and regulations. Entrants under the age of 18 or those considered a minor in their state/province of residence must have their parent’s permission before entering.

2. During the Entry Period, to enter, complete and submit the online entry form located at http://www.gamefaqs.com/poll/cb5_entry.php. You must fill out your selections for the winners of a 64-character bracket, a bonus 6-character knock-out battle, and a tiebreaker (the "Entry"). You must submit the Entry no later than 5:00 pm PT on September 10, 2006 in order to be considered eligible. All parts of the Entry must be submitted as described herein or your entire Entry will be void. Entries submitted via any other method will be void. Limit one (1) Entry per person/household/e-mail address. Multiple Entries will be void. Use of any automated or programmed entry method or any false e-mail account will void all Entries made by that entrant. All Entries become the property of Sponsor and will not be acknowledged or returned.

Entry must be the original work of the entrant and must be exclusively owned by the entrant prior to entry. Entry must not have been submitted in any other competition or previously published. Entry must be in keeping with Sponsor’s image and may not be offensive, as determined by judges in their sole discretion, nor can it defame or invade publicity rights or privacy rights of any person, living or deceased, or otherwise infringe upon any person’s personal or proprietary rights. Sponsor reserves the right in its sole discretion to disqualify any Entry at any time in the event it is determined that the entrant has not complied with these Official Rules.

3. One winning Entry will be chosen by a panel of qualified judges on or around November 30, 2006 based equally on the following criteria: the ability to use their skill and knowledge of video game characters to accumulate the highest total number of points scored from characters chosen in the Entry. Any ties will be broken by the tiebreaker question. The judges’ decisions are final and binding on all matters relating to the Contest.

4. The Prize to be awarded from the Contest is as follows:

1st Place: One (1) Prize: An online store gift certificate with approximate retail value of $400.

2nd and 3rd Place: Two (2) Prizes: An online store gift certificate with approximate retail value of $250.

4th and 5th Place: Two (2) Prizes: An online store gift certificate with approximate retail value of $150.

6th through 10th Place: Five (5) Prize: An online store gift certificate with approximate retail value of $50.

Total approximate retail value of all prizes: $1450.

All federal, state and local taxes are the sole responsibility of the winner. 1099 tax statements will be filed with the IRS for the any winner whose prize value exceeds $600. Prizes will be awarded "as is" with no warranty or guarantee, either express or implied by Sponsor. Prizes cannot be transferred, substituted or redeemed for cash, except by Sponsor, in its sole discretion, who reserves the right to substitute a prize with one of equal or greater value.

5. The winner will be notified by mail or telephone at the email address or telephone number provided with his/her Entry. To claim their prize, winners (or their parent or legal guardian if a minor in their state of residence) must complete the Affidavit and General Release and W-9, if applicable, sent to winner by Sponsor within fifteen days of attempted notification. Potential winners who are Canadian residents may be required to answer a skill-based question in order to win and/or claim prizes. If a selected winner cannot be contacted, is ineligible and/or fails to respond to return the Affidavit and General Release and W-9, if applicable, within the designated time period, the prize will be forfeited and an alternate winner may be selected from remaining valid, eligible Entries. In the event of a dispute regarding who submitted an Entry, the Entry will be deemed submitted by the authorized account holder of the e-mail account specified in the Entry. "Authorized account holder" is defined as the natural person who is assigned to an e-mail address by an Internet access provider, online service provider, or other organization (e.g., business, educational institution, etc.) that is responsible for assigning e-mail addresses for the domain associated with the submitted e-mail address. No automatically generated Entries will be accepted. Sponsor is not required to choose a winner. Acceptance of a prize constitutes the winner’s consent to have his or her name released in a winner’s list which will be made available to the public.

6. Except where prohibited by law, by entering the Contest, each entrant agrees that Sponsor and its designees may use his or her name and likeness for advertising, promotional and other purposes in any and media now or hereafter known (including the right to post Entry on CNET’s websites) without further compensation or notification. Neither Sponsor, nor its parent, affiliates, subsidiaries, divisions, advertising and promotion agencies, or the respective officers, directors, employees or agents of the forgoing (collectively, the "Released Parties") are responsible for (i) any injury, losses or damages of any kind resulting from participation in this Contest or acceptance, possession or use of the any prize; or (ii) any warranty, representation or guarantee express or implied, in fact or in law, relative to any prize, including but not limited to its quality, mechanical condition or fitness. If for any reason the Contest is not capable of running as planned, including infection by computer virus, bugs, tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud, technical failures, or any other causes beyond the control of Sponsor, which corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness, integrity, or proper conduct of this Contest, Sponsor reserves the right at its sole discretion, to disqualify any individual who tampers with the entry process, and to cancel, terminate, modify or suspend the Contest, and judge entries from among all eligible, non-suspect entries received prior to such action. Released Parties assume no responsibility for any error, omission, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operation or transmission, communications line failure, theft or destruction or unauthorized access to, or alteration of, entries. Released Parties are not responsible for any problems or technical malfunction of any telephone network or lines, computer on-line systems, servers, or providers, computer equipment, software, failure of any e-mail or entry to be received by Sponsor on account of technical problems or traffic congestion on the Internet or at any Website, or any combination thereof, including any injury or damage to participant's or any other person's computer related to or resulting from participation or downloading any materials in this Contest. CAUTION: ANY ATTEMPT BY AN ENTRANT TO DELIBERATELY DAMAGE ANY WEBSITE OR UNDERMINE THE LEGITIMATE OPERATION OF THE CONTEST IS A VIOLATION OF CRIMINAL AND CIVIL LAWS AND SHOULD SUCH AN ATTEMPT BE MADE, CNET RESERVES THE RIGHT TO SEEK DAMAGES FROM ANY SUCH ENTRANT TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW.

7. By submitting a Entry, each entrant agrees Sponsor shall own the Entry submitted (including all rights embodied therein) and that it and its designees may exploit all elements of such entry in any and all media now known or not currently known (including the right to post Entry on Sponsor’s website), without compensation to entrant or any third party and without limitation to time or territory. The Sponsor reserves all rights, including the right to edit, publish, use, adapt, exploit, modify, copy, disseminate, post or dispose of any Entry, online, in print, film, television, or in any other media for advertising and promotional or other purposes without compensation or notification to the entrant of any kind, except as prohibited by law.

8. By entering this Contest, you agree and consent that any information you provide upon entering may be used by Sponsor in accordance with its Privacy Policy, available at http://www.cnet.com/html/aboutcnet/editorial/privacy.html?tag=ft. If you do not want your information used in this manner do not enter this Contest.

9. Winners Names: For the names of the winners, available after November 30, 2006, send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to: The Great GameFAQs Character Battle V Winners Names, CNET Networks, Inc. 235 Second Street, San Francisco, CA 94105 to be received by December 14, 2006. Vermont residents may omit return postage.