Valkyria Chronicles cake, of course – Artemio from twitter sent over this awesome picture to us about a Valkyria Chronicles cake his girlfriend made him for his birthday – everyone should recognize Squad Seven member Alicia, emblazoned in sweet, sticky icing below:

Here’s the cake halfway through creation…

… and the finished product! This cake is no lie.

I did a bit of art in high school, and I think it’s worth noting that cake icing can be amazingly difficult to work with – serious props to your girlfriend, Artemio!

If anyone else has some awesome Valkyria Chronicles fan projects they’re proud of, send them our way and you might just spot your work here on the SEGA Blog!

I’ve got a unique opportunity coming up for The Conduit and SEGA community.  Next week I’m off to Chicago to meet the team at High Voltage Software, tour the studio, and ask questions all about The Conduit for an upcoming SEGA podcast.  I’ve got a few questions of my own, but I really want to get questions from everyone in the community who are excited about this upcoming release.

We’ll be pulling questions from a variety of sources, including our forum and here on the blog.  If you are interested in any part of the Conduit, let me know and I’ll do my best to get it answered.

Check back on the blogs next week and I should have some photos of the studio, the team, and their work environment.  Looking forward to hearing from everyone!

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1/29/09 – Update – I was informed today that our trip has been postponed to 2/24/09.  Keep the questions coming and look for studio tour pics later next month.  I’m a bit bummed to push the trip back, but maybe it’ll get a bit warmer in Chicago (I can dream!).

We’ve recently updated PlaySEGA with four new games to help drive your day to day productivity down every further.

Blox & Bones
Blox and Bones is a game for budding pirates who’ll have to spin blocks of squares and match up colors and icons to stop their pirate galleon from sinking. If you manage to blow up bonus squares, you’ll find yourself with more ammo for your cannons. The most fire power you have, the easier it will be – but levels get trickier as time limits lessen in the later stages!

SEGA Pool
Take your cue and head to the table, this classic game will have you clearing up the table. Strike the cue ball in a break and see if you will be spots or stripes, then sink your balls all the way to the black. Real pool sharks will want to pot everything in site as quickly as possible in the Time Challenge.

The Quiz of Culinary Delights
A quiz game for all those with a taste for culinary knowledge. Take this foodie challenge to see if you are a mini master chef!

Military Command
All out warfare has never been so much fun! Generals need to enact their strategy as they deploy their tanks in the best positions on the battlefield. In this game of attack and defense, thinking hard about which position is most suitable for every unit is the key for victory.

Of the games listed, I’m quite a fan of  Blox & Bones, a simple to pick up but challenging to master puzzle game.  I enjoy the simplicity and was able to quickly get in and earn some rings for my escape.

You’ve read about it, you’ve seen it in action, now check out the units you’ll be using in The Creative Assembly’s newest RTS title…Stormrise™. In The Creative Assembly’s first foray into console RTS gaming, they’ve pitted two factions against one another. There are the Echelon, a technology driven society, awaken from a long hibernation to reclaim the Earth. Then there are the Sai, those left behind by the Echelon on the surface of a horrifically storm stricken Earth to face the elements. The Sai have been the stewards of Earth’s surface since the great storms arose and are not going to give it back to the Echelon without a fight.

Echelon Enforcers

Enforcers are the troops on the frontline, bringing peace and security to all who fall under the wing of the Echelon.  Determined to bring the civility of the past to the chaos of the frontier, Enforcers serve with utmost loyalty to the Chancellor. They are protected by tactical combat armour and heavily armed with an assault rifle/grenade launcher combo.

SPECIAL Abilities

• Grenades: The Enforcers can launch a barrage of explosive grenades at their enemies.
• Riot Shield Up: The Enforcers activate their energy Riot Shields and hunker down behind them for increased protection.

Echelon Infiltrators:

The arbiters of justice, Infiltrators seek out the hidden enemies of the Echelon and dispatch them with a high velocity shot to the skull. Trained from a young age to join the elite ranks of the Echelon infantry, Infiltrators are supreme scouts and deadly accurate snipers. All Infiltrators are armed with the best field camouflage armour and a large calibre high velocity rifle. The Infiltrator always strikes its target.

SPECIAL Abilities

• Thermal Vision: The Infiltrator is able to detect and target any hidden and cloaked units within view.

Echelon Prowlers

Prowlers are moderately armoured but highly mobile vehicles that provide security both on the ground and in the air. Unmatched for their versatility, Prowlers engage land and air targets with turret-mounted twin cannons. Echelon Commanders know that when these cats are on the prowl, the enemy better watch out!

SPECIAL Abilities

• Search the Skies AA Mode: The Prowler transforms into a stable gun platform to shoot down airborne targets.

Sai Rangers

Rangers perform two functions within the Sai hierarchy. Firstly they scout the frontiers for dangerous mutants, alerting Sai villages if they are in danger and secondly, Rangers form into Militia Platoons in time of war, providing the most common form of troops available to Sai commanders.  Armed with basic armour and an assault rifle, Rangers are best deployed in numbers.  When the Rangers’ battle fervour is heated they will charge into combat heedless of danger. They can also fire Sai energy charges at air targets.

SPECIAL Abilities

• Sai Anti Air Rockets: The Rangers can fire Sai energy charges at airborne units from their unusual weapons.
• Commando Rush: The Rangers call forth their natural aggression and rush into combat completely ignoring the dangers around them but increasing their damage.

Sai Spectres:

The silent knives in the night, Spectres are a true nightmare for Echelon soldiers to handle.  They have an exceptional ability to control Sai energy, having been trained from a young age to manipulate the energy in different ways.  Able to project swords made out of energy from their arms, the Spectres can slash their way through nearly all opposition.  The Spectre can also bend light at-will to cloak itself, making it nearly invisible to the naked eye, only being given away by a slight shimmer.  The fact that Spectres can also use mind control could be the most terrifying thing of all.

SPECIAL Abilities

• Mind Control: The powerful mind of the Spectre can temporarily dominate any enemy except for commanders.
• Cloak: The Spectre can warp light around itself to hide from enemy sight.  The shimmering can be detected from up close though.
• Rapid Slice: The Spectre goes into a slashing frenzy, destroying any infantry within its reach.

Sai Scorpions

The Sai may not be as technologically advanced as the Echelon but that doesn’t mean they don’t have machines.  Scorpions are off-road vehicles used to patrol the wastes around Sai villages and to provide light strike power for when Sai forces go into combat.  The Rangers enlisted to drive them revel in the freedom of thrashing their machine around and firing off the back mounted machine gun.

SPECIAL Abilities

• Sting: A ceramic shell-filled with Brood acid charged with Sai energy. On impact it does minimal damage, but greatly reduces the armour where the shell hit.

All of these images and more are in our Stormrise photo set on Flickr.

Today we announced 9 unlockable games for the upcoming Sonic’s Ultimate Genesis Collection, will will be available February 10th, 2009. The unlockable games are:

Golden Axe Warrior (SEGA Master System)

Phantasy Star (SEGA Master System)

Alien Syndrome (Arcade)

Altered Beast (Arcade)

Congo Bongo (Arcade)

Fantasy Zone (Arcade)

Shinobi (Arcade)

Space Harrier (Arcade)

Zaxxon (Arcade)

We also released over 40 new screenshots. Check out our Flickr Slideshow to see them all!

Poland is an old idea, and an old kingdom. Like anything old, it has old enmities and problems.

The problems, and enmities, are those of any state surrounded by ambitious rivals, all of whom are looking to become stronger at someone else’s expense. Sweden’s ambitions to create an empire around the Baltic; Tsar Peter’s desires to make Russia a great European power to rival the style of Bourbon France; the Austrians and Prussians each seeking to define a greater Germany and secure their borders; even the distant Ottomans have to be considered, should they ever launch a new assault on Christian Europe. And in the middle of all of this, a Polish-Lithuanian state that is not under the control of a single, strong ruler, a man who can impose his will to defend his people. Instead, Poland is something altogether stranger: a land where the people have a say in government.

That the country has survived at all is a tribute to the spirit of its people.

And yet, these rivalries could be turned to advantage. A Polish leader who picked his alliances carefully, and his wars equally so, could do much to make his country great. The Russians have no divine right to dominate the steppes, or the Swedes to control the Baltic. The various Germans states need allies, the same as other nations, and cannot expect to take anything they want without a struggle. A clever Polish leader could make much of this situation, if he can manage the hopes, expectations and fears of his people at home.

To read about all the factions in Empire: Total War, visit the game’s website.

These fierce Highland warriors intimidate all enemies with their wild skirling attacks and barbarous apparel. Highland clans are the last tribal society in Western Europe. Men fight for their chieftains because they are expected to defend their clans’ honour and lands. They fight for these in the same way that they have done for centuries: with the broadsword and buckler, pistol, and Lochaber axe. There is little that regular line troops find as disturbing as the sight of a clan bearing down on them, screaming their hate and defiance. Highland Scots are brave, hard men.

To read more about the Clansmen, and see a rotatable image, visit the Empire: Total War site.

IGN has posted two new movies featuring some nice details about The Conduit.  The videos cover a lot of cool features, such as the controls and graphical effects.  Check them both out here and have a great weekend!

Thanks to everyone who entered our Samba De Amigo contest!  The contest is now closed and we will be deciding the winners shortly.  Once the winners have been confirmed, we will update this page to include the winners list.  Good luck to all who entered!

Check out the new trailer for Empire: Total War, which features Multiplayer capabilities.