First-Person Shooters

By John Papadopoulos @ DSOGaming

Victura and Highwire Games, have released the first gameplay trailer for Six Days in Falljuah. Six Days in Falljuah is a tactical first-person shooter with procedurally generated mission spaces based on real-life events from 2004’s Second Battle for Fallujah in the Iraq War.

Victura and Highwire have spent more than three years building unique technologies and game mechanics that bring players closer to the uncertainty and tactics of modern combat than other video games have explored.

Over 100 Marines, Soldiers, and Iraqi civilians who were present during the Second Battle for Fallujah have shared their personal stories, photographs, and video recordings with the development team. The game gives these stories voice through gameplay and first-person accounts captured in original documentary interview footage. Six Days in Fallujah aims to be the most authentic military shooter to date and to tell these military and civilian stories with the integrity they deserve.

The game currently targets a 2021 release date.

CI Games takes the Sniper Ghost Warrior series to new heights — and distances — when Contracts 2 launches for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PC, and previous gen consoles on June 4th, 2021. Physical pre-orders are now open!

Today, CI Games is excited to reveal the very first look at Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts 2 gameplay. This new trailer showcases the next-generation of Sniper’s best-selling series, as Contracts 2 elevates Sniper Ghost Warrior to new heights – and distances! – with its 1000m+ extreme-range sniping feature. As contract sniper assassin Raven, players will utilize authentic gear and weaponry across large-scale sandbox maps as they track and eliminate targets using a variety of approaches. Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts 2 launches on June 4th, 2021 for PS5, PS4, Xbox SeriesX/S, Xbox One and PC.

Pre-orders for physical editions on PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One and PC are now live and include an exclusive weapons and skins bonus pack (at selected stores only). Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts 2 will launch at $39,99 / €39,99 / £34,99 / AUD69,95 on consoles and $29,99 / €29,99 / £24,99 on PC.

The Sniper Ghost Warrior series is the best-selling first-person sniping franchise of all time selling over 11 million copies worldwide, and CI Games is eager to continue building on this success with the highly-anticipated sequel. Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts 2 marks the most thrilling entry yet, adding an entirely new level of challenge with the extreme-range sniping of targets over 1,000 meters away, in addition to an arsenal of other new features:

• 1000m+ extreme-range sniping
• A dramatic single-player campaign set in modern day Middle East, with 5 distinct sandbox maps featuring a variety of fully accessible, interactive areas players can approach their own way
• Next level realism with authentic gadgets and weapons customizable to fit different styles of play
• Replayable missions that can be completed in a number of ways, with unlockable rewards for achieving all objectives
• More intelligent adversaries with improved tactics
• Next-generation features include enhanced visuals, native 4k resolution, and improved loading times, setting a new benchmark as the best looking Sniper Ghost Warrior game thus far

Players eager to snipe an early copy of Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts 2 can pre-order physical editions of the game for PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, and Xbox One platforms. By doing so, snipers will unlock the following exclusives (at selected stores only):

• Marcus Tactical: A light sniper rifle with great stability
• FFF-45 ACP Luring Pistol: A side arm with special luring ammo
• Two Weapon Skins.

Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts 2 will launch for PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One and PC platforms on June 4th, 2021. Pre-orders are available now for physical editions or you can add Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts 2 to your Steam wishlist.

For more information about Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts 2, head to www.SniperGhostWarriorContracts2.com.

Developed with the help of the Arma 3 community, all proceeds will go to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to help thousands of people affected by warfare worldwide.

Bohemia Interactive is pleased to announce the release of the Art of War charity DLC for Arma 3. The DLC is available on Steam and features a walk-in museum with art made by the community, as well as premium content for USD $1.99 to help raise funds for the International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC). Those who wish to donate more can choose a higher price (USD $4.99 or USD $9.99), with all of Bohemia’s proceeds (after tax) donated directly to the ICRC.

Watch the Arma 3 Art of War – Charity Pack Trailer HERE.

To support the release of the Art of War DLC, the Arma 3 base game and all of its other premium downloadable content are currently on sale on Steam, with discounts ranging between 50-75%. This time-limited offer will end on March 1.

The Art of War DLC features an in-game art exhibition of community artwork under the theme “International Humanitarian Law in future conflict” which was submitted as part of Arma 3 Art of War contest. With Art of War, both organizations hope to raise a sizable monetary contribution to the ICRC’s humanitarian efforts as well as spread awareness about International Humanitarian Law. To help shine a light on the topic, the DLC’s premium package adds a special single-player combat scenario-focused around the topics of protecting cultural property in war zones and autonomous warfare.

Additionally, the premium DLC features new game assets such as a formal suit, a parade uniform, a new backpack, and various t-shirts, alongside several props related to art galleries and memorials. These items provide unique opportunities for Arma 3 roleplaying and user-generated content. The DLC release is complemented by a set of extra Arma 3 Steam Achievements for players to unlock.

Arma 3 Art of War DLC – Key Features

The purchase of the Arma 3 Art of War Charity Pack adds the following premium content in addition to the DLC free content which is available to all Arma 3 players.

Premium

• Showcase Cultural Property – Experience International Humanitarian Law in action and help protect a valuable work of art in a new single-player scenario.
• Formal Suit – Don several color combination outfits for the sharpest of dressers.
• Parade Uniform – Equip faction-specific dress wear for formal military occasions.
• Parade Cap – Wear matching faction-specific headgear.
• Civilian Backpack – Carry a range of sports and everyday backpacks.

Free

• Showcase Art of War – Visit an exhibition on war and art, featuring impressive
• and award-winning community artwork.
• Art t-Shirts – Show off new casual-themed clothing featuring a variety of designs.
• Art Gallery Objects – Place frames and canvases in several shapes and sizes, set up your easel, or create your very own in-game dioramas.
• Memorial Objects – Use coffins, photo portraits, folded flags, and more to pay
• tribute to the fallen.

Bohemia Interactive and the ICRC have been collaborating on several projects such as the Arma Laws of War DLC and the Make Arma Not War modding contest. Sales of Arma 3 Laws of War also resulted in a donation of USD $176,667 by Bohemia Interactive to support the ICRC’s aid work.

“We value the longstanding partnership with Bohemia Interactive and the support from the larger gaming community in helping raise funds for the ICRC and convey the importance of international humanitarian law. Such a contribution will help us in our humanitarian work to aid people around the world suffering from conflicts,” said Marek Resich from the Resource Mobilization division at the ICRC.

For more information about Arma 3, please visit www.arma3.com.

Source: Blue’s News

Deep Silver and 4A Games announce the Metro Exodus PC Enhanced Edition will be released this spring. Their work on updating Metro Exodus for Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 4 resulted in a complete overhaul of the game’s ray tracing support. These enhancements are coming to the Windows edition of the first-person shooter sequel for systems with ray tracing GPUs and will be provided as a free update to owners of the original version of the game. They also take the opportunity to announce that the macOS and Linux editions of Metro Exodus will come later this year.

For PC players, we’re taking advantage of our new Fully Ray Traced Lighting Pipeline and the latest GPU-capable hardware from NVIDIA and AMD to offer the ultimate Ray Traced experience – the Metro Exodus PC Enhanced Edition.

This upgrade is so extensive, it will require a Ray Tracing capable GPU as the minimum spec, and we will need to deliver this version 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.

The PC Enhanced Edition will offer additional Ray Tracing features, including Advanced Ray Traced Reflections and support for DLSS 2.0 on NVIDIA hardware, which offers sharper image details and increased framerates and display resolutions.

Applying the same philosophy as our Xbox and PlayStation upgrades, this PC Enhanced Edition will be FREE to all existing Metro Exodus owners on the Epic Games Store, Steam, and GoG. You can expect the PC Enhanced Edition to release later this spring.

For a full breakdown of the new Ray Tracing features across Gen 9 consoles and PC, see the chart below.

• FULL RAY TRACED LIGHTING THROUGHOUT – EVER LIGHT SOURCE IS NOW RAY TRACED
• NEXT-GEN TRACING & DENOISING
• NEXT-GEN TEMPORAL RECONSTRUCTION TECHNOLOGY
• PER-PIXEL RAY TRACED GLOBAL ILLUMINATION
• RAY TRACED EMISSIVE SURFACES WITH AREA SHADOWS
• INFINITE NUMBER OF RAY TRACED LIGHT BOUNCES
• ATMOSPHERE AND TRANSPARENT SURFACES RECEIVE RAY TRACED BOUNCE LIGHTING
• FULL RAY TRACED LIGHTING MODEL SUPPORT WITH COLOR BLEEDING AND FOR EVERY LIGHT SOURCE
• ADVANCED RAY TRACING REFLECTIONS
• DX12 ULTIMATE SUPPORT (INCLUDING DXR 1.1 AND VARIABLE RATE SHADING)
• GPU FP16 SUPPORT AND THOUSANDS OF OPTIMIZED SHADERS
• SUPPORT FOR DLSS 2.0
• ADDITION OF FOV (FIELD OF VIEW) SLIDER TO MAIN GAME OPTIONS
• 4K TEXTURES ADDED TO PACKAGES
• FURTHER BUG FIXING / POLISH PASS

Source: Blue’s News

Victura and Highwire announce Six Days in Fallujah will come to PC and consoles in 2021, offering a first-person tactical military shooter based on the Second Battle of Fallujah which was fought in 2004 during the Iraq War. Development of this game began in the aughts at Atomic Games, but it in 2009 publisher Konami dropped support for the project due to the controversy it stirred up. Atomic expressed hopes of finding another publisher, and it was reported in 2010 that development was complete, though this was later refuted. In late 2010 Atomic was still expressing hopes that the game would be released, but shortly thereafter they released Breach, which used a cover system developed for Six Days in Fallujah, which was the last we heard of the game from Atomic. That is until now, as the CEO of Victura is Peter Tamte, who was CEO of Atomic Games when it was in development there. There’s a statement from the team on the new Six Days in Fallujah Website explaining why they think this is an important game and refuting the argument that video games are not the medium to deliver insight on controversial real-life events. Here’s a new Official Six Days in Fallujah Announcement Trailer, and here’s more on the revival:

Victura and Highwire Games today announced Six Days in Fallujah, a first-person tactical military shooter based on true stories from the Second Battle for Fallujah in 2004, coming to PC and consoles in 2021. Originally announced by Atomic Games in 2009, Six Days in Fallujah returns with a new publisher, new developer and an all-new game from many of the core leadership team who created the original Halo and Destiny games.

“Sometimes the only way to understand what’s true is to experience reality for yourself,” says former Marine Sergeant Eddie Garcia, who was wounded during the Battle for Fallujah and proposed the original idea for Six Days in Fallujah in 2005. “War is filled with uncertainty and tough choices that can’t be understood by watching someone on a TV or movie screen make these choices for you. Video games can help all of us understand real-world events in ways other media can’t.”

The Second Battle for Fallujah began in 2004 after Al Qaeda seized control of one of Iraq’s major cities. The battle proved to be the toughest military conflict for Western forces since 1968.

Atomic Games announced Six Days in Fallujah in 2009, but saw the title abandoned by its original publisher following controversy about the ability of video games to cover challenging real-world events. Victura is a publishing and production company founded in 2016 by former Atomic Games CEO Peter Tamte with the goal of bringing a new Six Days in Fallujah to players, along with other games based on true stories.

Working in partnership with frontline Marines and Soldiers who fought in the Battle for Fallujah, Victura and Highwire have spent more than three years building unique technologies and game mechanics that bring players closer to the uncertainty and tactics of modern combat than other video games have explored.

Over 100 Marines, Soldiers, and Iraqi civilians who were present during the Second Battle for Fallujah have shared their personal stories, photographs, and video recordings with the development team. The game gives these stories voice through gameplay and first-person accounts captured in original documentary interview footage. Six Days in Fallujah aims to be the most authentic military shooter to date and to tell these military and civilian stories with the integrity they deserve.
“It’s hard to understand what combat is actually like through fake people doing fake things in fake places,” says Peter Tamte, CEO of Victura. “This generation showed sacrifice and courage in Iraq as remarkable as any in history. And now they’re offering the rest of us a new way to understand one of the most important events of our century. It’s time to challenge outdated stereotypes about what video games can be.”

Six Days in Fallujah will launch for PC and consoles in 2021. Victura will announce more details about Six Days in Fallujah in the coming weeks.

Discover Insurgency: Sandstorm with a free Steam weekend, 50% discount, and the free 1.9.1 Update for the Lunar Year

Insurgency: Sandstorm, the indie smash hit FPS from New World Interactive and Focus Home Interactive, welcomes players with a free-to-play weekend running until February 8, and 50% discount on Steam, letting new players dip into the blood pumping mayhem of the military shooter before immersing themselves entirely. At the same time, the game grows its arsenal of modern weaponry with two new free weapons available in the latest update.

Two new weapons accompany a free weekend on Steam!

Two new assault rifles hailing from China expand players’ choice of mid-range weaponry even more in the fast-paced FPS. The QTS-11 for Security and the QBZ-97 for Insurgents can be wielded by the Rifleman, Demolitionist, Commander, and Observer classes. With this update, players also enjoy a long list of balancing, fixes, and quality of life improvements.

With a 50% discount and a free weekend on Steam, there has never been a better time to jump into the teeth-rattling realistic warfare of Insurgency: Sandstorm.

Play the game for free on Steam now and get it at a 50% discount.

Visit the official Insurgency: Sandstorm website for more game information.

Source: GURU3D

The marketing hype has already begun. During Electronic Arts’ fiscal 2021 third-quarter earnings call, Andrew Wilson CEO of EAm shared some news about the upcoming Battlefield and revealed that the new game is coming by the end of the year.

It’s not really a secret and unexpected of course, the game arriving this year but the new Battlefield installment will offer a “total military war and will have support for more players than ever. This probably means that the game will be capped at more than 64 players. Also, the title reveal will take place this fall.

“We look forward to sharing much more about our plans for this new fiscal year in the coming months, including our upcoming Battlefield experience, which will mark a return to all-out military warfare.”

“The game takes full advantage of the power of next-generation platforms to bring massive and immersive battles to life with more players than ever before. With maps of an unprecedented scale, the next edition of Battlefield takes all the destruction, vehicles, and combat weapons that the franchise is known for and takes it to another level. ”

“The team is focused and the game is ahead of our internal milestones. We will reveal the game in the spring and deliver a defining Battlefield experience for our players in the 2021 holiday season.“

The thrilling conclusion to Death from Above is out now!

Zombie Army 4: Dead War fans can kick off 2021 with a blood-chilling new campaign mission, available NOW on all platforms!

Watch the Zombie Army 4: Dead Zeppelin trailer HERE.

LOOMING TERROR

Dead Zeppelin is the third and final mission in Season 2’s thrilling new Death from Above campaign. The Resistance airfield may have been saved, but the jarring terror of an undead airship and its hellish arsenal still looms over mankind.

You and your fellow deadhunters must chase the demonic airship down and bravely dare to board it! Will you be able to destroy it before it rains death upon the Earth?

KICKING OFF THE NEW YEAR FRIGHT

In addition to the Dead Zeppelin campaign mission, there’s loads of new, fiendishly great content for Zombie Army 4 players to enjoy, all available individually or with Zombie Army 4: Season Pass Two.
Today’s new content drop includes:

• Night Ops Jun Outfit
• Toxic Hazard Weapon Skins
• Black Ice Weapon Skins
• Horror Charms Pack
• Buckets Headgear Pack
• 7.65mm Polizeipistole Pistol Bundle
• Nagant M1895 Pistol Bundle

For more info, please visit ZombieArmy.com.

Source: Blue’s News

A new update is now live in Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, adding new content to Season One in the first-person shooter sequel. A post on the Call of Duty Blog has all the details on the new weapons and modes in today’s update along with more on the new 6v6 multiplayer map and a new zombies experience coming to the game on February 4th. This also kicks off the week of free access to the zombies mode they promised earlier this week. Here’s a summary of what’s in the new update:

The following are included in the Season One Update:

• Sanatorium multiplayer map – Ten squads of four will head up to the Ural Plains to fight over objectives and vehicles on land, sea and air.
• Express multiplayer map – Returning from Call of Duty: Black Ops II, Express arrives Feb. 4 in Cold War as a 6v6 Multiplayer favorite, known fondly as the hi-tech train station that hosted many a jaw-dropping moment in competitive Call of Duty history.
• Operator Zeyna joins the fight in Cold War and Warzone, starting on January 21st.
• New multiplayer modes, including the continuation of the fast-paced 3v3 experience, Face Off. Additional modes include Dropkick (live now), Snipers Only Moshpit and Endurance Mode.
• In February, the Dark Aether storyline continues with an all-new Zombies map called Firebase Z and new Onslaught maps. Available now is the new Zombies mode entitled Cranked.
• Zombies Free Access Week is live now through January 21.

New map, new guns, new customization items, and more!

Cold Blood introduces ‘Bab’ – a brand new winter map. Bab is set in a snowy mountain village built around an ancient citadel. It’s perfect for snipers with long sightlines and an open layout. Tight alleyways and indoor combat mark the areas between them. Bab is a brand new and unique layout, offering players something really different to get stuck into.

On the gun side, the Marksman class now has two new high caliber semi-automatic battle rifles to play with. The M110 SASS on Security, and for Insurgents, an older Army issue and WWII classic, the M1 Garand. As with everything in Sandstorm, they come with a wide selection of attachments and scopes to let every player customise how they wish.

Also included in this update is a swathe of various other tweaks and additions, including toggleable optic scopes. This also marks the release of a new cosmetic bundle including four Cold Blood-themed DLCs. To celebrate, the game is available at a 50% discount running from now until December 14.

Watch the new trailer HERE.

Visit the official Insurgency: Sandstorm website for more game information.