Month: April 2021

NOT EVERYONE GETS A SECOND CHANCE TO CONQUER THE ROMAN EMPIRE

Out now, Total War: ROME REMASTERED lets you relive the legacy that defined the award-winning strategy game series. With new and improved features such as fully overhauled visuals, ultra-high-definition resolution support, an expanded faction roster and improved accessibility, there has never been a better time to revisit a true classic.

Improved Visuals:

ROME REMASTERED ushers the classic strategy title into the modern gaming era with full 4K visuals*, native support for ultra-high-definition resolution and overhauled environment, battlefield, and character models.

*4K resolution and ultra-high fidelity unlocked by downloading the Enhanced Graphics Pack here.

New Gameplay Content:

Wage war across new fronts with 16 previously unplayable factions to play on top of the original 22 and send the new Merchant agents on missions to establish lucrative trade networks across the map, buy out rival Merchants, and assert your empire’s economic power.

Modernised Features:

Players can exercise more control than ever with new features such as a tactical map during battles, plus heat maps and icon overlays in campaign mode. Existing mechanics have also been improved, including an overhauled diplomacy system, wider camera zoom levels throughout the game, and camera rotation on the campaign map.

Improved Help Systems:

A swathe of improved support has been added, including a redesigned tutorial, a new in-game Wiki, expansive advice and tooltips, and improved accessibility for colour blind players.

Cross-platform Multiplayer:

Players can enjoy cross-platform PVP multiplayer between Windows, macOS and Linux, a first for the Total War franchise.

Complete Original Content:

ROME REMASTERED includes the Barbarian Invasion and Alexander expansions in glorious new detail, and players will also gain access to the original ROME: Total War Collection (only playable on Windows).

View the Total War: ROME REMASTERED Release Trailer HERE.

Find out more about Total War: ROME REMASTERED at the Total War website, or on Steam.

Your chance to pilot cutting-edge experimental war planes begins today as Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown’s “Experimental Aircraft Series” DLC has finally landed. This latest DLC package features three cutting-edge combat aircraft including:

Three playable aircraft:

• F-15 S/MTD (The Boeing Company)
• F-16XL (Lockheed Martin Corporation)
• FB-22 Strike Raptor (Lockheed Martin Corporation)

All three experimental aircraft feature enhanced performance and attack capabilities.

In addition to these three aircraft, new skins and emblems of enemy pilots and rival units from storied ACE COMBAT chapters of the past will be included in the “Experimental Aircraft Series” DLC package, including:

10 new enemy/rival unit aircraft skins:

• CFA-44 Butterfly Master Skin
• A-10A Varcolac Skin
• MiG-21bis Huckebein Skin
• YF-23 Z.O.E.Skin
• MiG-29 RedMoon Skin
• Su-35S Markov Skin
• Su-37 Markov Skin
• Su-33 Strigon Skin
• Su-47 Grabacr Skin
• Su-37 Ofnir Skin

10 new emblems will be made available, including:

• Four types of Nuggets emblems to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the ACE COMBAT series
• Six types of series emblems such as “Albireo” and “Beast”

Click here to see the Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown Experimental Aircraft Series DLC: Launch Trailer.

To find out more about Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown, head over to the games official website or via Steam.

With over 160m registered players, the legendary free-to-play shooter is ready for new recruits

Wargaming is pleased to announce that its flagship title World of Tanks has rolled onto Steam. From today, players of the regular PC version and Steam users will be able to fight side by side in the immersive PvP battles the legendary F2P strategic shooter is known for. The Steam version is available to new accounts only but will feature everything World of Tanks PC has to offer.

World of Tanks has thrilled millions of players around the world, introducing unique armoured warfare across dozens of detailed maps – releasing thousands of features, unleashing hundreds of events, whilst launching 11 nations and 600 vehicles.

Players will have the opportunity to experience realistic graphics and sound created to replicate the gritty atmosphere of tank warfare, get to master five different vehicle types to encourage balanced and exciting gameplay, explore unique maps based on battlefields and cities from across the world and perfect their skills in different game modes that will challenge their teamwork or individual tactics.

And, thanks to its loyal fanbase of tankers, it has also won 4 Golden Joystick awards and two Guinness World Records for the most players simultaneously logged on to an MMO server.

“At Wargaming, our greatest pride is that we created a game that players have loved and enjoyed for over 10 years. We’ve brought people together from around the world, and the strength of our community is unparalleled. I believe World of Tanks has become more than a game, turning into a genuine hobby for millions of our players – and it will remain that way for decades to come,” states Victor Kislyi, CEO of Wargaming. “It is always fantastic to see our game growing and embracing new players, and so I am proud to welcome the Steam community to our tanker family!”

For the first time, Steam players will be able to master hundreds of vehicles, hone their tanking tactics and skills and experience World of Tanks’ unique combat.

“We’re super excited to join forces with Wargaming to welcome World of Tanks to Steam and introduce this incredible game to the Steam Community. It’s the perfect time to hop in a tank and join the battle!” said Nathaniel Blue, Business Development, Valve.

For more information on World of Tanks, visit the games official website or stop by the new World of Tanks Steam page.

Warplan Pacific has been released and you can get it HERE.

WarPlan Pacific uses the same game system as the original WarPlan with additional features and improvements. The game covers all the nations at war in the Pacific theatre from December 1941 to 1945.

The game’s scale is massive, covering 62 different potential countries, in a map large 50 miles / 80km per hex using a modified Mercator map scaling to allow a flowing game that doesn’t overload the player. The land scale is 15k – 60k men, air scale is 300-400 aircraft and naval scale is 1 capital ship + support ships.

Did you miss out on the original WarPlan? We have a bundle deal available, so you can get both Warplan and Warplan Pacific together with a 25% discount. If you purchase WarPlan Pacific on our store, you will receive a key for free once the game becomes available on Steam.

Watch the Warplan Pacific Gameplay Trailer HERE.

For more information on Warplan Pacific, you can check out our product page on Matrix Games.

Source: Blue’s News

4A Games announces a May 6th release date for the Metro Exodus PC Enhanced Edition, saying the ray traced version of the first-person shooter will be available for Windows via the Epic Games Store, GOG.COM, the Microsoft and Steam. For those who already own the original version, the Enhanced Edition is a free upgrade. The post includes a FAQ and this overview:

It offers additional Ray Tracing features including Advanced Ray Traced Reflections and support for the much requested DLSS 2.0 on NVIDIA hardware, which offers sharper image details and increased framerates and display resolutions. Further collaborating with NVIDIA, this update improves our existing Ray Traced Global Illumination tech innovated with the original release of Metro Exodus to make every light source fully Ray Traced, and implements our Ray Traced Emissive Lighting tech from The Two Colonels throughout the game.

This upgrade is so extensive, it will require a Ray Tracing capable GPU as the minimum spec, and will be delivered as a separate product – it is not a simple ‘patch’ to the base game – instead it will be offered as an extra entitlement to all existing Metro Exodus PC players.

This edition of Metro Exodus can only run on Ray Tracing capable hardware; check out our Recommended PC Specifications chart to see what kind of performance you can expect.

Source: TechPowerUp!

NVIDIA today released the latest version of its GeForce Game Ready drivers. Version 466.24 WHQL adds optimization for Metro Exodus PC Enhanced Edition. This includes additional raytraced effects, and support for DLSS 2.1. Optimization is also added for Mass Effect Legendary Edition and Resident Evil Village. The drivers also add support for the DirectX 12 Agility SDK, and Shader Model 6.6.

The drivers also confirm the existence of a new hardware revision of the GeForce RTX 3060 12 GB graphics card, which will be generally available from mid-May, 2021. These cards will require at least GeForce 466.24. The revision will likely come with a different device ID from the original RTX 3060 12 GB, and will re-engage the hash-rate limiter. Read more about this card in our article from earlier this week, here. A handful bugs were also fixed. These include performance issues related to NVIDIA Reflex and Rainbow Six Siege; an artificial FPS cap when V-Sync is off on displays connected via HDMI 2.1; and an application crash with RigidGems Prepar3D.

You can download the GeForce 466.24 WHQL Game Ready drivers via GeForce.com.

Check out these latest hardware announcements for today from around the web. Also included are some hardware news bits, and on some days, a few rumors tossed in for good measure. Click on the links below to read the official press release, visit the products web page, or to an independent news source.

• EK Launches ROG Crosshair VIII Hero Monoblock in Full Nickel Flair
• Alphacool Presents Eiswolf 2 GPU-AIO for NVIDIA Ampere and AMD RDNA 2 GPUs
• SAPPHIRE Announces NITRO+ AMD RX 6900 XT Special Edition GPU
• Zotac Unveils The Zotac GAMING GeForce RTX 3090 ArcticStorm
• EK Water Blocks Unveils EK-AIO Elite 280 D-RGB CPU Cooler
• COLORFUL Introduces iGame M600 Mirage Gaming PC
• Thermaltake Unveils its Toughpower SFX Power Supplies
• Chieftec Announces Polaris Gold Series PSUs
• Razer Rolls Out Orochi V2 Gaming Mouse with HyperSpeed Wireless Technology
• MSI Announces the New Flagship Intel Z590 MEG Series Motherboards

New Expansion Promotes New Development

Why voyage to distant shores when there is treasure and plunder so near by? The gold of our vassals will decorate our palace, and piles of plunder from looted rivals will fund our improvements. It is said that true growth comes from within, that nothing lasting can be built on the ashes of war. We say that true growth can also come from the enemies you make along the way. Now, with Europa Universalis IV: Leviathan, you can harvest your foes for development and profit.

Available today, Leviathan is the latest expansion to Paradox’s celebrated historical grand strategy game, and the first developed by Paradox Tinto. Leviathan adds a number of new diplomatic and domestic options, with more opportunities for expanding and improving your nation’s position as it competes for power from the Renaissance to the Age of Revolution.

View the Europa Universalis IV: Leviathan Release Trailer HERE.

Features of Europa Universalis IV: Leviathan include:

• Improved Diplomacy: Cultivate relationships with your neighbors, curry favor so you can request gifts, military support and even provinces.
• New Regency Options: Regency councils represent the interests of the most powerful estate, and can be extended to delay the ascension of an unfit monarch.
• Specialized Colonial Nations: Let your colonies focus on military help, trade power or self-government.
• Concentrate Development: You can now steal development from your vassals or territorial possessions to enhance the power of your capital city.
• Pillage Capital: Loot an enemy capital as a condition of peace, hauling development back to the capital metropolis.
• Expand Infrastructure: Provinces can expand their capacity to build new structures and manufactories, allowing smaller nations to create centers of wealth for a modest cost.
• Centralize State: Reduce the cost of government by spending unused Reform points.
• Totemism: Nations that follow the Totemist religion can revere a pantheon of past leaders, earning bonuses that reflect the skills they had in life.
• Monuments: Expand and establish great projects, adding new bonuses to your empire.
• New Unit Models: New army sprites for Southeast Asian nations, including Indochinese, Indonesian and Polynesian nations.
• And more: Including the ability to carpet siege enemy provinces, draft transports as a plutocratic nation, watch heirs gain legitimacy as they wait to inherit the throne and other changes.

Leviathan is accompanied by a major free update available to all Europa Universalis IV players. The “Majapahit” update includes modifications to the maps of Southeast Asia and North America, with major gameplay changes for North American First Nations. It also adds Australian Aboriginal nations.

Europa Universalis IV: Leviathan is available at the Paradox Store and major online retailers for the suggested retail price of $19.99/£15.49/€19.99.

More game information is available at the Europa Universalis IV: Leviathan webpage, or on the expansions Steam page.

Soviet and German troops will engage in city battles using late WW2 weapons and gear

Gaijin Entertainment and Darkflow Software announce that WW2 online shooter Enlisted players can now join the Battle of Berlin campaign closed beta. This is the third campaign in the game that already features Battle of Moscow and Invasion of Normandy.

Watch the Battle for Berlin Campaign Trailer HERE.

In Battle for Berlin players will experience the intensity of dense city fighting that occurred during the last days of World War II, such as the assault on the Reich Chancellery, crossing of the Moltke Bridge, and suppressing resistance at the Kroll-Opera. Soviet and German troops use weaponry and vehicles that are typical for the late phase of the war, like the T-34-85 and Panther G tanks, Il-2-37 and Me 410 aircraft, and firearms like PPS-43, M30 Luftwaffe drilling, DT-29, Panzerfaust 100. This campaign also features rifles equipped with bayonet knives, that are perfect for close combat fans.

The Battle of Berlin closed beta is available to those who purchased the special “Battle of Berlin” Bundle. The testing is divided into two stages. Initially, players will only use predefined sets of squads without any upgrade options. This will allow the developers to test and polish the campaign missions. The second stage will unlock the progression system to test it as well. When the whole Berlin CBT is finished, the campaign will become available to everyone for free, as did the Battle of Moscow and Invasion of Normandy campaigns. There will be no wipe of any player progress they receive in the second phase of the beta.

The Berlin Early Access Bundle includes a premium squad of the 336th Rifle Regiment in the 120th Guards Rifle Division of the Red Army, PPD-40 DSZ submachine gun, a premium squad of the 652nd Grenadier Regiment in the Infantry Division “Berlin” of the Wehrmacht, MP 40/1 submachine gun and premium currency.

You can follow the latest Battle of Berlin Closed Beta Test and other news on the games official website.

It is now just a few days until Warplan Pacific releases. Already, our beta testers are sharing their opening moves, hoping for the best possible start in what are sure to be epic campaigns.

If you’ve joined us for our previous tours, you’ll know that Alvaro too, is quite the cunning strategist. So for this tour, he is doing something a little bit different and is bringing you a guide to his favourite opening moves, playing as the Axis.

If you are looking to learn or just excited to see more gameplay, be sure to give our final tour a watch.

Episode #7, Axis Opening Moves Tutorial

Remember, the official PDF manual is now available! You can download it here.

For more information on Warplan Pacific, you can check out our product page on Matrix Games.

Warplan Pacific will be released on the 29th of April.