In a PR Blast that went out today, it was officially announced that Virtua Tennis 2009  will be compatible with Wii Motion Plus! The info had been rumored for months – and even semi-leaked – but now the news is out, and it also means something else that will be big for the game:

Virtua Tennis 2009 will be the first third party game released on the Wii to support Motion Plus!

I think we’re all pretty stoked to finally be able to announce this, as Motion Plus +VT has been in the works for many months, and the Wii version of the game will be able to really show off the capabilities that it can offer. (Of course, there’s also just something cool about knowing that Virtua Tennis is going to be among the first games ever to support it.)

Speaking of Virtua Tennis, I happen to have some of the SEGA/Virtua Tennis branded Tennis Balls that were given out to raffle winners at last weekend’s Cherry Blossom festival. If there are enough VT fans reading, I’ll see about hooking you guys up with them.

There is an event kicking off for The Conduit later today, which will unveil the long awaited Multiplayer to the world. A few lucky press and community sites will have a chance to test their skills alongside SEGA and High Voltage Software. Along with today’s event, we are happy to pass along new screens showing of the multiplayer in action. Take a look and let us know what you think!

Be sure to check them all screens here!

I’m pretty excited and looking forward to seeing everyone have a chance at the game. I’ll be attending the event and will be covering everything from Twitter with new information, images of the space, as well as posting an update tomorrow across our blogs. Enjoy the new screens, be on the lookout for a ton of new multiplayer info very shortly!

When the recent announcement of Valkyria Chronicles DLC hit, forums, front pages, and twitter feeds were abuzz with people counting down the days. But a few people I spoke with on forums had some questions about what exactly was coming in each pack of content – and specifically, you actually get a lot more in each than you might think from the one or two sentences that went out in the PR blast. That’s where community comes in.

One of the biggest packs that people were curious about was Hard Mode EX, and so I wanted to start first with that pack and explain just what you get for your buck (or five, in this case), as well as help clear up any confusion about how Hard Mode EX works.

So, let’s talk about what Hard Mode EX really is in detail. Hard Mode EX allows you to replay Skirmishes on Expert setting – but it doesn’t just mean things are harder and you don’t get the Edelweiss to fall back on. (Aww…) All in all, it’s much more than just harder opponents, starting with:

New Unlockable Weapons

By making your way through expert mode, you’ll be able to unlock a number of new weapons – seven of them, to be exact. (Which counts, especially when you’re trying snipe an incoming scout.) They include:

• Two new rifles
• One new machinegun
• Two new sniper rifles
• One new anti-tank lance
  
• One new flamethrower

All of which are pretty sweet – but shiny new weapons aren’t the only thing that will be added in besides the harder difficulty. There are also changes made to the opponents you’ll be facing.

Enemy and AI Updates

That’s a lotta enemy tanks.

• New Enemy Ace
• Slight changes to attributes for core enemies
• AI will now own you eight different ways simultaneously. Maybe nine.

Just like it sounds – not only is the enemy AI harder, but the core enemies have also been tweaked, and they’ve added in a brand new enemy ace. They don’t call it Expert Mode for nothing…

Unless you are a strategist God, initial playthroughs into Hard Mode EX will likely result in pain. A lot of pain. But it’ll be a good kind of pain – knowing that there’s light at the end of the tunnel in the form of new gear, and the fact that it’s finally more new content to play with.

Anyways, hopefully this has helped clear up any questions about all the stuff Hard Mode EX actually comes with. Tomorrow, we take a look at the second DLC pack – outnumbered and against all odds, is it really possible to survive in Edy’s Mission?

With masochist Homer and ‘manly-man’ Jann on your team, you’d better believe it. Well, mostly just Jann. But that could be because I can’t stop laughing every time I hear him talk.

Edy’s Mission coverage (But no spoilers!) is tomorrow!