We may have been away from the blogs for a while, but Spiral Knights has kept on spiraling out, with new updates and lots more on the way … here’s what’s going on, on the planet Cradle!

First things first: If you’ve played the game at all, you know that it has an absolutely perfect soundtrack. I’ve been hoping for months it would be made available – and now it is! I find it is the perfect album to listen to while – and this is just an example – playing Spiral Knights. It somehow just seems to fit.

In seriousness I am a huge fan, and longtime gamers know that music and games have a special relationship. I mentioned this in my last Spiral blog, but the Spiral Knights soundtrack is pretty unique: a highly individual composition with a ton of personality, it stands out but is still pitch-perfect for the look & feel of the game. If you’re interested, the soundtrack is available on iTunes, Amazon, and Spotify as well.

Next things Soon: Or in other words, a quick look at what’s coming soon to Spiral Knights!

• Revamped Crash Site: For players who are new to the game, you’ll be seeing a new starting area designed to be more streamlined and engaging. The story of Spiral Knights is always evolving and you can always check to see how the new stuff leads into what we know so far …

• Danger Rooms Keep Rooms; Add Danger: The Danger Rooms – testing areas in Haven for Knights to hone and practice their skills – may have been lacking in one eponymous quality. Rooms, they were, but dangerous, not so much. Consider this problem fixed. Venture into the new iterations of these test chambers if you wish to be murdered by devious traps undertake a serious challenge.

• Candlestick Keep: Not just a new level but a new series of levels! Allow me to quote from the good folks at Three Rings, who have of course personally chronicled this mysterious and foreboding place:

“The Candlestick Keep is all that remains of the Owlite Academy, a once prosperous institution of the wise Owlites that pursued the advancement of goodly magical arts. However, the savage Kat Tribe, driven by jealousy of the Owlite’s wisdom and elemental powers, lead a massive siege on the Academy. Though successful in overtaking the Academy and destroying most of the Owlites within, the impulsive Kats quickly obliterated themselves by misusing the ancient grimoires found within the great library. Now all that remains are the spookats, lacking their corporeal forms, their minds, but still bound to this world.”

This level series features a new mechanic as well – Knights must light Owlite ward candles and stay within their light – and keep the flames burning, or else face dangers in the darkness which cannot be hurt by any weapons Knights yet possess!

Lockdown: The next PvP event is on its way – in case you want a break from blowing other Knights to tiny bits in the current Blast Network game, but still have murder in your hearts, Lockdown will give you the opportunity to engage in real Knight-to-Knight combat. But wait, there’s more!

Players fight for control points on a battlefield, where you can use whatever equipment you have. Add to this unique equipables from each team’s base for a very unique & strategy-based combat game!

Loadouts: As you Knights of the Spiral gain more and more gear with varied and strategic abilities, you no doubt have wanted a quick way to equip your gear. You are in luck! Spiral Knights will soon be adding the ability to save a set of gear and fast-equip it (this will be useful between various dungeons, or especially in battle arenas like the upcoming and aforementioned Lockdown).

Advanced Challenges To Come…: Nothing more is known right now about this – just that for those Knights who have reached the highest level of skill with the best gear, there is something brewing deep within the Clockworks, a true test of mettle!

Attention House of the Dead fans! Today we’re revealing  “Creeping Flesh,” the second of two exclusive levels from The House of the Dead: OVERKILL – Extended Cut.

Like “Naked Terror” (the first exclusive level we revealed),  you will once again play as strippers Varla and Candy (can’t complain there) as they fight their way through a slaughterhouse that has been taken over by…what can only be described as a meaty disease of sorts. Creeping Flesh delivers you more of the additional awesome content we’ve lovingly added to the extended, and definitive, edition of OVERKILL.

Using a host of weapons, watch your back as mutants go mad for blood! Blast bloody pieces out of their wretched bodies and uncover the mystery behind the Bayou County outbreak. New goodies like PlayStation trophies, new game modes and new content are outnumbered by only one thing: bullets! Will you defeat everything this freakish nightmare town throws at you or will you become mutant chowder?
The House of the Dead: OVERKILL – Extended Cut will be releasing exclusively on PlayStation3, and will be available in stores across North America on October 25, 2011 and across Europe on October 28, 2011.

To see more screens from Creeping Flesh, go to our Flickr set.

We’re excited to announce that Brick People, a unique arcade title with a blend of physical and digital gameplay, is coming to iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad this autumn. Brick People, a new family-friendly game played by stacking actual bricks in front of a video screen, has become a smash hit in arcades. Now, SEGA is bringing the fun of Brick People to mobile touch-screens, allowing new audiences the chance to digitally stack and snack with the game’s hungry little creatures.

“Players of all ages have really gotten hooked on Brick People in arcades,” said Haruki Satomi, Vice President of Digital Business at SEGA. “The concept of using actual bricks to play a video game is unique, but it’s instantly accessible, like handing somebody a set of blocks. It’s a timeless activity that resonates with everybody, and we know it’s going to translate well to touch-screens.”

Brick People tasks players with minding the game’s titular aliens, helping them reach an assortment of tasty snacks by building brick structures for them to climb. Builders will also have to keep an eye out for the Brick Monster, who will demand that players complete specific buildings in exchange for more game time. Brick People contains the following features:

• Tactile Gameplay: Build towers and bridges for the Brick People by pulling bricks from the stack and dropping them into place, using the iOS’ multi-touch interface
• Build with a Buddy: Compete head-to-head via Wi-Fi to out-build your friends, or compete on a single device in the iPad version
• See How You Stack Up: Build your Brick People reputation by going for high scores on the Game Center leaderboards, and tweet your tallest towers

We’re pleased to announce Rhythm Thief & the Emperor’s Treasure,  exclusively for Nintendo 3DS. In Rhythm Thief & the Emperor’s Treasure, players are immersed in the mysterious rhythmic adventure in the city of Paris, recreated in stunning 3D vision on Nintendo’s new handheld console. Pump up the tempo in early 2012 with the most mysterious musical adventure to hit the Nintendo 3DS yet.

“Rhythm Thief & the Emperor’s Treasure blends rhythm, puzzles and a compelling story set in one of the world’s most exciting cities in a way that has never been seen before,” says Gary Knight, Senior Vice President of Marketing at SEGA Europe and SEGA of America. “This unique blend makes creative use of the Nintendo 3DS’ technology, offering an engaging, challenging and most importantly fun experience throughout.”

Rhythm Thief & the Emperor’s Treasure sees players enter the secret life of Raphael, infamous among Parisians as an honorable thief for stealing famous works of art, only to return it days later. Dive into Raphael’s world and help him find the Wristlet of Tiamat to unmask the mystery behind his father’s disappearance. While unraveling the truth, players will encounter an assortment of different rhythm challenges to master. Tap the screen, swipe the stylus and control the gyro to the beat of the music to maneuver Raphael through the unique streets of Paris, brought to life by stylish animations and vibrant 3D maps and landscapes.

Rhythm Thief & the Emperor’s Treasure offers a unique enjoyable single player experience, as well as toe-tapping multiplayer and uses StreetPass. Unearth the clues hidden behind treasures scattered around Paris, call on your sense of rhythm and use all your puzzle solving skills to help Raphael get to the bottom of the mystery.

See more artwork and screens from Rhythm Thief & the Emperor’s Treasure on our Flickr.

 Trailer

To celebrate the final major of the Tennis calendar, US Open 29th August – 11th September, we will be running a few competitions with the help of a few of our friends around the globe, giving you the chance to win Virtua Tennis 4 Merchandise and copies of the game.

Tennis Grandstand Competition

Other competition links to the competition will follow shortly.

The prize package includes:

• Virtua Tennis 4 T-Shirt
• Virtua Tennis 4 Stress Ball
• Virtua Tennis 4  Key Ring
• Virtua Tennis 4 Drinks Bottle
• Virtua Tennis 4 Laptop Bag
• A copy of Virtua Tennis 4 PS3

Hey PAX, are you ready to party? We got so many compliments about how fun our PAXtravaganza party was last year. Well, we thought so too, so we’re doing it again! We will have 2 hours of free arcade play, a raffle for some special prizes, food, drinks, and fun! This party is open to the public (you don’t need a PAX badge to attend) and is open to all ages. We are letting people in on a first-come, first served basis and once we reach the venue’s capacity, we will be letting more people in as people leave.

Who: Open to the public, all ages allowed!

Where: GameWorks, 1511 7th Avenue, Seattle, WA

When: Saturday, August 27th from 6:00 PM until 12:00 AM

Food & Drink: We will have food and non-alcoholic drinks available for everyone. If you are 21 or older and would like to drink alcohol, you will be carded and given a wristband at the door. Alcohol will be served in the bar area only.

Game Play: You will receive a card good for 2 hours of free game play from the time you first start playing. You can re-load the card if you wish to keep playing after 2 hours. The card works in all arcade machines in GameWorks. We will not have any demos of games from the show floor at GameWorks.

Prizes: We will be raffling off 20 pieces (one per winner) of rare custom-made merchandise. But we’re not going to tell you what it is yet! Trust us though, you want it.

We created a Facebook event page for the event that you can RSVP on. Please note that doing so is optional and does not guarantee your entry to the party!

#SEGAPAX

We’ll be tweeting photos and updates from the show! Use and follow #SEGAPAX for all the tweets about our booth, our games, our party at Gameworks, or anything you find that’s PAX and SEGA related.

We’ll also be updating our Twitter, Facebook, and blog with news, photos, updates, and more throughout the show.

For our Knights of the Clockworks who are busy Spiraling Out to this year’s PAX:

We’re giving away an exclusive in-game costume item — the PRIME BOMBHEAD MASK (caps necessary, due to the capital nature of the mask) for Spiral Knights fans who drop by our SEGA booth!

Just stop by the booth and ask for a flier with a unique code on it — you can then go to http://www.spiralknights.com/pax/ to enter that code. Hope to see you there!

Attention, PAX attendees! Here’s your guide to all the great stuff going on this weekend with Rise of Nightmares

Hunt the Zombies!

Hunt the Zombies before they hunt you! The zombies will wander about for one full hour each day at PAX at 11am, 1pm, 3pm and 5pm. Take pictures of the Zombies, and tweet them using the hashtag #RiseatPAX. Then visit the Rise of Nightmares area of the Microsoft booth within the Kinect for Core area to claim your prize. One first place winner will get a Rise of Nightmares game,  and 19 second place winners will get Rise of Nightmares t-shirts.

Pre-Order at PAX, get a Limited Edition Poster

Place your pre-order for Rise of Nightmares at PAX, then come to the reception desk at the SEGA booth. Show us your pre-order confirmation and get a limited edition poster of the Rise of Nightmares box art. They’re awesome, and once they are gone, they are gone…so come get yours!

Play Rise of Nightmares

Whether you play at Microsoft’s booth or at the SEGA booth, make sure you make some time for Rise of Nightmares this PAX. And don’t forget to get a photo in our Rise of Nightmares electric chair!

To help students enjoy the last few weeks of their summer holiday, before heading back to school, SEGA are lowering the price of selected iOS titles. Enjoy discounts on classic games such as Streets of Rage and ChuChu Rocket! Make sure you take advantage of this offer but be quick as it ends on the 29th August.

To put some extra gaming in your backpack, visit the iTunes® App Store and hunt for SEGA.

Sale-priced titles:
• Golden Axe™ 2: $0.99/ £0.69 / €0.79/ AUD$0.99 (was $2.99/ £1.99/ €2.39/ AUD$2.99)

• Golden Axe™ 3: $0.99/ £0.69 / €0.79 /AUD$0.99 (was $2.99/ £1.99/ €2.39/ AUD$2.99)

• Streets of Rage™ 2: $0.99/ £0.69 / €0.79/ AUD$0.99 (was $2.99/ £1.99/ €2.39/ AUD$2.99)

• Streets of Rage™ 3: $0.99/ £0.69 / €0.79/ AUD$0.99 (was $2.99/ £1.99/ €2.39/ AUD$2.99)

• Gunstar Heroes™: $0.99/ £0.69 / €0.79/ AUD$0.99 (was $2.99/ £1.99/ €2.39/ AUD$2.99)

• ChuChu Rocket!™: $0.99/ £0.69 / €0.79/ AUD$0.99 (was $2.99/ £1.99/ €2.39/ AUD$2.99)

• ChuChu Rocket!™ HD (iPad): $0.99/ £0.69 / €0.79/ AUD$0.99 (was $4.99/ £2.99/ €3.99 AUD$2.99)