First-Person Shooters

Three New Adventures Will Transport Players Beyond Hope County

Today, Ubisoft announced the content of the Far Cry 5 Season Pass, available as part of the Far Cry 5 Gold Edition or as an add-on purchase on PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system, Xbox One and PC.

Following the launch of Far Cry 5 on March 27th, the season pass will take players on three uncanny adventures with a unique Far Cry twist.

• Hours of Darkness: Players will travel back in time to Vietnam to battle against Việt Cộng soldiers
• Dead Living Zombies: Players will face hordes of zombies in multiple b-movie scenarios
• Lost on Mars: Players will leave Earth behind to go toe-to-claws with Martian arachnids

Additionally, all Far Cry 5 Season Pass owners playing on consoles will receive the single-player content from another critically-acclaimed Far Cry series entry with the Far Cry 3 Classic Edition, which will be available to season pass holders four weeks prior to launching as a standalone purchase in summer 2018 on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. Far Cry 3 Classic Edition will let fans and newcomers to the series revisit Rook Island and encounter one of the franchise’s most notorious villains, Vaas, who is brought to life by Michael Mando. As Jason Brody, players must explore the tropical island to find and save his friends, who are being held captive. PC players who purchase the season pass or Far Cry 5 Gold Edition will receive the full version of Far Cry 3.

More details on post-launch support for Far Cry 5, including an overview of the three adventures as well as the return of the map editor will be shared at a later date.

Set in America, a first for the franchise, Far Cry 5 offers players total freedom to navigate a serene-looking yet deeply twisted world as the new junior deputy of fictional Hope County, Montana. Players will find that their arrival accelerates a years-long silent coup by a fanatical doomsday cult, the Project at Eden’s Gate, igniting a violent takeover of the county. Under siege and cut off from the rest of the world, players will join forces with residents of Hope County and form the Resistance.

Watch the new Far Cry 5 – Story Trailer HERE.

For more information about Far Cry 5, please visit farcry.com

The second wave of Battlefield 1: Turning Tides is here! Fight alongside the formidable German fleet or test your mettle among the British Royal Marines in dramatic naval clashes. Opposing armadas struggle to gain the upper hand to exhibit supremacy over the high seas.

Battlefield 1: Turning Tides – North Sea is bringing new maps, the fearsome C-Class Airship, and continued improvements to Battlefield 1. We hope you enjoy taking command of the sea, air, and land in the battles that turned the tides of war. Available to Battlefield 1 Premium Pass owners* and owners of Battlefield 1: Turning Tides.

View the official Battlefield 1: Turning Tides – North Sea release trailer HERE.

*Battlefield 1 Premium Pass and Battlefield 1 Revolution owners will be able to access Battlefield 1: Turning Tides with a two-week early access. The Battlefield 1: Turning Tides update is a required download for all Battlefield 1 players to play online. This has several benefits, including that players who don’t yet own the expansion will be able to watch Battlefield 1: Turning Tides matches through Spectator Mode and will be able to experience the new maps via Battlefield 1 Premium Trials or Battlefield 1 Premium Friends when they are active.

Square Enix Collective is delighted to announce that Battalion 1944, the old-school WW2 FPS from Derby based studio Bulkhead Interactive, has entered Early Access on Steam.

The shooter – which is designed to replicate the feel of the best FPS games from the 1990s – albeit with all the extra grunt and gloss of a modern day game – recently enjoyed a successful beta weekend as a sign off before its Early Access debut. Now, however, is when things ramp up.

“It’s no exaggeration that Battalion 1944 is the game I’ve always wanted to make,” says Joe Brammer – Studio Lead at Bulkhead Interactive. “We’ve enjoyed success at Bulkhead before, but we’re all gamers who grew up playing the best FPS games, so the idea of making one that stripped things back to the competitive nature of the shooters of old has been a dream come true. “What’s even better is seeing the reaction of the gamers who have been able to play it so far – it seems they’re as excited as we are.”

Bulkhead Interactive previously worked on The Turing Test back in 2016, a celebrated puzzler also published by Square Enix Collective.

“For us, Battalion 1944 represents a step into an entirely new genre,” offers Phil Elliott, Director of Indie Publishing at Square Enix Limited. “Square Enix Collective was set up with the intention of releasing indie games from a wide range of studios working on a diverse line up of titles, and Battalion 1944 and its focus on an old school FPS ethic is something we’ve never done before. We’re sure it’s going to be a major asset in our line-up for years to come.”

Battalion 1944 will retail on Early Access for £11.99/€14.99/$14.99. Those who backed Battalion 1944 back when it was on Kickstarter will get exclusive skins and multiple cosmetic and vanity focused loot crates.

Battalion 1944 is available on Early Access today.

More game info available at the Battalion 1944  website.

Source: TechPowerUp!

CI Games finally released the long-awaited multiplayer update for Sniper: Ghost Warrior 3 last week. Although not mentioned publicly in the patch notes, the Polish publisher also eliminated the Denuvo protection from the game. For those readers who don’t keep up with the Warez scene, Russian cracker BALDMAN cracked Sniper: Ghost Warrior 3 one month after its release. Many would agree that there wasn’t any point in keeping the anti-tamper tech in the game. But now, with it gone completely, DSOGaming re-tested the game to see whether there were any performance gains without Denuvo.

To make a long story short, the DSOGaming team noticed a significant reduction in the game’s loading time. However, they weren’t completely certain if the reduction was a product of the removal of Denuvo or game optimizations done by the developer. The previous performance issues still haunted the game, and there were zero improvement in graphics performance. This was expected to a certain degree taking into account that Sniper: Ghost Warrior 3 is a GPU intensive title after all. It might be a different story with games like Watch Dogs 2 or Assassin’s Creed Origins, since they are more demanding on the processor. Now, we just have to wait until Ubisoft removes Denuvo from them.

DISCOVER TWO ADDITIONAL OPERATORS AND A NEW CO-OP EVENT

Today, UBISOFT revealed the first details of “Operation Chimera” and “Outbreak Event”, the opening content of Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Siege Year Three. Two new operators, specialists in biohazard situations and playable in adversarial multiplayer, will have to face a major threat in the game’s first co-op event, Outbreak.

This time, the Rainbow team faces an entirely different threat: an infestation of unknown origin is attacking the small town of Truth or Consequences, New Mexico. The danger is so high that the authorities have quarantined the entire town, trapping civilians and soldiers inside. Pushed to its limits, team Rainbow calls in some of the very best biohazard specialists currently in operation within the World’s elite national CTUs.

These hot zone specialists from France and Russia respectively, are experts in matters of biological warfare and veterans of numerous conflicts involving bio-chemical weapons. They are Rainbow Six’s best hope against the dangers lurking in the Quarantine Zone.

Outbreak, a four-week brand new co-op event

In Outbreak, the first seasonal event for Rainbow Six: Siege, players will choose their best team of three to enter the devastated town of Truth or Consequences and neutralise the threat. From exploding monstrosities to hulking horrors, the Rainbow Six team will face something never-seen before. These armoured monsters will bring the fight close and push the destruction engine to new heights. Players will have to find new ways of using their arsenal against a foe that doesn’t take cover and engages instantly in close combat. Watch the new Tom Clancy’s Rainbow: Six Siege – Outbreak: Space Capsule Trailer HERE.

“Operation Chimera” will be available on TTS from February 19th and on all platforms on March 6th while “Outbreak” will be playable on PC on the second day of the Operation Chimera TTS, on February 20th. It will then be available on all platforms from March 6th to April 3rd inclusively.

To learn more about our two upcoming Operators and Outbreak event update, be sure to tune in to the livestream during the Six Invitational finals happening in Montreal on February 17th and 18th: https://www.twitch.tv/rainbow6

For more information about the game or news on the upcoming title update, please visit www.rainbow6.com.

Source: Blue’s News

A new live-action trailer for Official Call of Duty: WWII celebrates tomorrow’s PlayStation 4 release of The Resistance, the DLC pack that will come to other platforms in about a month. The clip surrounds 17 seconds of gameplay footage with a couple of minutes of sketch comedy that seems to clunk along aimlessly. Word is: “Hide in plain sight. Operate under the cover of darkness. It’s time to live the spirit of The Resistance.”

Call of Duty: WWII is available on disc at a number of retailers, digital download via Steam, or at the Call of Duty: WWII official website.

Source: Blue’s News

Wolfenstein II: The Freedom Chronicles – Episode 2 is now available on Steam, offering more DLC for the alternate-history World War II shooter sequel. Here’s word on The Diaries of Agent Silent Death, which is the second of three planned DLCs for the game:

Your mission to liberate America from the Nazis has only just begun. Continue the fight in The Diaries of Agent Silent Death, the second in a series of three DLC packs available as part of the Wolfenstein® II: The Freedom Chronicles.

Play as former OSS agent and assassin, Jessica Valiant, AKA Agent Silent Death! Hot on the trail of a sinister plot, Valiant finds herself in the offices of Paragon Pictures, Tinseltown film studio turned Nazi propaganda machine. Stalk, shoot and stab from the shadows in pursuit of your prey in the Diaries of Agent Silent Death!

Only you can overcome the Nazi threat in…The Freedom Chronicles!

Watch the Wolfenstein II: The Diaries of Agent Silent Death trailer here.

Call of Duty: WWII  The Resistance arrives 30th January. Fight to liberate three new MP maps set in iconic locations, a new war mission, and the latest terrifying chapter of Nazi Zombies. Battle your way through the Paris streets in Occupation, the Wolf’s Lair in Valkyrie, and the torn city of Prague in Anthropoid. Free your fellow resistance fighters on Operation Intercept. Then try to survive the zombie infested island on The Darkest Shore.

Watch the official Call of Duty WWII The Resistance DLC trailer HERE.

Call of Duty: WWII is available on disc at a number of retailers, digital download via Steam, or at the Call of Duty: WWII  official website.

A great year for Battlefield 1 has begun. On the road ahead players will find great content, trials, more Battlefield 1: Turning Tides, and of course, Battlefield 1: Apocalypse.

Between January 16th and January 22nd, all Battlefield 1 players can storm the Gallipoli peninsula thanks to the Battlefield 1: Turning Tides – Gallipoli Trial. This trial will also give base game owners a chance to conquer the fronts of Battlefield 1: In the Name of the Tsar and Battlefield 1: They Shall Not Pass.

Additionally, Battlefield 1 Premium Pass owners can dig in to the North Sea campaign of Battlefield 1: Turning Tides. With the Zeebrugge and Heligoland Bight maps, the British Empire Royal Marines, and the new C-Class Airship, the amphibious warfare possibilities will be greater than ever. Previously available only to Battlefield 1 Premium Pass owners, night map Prise de Tahure becomes available for base game owners starting January 16th.

Stay tuned for more news on Battlefield 1: Apocalypse and for full details on the road ahead you can check out the blog here.

Worldwide reveal trailer and beta weekend marks rollout

Having set out on a mission to reignite the spirit of the old-school shooter, Bulkhead Interactive and Square Enix Collective are both proud and excited to announce Battalion 1944 is heading for Early Access on Thursday 1st February.

Derby-based studio Bulkhead Interactive, which previously developed The Turing Test, has created an experience designed to both capture and build upon the close combat mastered by FPS games in the early 90s. With the genre having since shifted direction, Bulkhead took to Kickstarter to bring together a community of gamers eager to jump back into the old-school multiplayer arena.

Now Battalion 1944 is ready to entertain its loyal following, with the studio coupling this announcement with the launch of a brand new worldwide reveal trailer, both setting the scene for the WW2 inspired action ahead and featuring actual gameplay from the latest build.

“It feels good to get Battalion 1944 into the hands of gamers after working on it so hard,” says Joe Brammer – Studio Lead at Bulkhead Interactive. “We’ve been testing the game behind closed doors with our Kickstarter backers. It’s now time for us to extend our testing to Early Access to help what I believe can one of the best competitive FPS games ever.”

Ahead of this, Bulkhead Interactive will also be running an exclusive beta of Battalion 1944. Kicking off from Friday January 19th through to Sunday January 21st. For a chance to take part, head on over to beta.battaliongame.com. Any Kickstarter or Humble Bundle backers will automatically gain access to the beta, with streaming and content creation using the beta allowed.

“We’re going to be using the beta to run domination on the Manorhouse V1 map, as well as showing off our new competitive mode ‘Wartide’ on the map Liberation,” continues Brammer. “It’s one last chance for us to test out our wares with FPS players before we make the leap to Early Access.”

What players won’t fail to notice during the beta is the combination of tightly crafted multiplayer maps and perfectly honed weapons designed for well-balanced encounters with an aesthetic that taps into an authentic WW2 feel.

“Getting to grips with the intense nature of the Second World War is something that’s been key to our process,” offers Howard Philpott – Creative Producer at Bulkhead Interactive. “That’s something I also think comes across in this new reveal trailer – the action in a Battalion 1944 encounter is as feverish as it is credible. We’ve looked to bed the play down in maps that are both competitive and authentic, for which our trips to Normandy proved immensely useful”.

The Early Access version of Battalion 1944 will come with six modes, to be announced later down the line.

Last month Bulkhead Interactive and Square Enix Collective revealed Battalion 1944 will retail for £11.99/€14.99/$14.99. As previously noted, that’s actually less than the bottom tier during the game’s Kickstarter campaign. As a result, those who backed Battalion 1944 when it was being crowdfunded will gain access to unique backers only skins, multiple cosmetic and vanity focused loot crates.

Battalion 1944 will hit Early Access on Thursday 1st February. You can watch the worldwide Battalion 1944  Early Access Trailer HERE.

More game info available at the Battalion 1944 website.