If there was any doubt in your mind about which of the upcoming Tennis games was going to offer the most unique and enjoyable gameplay-  we’d like to officially put it to rest now.

Yes, you can actually fight pirates in one of the Mini-games in VT2009. (And they shoot cannonballs back at you.) I loved the mini-games in this series before I saw this – now I can’t wait to win some battles on the seven seas with a racket and a bunch of tennis balls.

If you’ve been reading the blogs the last few days, you’ve heard about the Conduit event and are probably wondering what juicy info is now out. From the community side of things, there have been a lot of articles and videos published from the hands on time with the game and of course, the High Voltage Software team. Take a look at the videos, articles, interviews below to get all the info on the Conduit’s

IGN has a great article featuring specifics on all game modes and have two videos up featuring footage from the event floor – grab them here, and here.

Nintendo World Report has a keen eye and was able to decrypt the symbols hidden across The Conduit.

Destructoid has a great interview posted with High Voltage Software Chief Creative Officer Eric Nofsinger. The Q&A covers a lot of new information on Wii speak and friend code integration.

Nintendo Everything has posted a list of all the key features, with detailed notes on the multiplayer modes, a lot of good info here.

GameTrailers had a chance to tape a three part walkthrough with David Pellas of High Voltage, take a look at videos one, two and three.

A lot of good info in these links, if you have any other links that I’ve missed, please pass them along and I will update the thread. Like what you see? Tell us about it here, or across our forums!

I really enjoy Thursdays.

Thursdays mean you’ve passed the middle ground of the week and are coming up on that glorious finisher we call Friday. Normally, I find them nice – today, Thursday is more than nice – it is absolutely fantastic. Valkyria Chronicles DLC is going live on PSN, and I’ve got more details for you Valkyria Fans, as well as a free Valkyria Chronicles Artbook to give away!

First, it’s time for the details on the DLC pack that everyone has been clamoring for since the beginning: Behind Her Blue Flame. Now some of you out there can pretend if you want to, but we all know the real reason you’ve been looking forward to this pack – something to the tune of a silver-haired, lance-wielding, beautiful queen of the battlefield known as Selvaria Bles. So let’s get to it.

The Battlefield seen from red eyes

One of the coolest things about Behind Her Blue Flame is that  you get to see the war play out from the eyes of the Empire.  I thought this was a really nice touch, as it brings up the often-forgotten fact that the soldiers of the Empire are people too – they fight for their own beliefs, have their own families, and, at least in Johann’s case, suffer from the same ailments – namely, fainting.

Johann (pronounced Yo-han), the main character in Behind Her Blue Flame, is an engineer whose squad gets folded into Selvaria’s regiment. This is good news for you, because otherwise you’d have absolutely no hope of beating these missions. This is also bad news for the Gallian troops, because Selvaria – as anyone who has played the main story knows – can one-shot tanks and units alike.

You’ll have to work to unlock her full powers, but even in her shocktrooper-esque mode she can run further than any of your units, run straight past incoming tanks and pretty much kill anybody or anything that looks at you the wrong way. Yes, it’s just as much fun as it sounds.

However, Selvaria dislikes pretty much anything to do with ragnite – meaning she won’t carry anything to heal herself with. She also can’t get past barricades by herself since she has no grenades, meaning that Johann has to stick right by her side, both to heal her and clear the way for her to mow down some more Gallian troops. Especially in the first mission, make sure you keep Johann just behind her, or you’ll spend a lot of time later trying to have him catch up.

Unlockables, New Missions, and interesting situations with Selvaria

Thanks Otto, you jerk.

Here’s the lowdown on what you get in the Selvaria Pack:

• Four new missions, playing as the Empire
• New unlockable weapon in the main Gallian campaign
• Fan-freaking-tastic Voice acting (Serious props to the actors for Selvaria, Johann, and Otto)
• Bonus unlockable mission made of pure win

I’m not going to spoil what you get for completing all of the missions, but after I played it today I can wholeheartedly say it is awesome. You’ll probably be smiling the entire time you play the bonus mission, and for good reason.

Of the three, the Selvaria pack by far gives you the most new content in regards to storyline. You’ll get to see what Selvaria is like outside of battle – and, thanks in part to Johann’s fainting you’ll find yourself in one or two rather awkward situations: like waking up on Selvaria’s bed. I’ll let you guys discover how that one plays out…

Valkyria Chronicles – Contests and Free Merch

Do you guys remember the blog post where I asked you which communities and fansites you wanted SEGA to reach out to for contests and giveaways? With DLC coming out today, it’s time to unleash a slew of sweet Valkyria goodness upon the fans as a thank you from SEGA for the amazing support you guys have shown for this game in your communities and across the web. I’ll be posting here with details on each contest as it goes live – as a teaser, it should be known that some of those limited edition pre-order art books (the ones that sell for as much as the game) might just show up, and there may also be some imported collector’s figurines going out too… stay tuned!

Now then, a mini-giveaway to get the celebration started: If you’re the first person to comment on this blog post saying “I LOVE VALKYRIA CHRONICLES!”, I’ll hook you up with one of the Valkyria Chronicles pre-order artbooks. Of course, even if you aren’t the first, you can still add your comment to the list – if you’re as excited as we are about today, add in your voice and let us know!

The wait is finally over, but the fun (and free stuff) is just getting started.

Happy Valkyria Chronicles DLC Day everyone!

Now that you’ve seen the cool hand-drawn Let’s Tap artwork along with a Tap Runner figurine and the soundtrack, I thought it was a good time to delve deeper into Let’s Tap, and the unique way the game is played.

Let’s Tap is the pioneer game from studio Prope, created by Yuji Naka. It will be released this summer, and is a Wii exclusive. It is ESRB rated E for Everyone, with Comic Mischief.

Instead of picking up the Wiimote and moving it around while you press buttons, in Let’s Tap you’ll set the Wiimote down on a box or a table. You don’t touch it at all. Instead, you tap on the box or table, and the Wiimote picks up the vibrations from your tapping and controls the game. (Outlandishly large fingers not required.) You’ll tap at different times, speeds, and pressures depending on the game you’re playing and what you want to do.

There are a few different games to be played in Let’s Tap including Tap Runner, Bubble Voyager, Rhythm Tap, Silent Blocks and Visualizer. All games are for 1-4 players except Visualizer, which is single player only.

Tap Runner

Tap Runner is a racing game. Tap your fingers on the box gently and steadily to run, tap slower to walk, and tap hard once to jump. There are 16 different courses, each with obstacles like hurdles, ice walls, and electric fields.

At the Cherry Blossom Festival last weekend, there were a lot of people gathered around Tap Runner to watch as people raced each other. Judging by the laughter and cheers coming from the Let’s Tap booth, everyone really enjoyed it.

Bubble Voyager

In  Bubble Voyager, you are flying around in a space suit. If you’re playing alone, you tap to keep yourself afloat through many levels filled with dangerous objects, and  double tap to launch a missile. In multiplayer matches, you will shoot each other to win.

Rhythm Tap

If you like Tap Tap Revenge, you’ll love Rhythm Tap. Tap light, medium or hard in sync with the music and visual cues on the screen. All of the original Japanese music will be included in the US release of the game, which is fantastic. These songs are quirky, catchy, and lots of fun.

Silent Blocks

This game is for all the Jenga fans. You have a tower of red and blue blocks, you need to remove pieces (using light and hard taps) while still keeping  your tower standing. You can select which piece to remove, which direction to pull it in, and how quickly or slowly you want to remove it.

Visualizer

Visualizer is like the zen garden of Let’s Tap. Play alone or take turns in several stages including Fireworks, Paint, River, Gem Game and Ink. Tapping with light, medium and hard strokes produces on-screen effects ranging from a fireworks display to undersea bubbles. In special tap sequences, various sea animals will appear.

So there you have it! Once you get in the tapping groove, you’ll have no trouble playing this unique and fun game. There are more screenshots and images on our Flickr page, so head over there for more tapping fun.