Conduit 2 is now officially announced and we are very happy to unveil the title to our fans along with some of the new features, screens (peppered throughout), and a special Q&A from the High Voltage development team. First are features, as taken from our press release (which you can read in full across our website) has the following morsels of info:

Building upon the success of the original, Conduit 2 will take players to the far reaches of the world to stop an alien invasion that can be fought in single-player, online multi-player battles, and all-new off and online co-op modes. Armed with advanced and powerful weapons, players can expect massive action in large, multi-tiered levels featuring dynamic environments, cinematic battles, giant boss enemies, and deep customization features.
Conduit 2 introduces Team Invasion Mode, the new co-op mode where players will be able to battle side-by-side with up to four friends on the same screen. Additionally Team Invasion Mode can be played online.
Conduit 2 also features a new and more expansive 12-player online competitive multiplayer mode with larger and more intricate indoor and outdoor battlefields. Conduit 2 supports Nintendo® Wi-Fi Connection, Wii Speak™ and offers increased multiplayer security for a better online gameplay experience.

As you can see, we’re taking the good stuff from Conduit 1 and expanding with all sorts of improvements and updates. We’re excited and we hope you are too.

Get Your Face in Conduit 2

We know we are nothing without our fans, and we’ve created a special sweepstakes to get one lucky fans face into the Conduit 2 game. We’re still putting on the finishing touches, but you can head to to bookmark the page and come back on April 2nd to be of the first to apply.

Q&A with High Voltage Software

I know what you are thinking, but you are wrong, we don’t hold back and ask the tough questions! Read on in our Q&A with High Voltage:

Describe yourself in three words so our readers/followers/fans know who you are
[Josh Olson] Josh Olson, producer
[David Pellas] Husband, Father, Hardcore-gamer

Please describe Conduit 2 in two words
[DP] Crafted experience
[JO] Whole lotta.

And now describe the game in three words please
[DP] The complete package
[JO] Whole lotta love.

Is there anything about the first Conduit you didn’t like at all?
[DP] Simple level design, online hackers, and the cliffhanger ending.
[JO] Quite a few things – ASE wasn’t well implemented, level design was a bit pedestrian, and we didn’t mix up the core gameplay experience in any meaningful manner. That core experience was fun – but it did get repetitive.

And will this be fixed in Conduit 2? (Hey, don’t read this question before answering the one above – we hate cheaters!)
[DP] Yes, yes, and yes.
[JO] Yes. And we hate cheaters too.

Please tell us something about the multiplayer features of Conduit 2 – we’ve heard they rock. Is this true?
[JO] It is true. They rock. We have bi-weekly company multiplayer sessions – moving forward with the foundation we laid with TC1 was great in that multiplayer worked from Day 1 of development – which has allowed us to iterate and test a lot of new things…as well as shooting our company management in the face. New weapons, maps, and game modes are no-brainers – but we’ve additionally spent a lot of extra attention on making the experience more rewarding and nuanced for players. A class system is in place where you can set distinct weapon load-outs to include suit upgrades (perks). Weapon sets are a thing of the past. We’ve added a sprint button. Teammates can be revived. In addition to the level rank and ELO matchmaking systems, we have an additional currency system that lets you purchase upgrades, be they weapon and suit upgrades, or different armor pieces to customize your character’s look. On the art front, we’ve more fully embraced the sci-fi, and have a lot more variety in our environments. TC1 multiplayer was a lot fun – but a bit basic. We’re changing that with Conduit 2.

[DP] While we are very proud of the online multiplayer action in Conduit 1, we are working very hard to provide a complete multiplayer gaming experience in Conduit 2 by offering more unique gameplay modes, unlockables, perks, character customization, and we are not limiting ourselves to online only any longer. Gamers will be able to compete online and offline via splitscreen and we are very excited about that.

Would you say Conduit 2 will be the best Wii shooter ever?
[JO] Hmmm…smells like a trap. (smiles) We’ll let the fans decide. We learned a lot of great lessons on TC1 and feel we’re avoiding a lot of our missteps in the first title.
[DP] We are polishing and refining the experience from Conduit 1. We have incorporated much of the feedback that we received from Conduit 1 and have listened to what people liked and disliked from our competitors.

Would you say these questions are the best questions ever?
[DP] They certainly are the best questions I have seen in the last 2 hours.
[JO] A close second. You didn’t ask if we have a big-head mode or sasquatches in our game.

Wait, there’s more! For more information, be sure to pick up this month’s Nintendo Power with a full 8 page article on Conduit 2 with additional information and screenshots. As always, head on over to our forums to discuss the news and updates!

NOTE: This week’s giveaways will all happen between 9am and 12pm US Pacific time as Sega of America has a half-day of work due to the Good Friday holiday.

We’ve pulled together some great prizes for you this week, including a mystery prize. Let’s get to the video!

On the Block

1. Sands of Destruction pack

Get yourself some cool Sands of Destruction wristbands along with a rare glossy folder straight from Japan.

Congrats to our winner @KirbyGCN17!

2. Alpha Protocol pack

Get an Alpha Protocol T-shirt (winner picks size S-XL) and a brimmed beanie hat with the Alpha Protocol logo.

Congrats to our winner @KevinBarclay!

3. Resonance of Fate pack

Two t-shirts for the taking — a brown shirt (winner picks size S-XL) and a white shirt (sizes M & L only).

Congrats to our winner @Mooshywooshy!

4. Phantasy Star pack

A Phantasy Star Zero rappy t-shirt (winner picks size S-XL) along with an inflatable rappy and PSU figurine.

Congrats to our winner @Azrane!

5.  Yakuza pack

Some Yakuza temporary tattoos, a red Yakuza lighter from Japan, and some Yakuza-branded hangover remedy pills from Japan.

Congrats to our winner, @gorbitron!

6.Mystery Box

In the mystery box was a super rare, ultra limited edition, Ecco: Water Wars 2 plushie.

Congrats to our winner @foxsnipe!

How it Works

1. You must be following us on Twitter to be eligible. (If you don’t have a Twitter account, you can create one by going to http://www.twitter.com and click the green “get started — join!” button in the center of the page.)
2. At random times on Friday, we will announce the prize we are giving away, and what number of response you need to be to win. Send us a direct message (DM) via Twitter and be that number to win the prize. (@ replies do not count as entries!)
3. All followers are eligible to win all prizes, unless a restriction is noted. Restrictions are usually due to the prize being region-locked. For example, US games that won’t work on UK gaming systems. There may also be age restrictions due to the rating of the game.
4. We will announce the winner on our Twitter feed once eligibility is confirmed.

Make Sure We’re Following You on Twitter

If you are currently following us on Twitter, please be sure that we are following you as well. You can do this by making sure that SEGA is in your “followers” list, or by going to DoesFollow and typing SEGA in the first blank, your Twitter username in the second, and pressing the “check” button. You can reverse this to be sure that you are following us. If you are following us, but we’re not following you, please send a message to @SEGA and we will follow you. This is important, because only people we follow can send us direct messages (DMs), and DMs are the only way to enter the giveaways.

How to Send Direct Messages on Twitter

There are a few ways to send us a Direct Message on Twitter. The easiest way is to go to our Twitter page and select “message” under the “Actions” heading in the side bar. If you do not see “message”, this means that we are not following you. Please send a message to @sega to let us know, and we will follow you. When you click “message” you will be taken to a window where you can type a message and press send.

You may also select the “direct messages” tab from your Twitter homepage, and select SEGA from the drop-down menu at the top of the page. Again, if you don’t see our name there, it’s probably because we’re not following you. Let us know, and we’ll follow you.

There are also many Twitter clients that you can use instead of using the website. These include TweetDeck, Twitteriffic, Tweetie, and Twhirl. Each of these programs works differently, so you’ll want to figure out how to send a direct message on the program you use. If you want to send us a test message, we’ll let you know if we received it or not.