Month: December 2014

TaleWorlds Entertainment is extremely proud to announce that the Viking Conquest DLC for Mount & Blade: Warband is now released! Viking Conquest is available right now, on the TaleWorlds Store, Steam, GoG, HumbleBundle, Gamersgate. The DLC features full single and multi player in a historical Dark Ages setting. Some of the key features include:

• A fully fledged story mode in single player, which offers deep and consequential choices and interesting dynamic characters.
• The full Mount & Blade sandbox experience opened up to the seas of the British Isles with naval trade and warfare!
• Completely revised artwork and scenes based on real historical references, developed with advice from expert historians.
• Several types of boat, with varied abilities affected by their form and building materials.
• Formations in battles, including the renowned Shield Wall and Wedge.
• Religion based gameplay, with actual consequences which are affected by your own faith and how you behave towards others, depending on theirs.
• Dramatic weather effects including heavy rain, snow, thunder and lightning!
• The option to create your own refuge and upgrade it over time, watching it grow.
• Massive multi player battles (up to 200 players)
• Special characters and abilities such as standard bearers and berserk!
• New multi player game modes, including Thor’s Champion, Naval Battle and Viking Invasion.

Watch the Mount & Blade: Warband Viking Conquest Live Action Trailer HERE.

For more game information please visit the official TaleWorlds Entertainment website.

By David Yee @ Legit Reviews

ASUS has brought forward a gaming mouse that complements the Republic of Gamers product family that’s sure to grab your attention with its fierce appearance, high end features, and a strangely familiar ergonomic design. The ROG Gladius is named after the signature handheld weapon of Ancient Roman generals to complement the Maximus motherboard named after the title given to highly respected generals. This neat tidbit is printed on the inner side of the front flap on the box. It’s rare to see ASUS produce gaming peripherals, but the ROG Gladius is hardly their first gaming mouse and ASUS has more than proven their design and production capabilities in several computer hardware categories.

Read The Review Here

Author: Paul Johnson @ HardOCP

EVGA has a bit of a rocky road with HardOCP when it comes to PSU reviews. Today we give EVGA the opportunity to redeem itself with its 1300 watt powerhouse touting “exceptional efficiency” and a fully modular design that is “silent and optimized for the enthusiast.” All this with a 10 year warranty? It must be a badass.

Read The Review Here

By Kristian Vättö @ AnandTech

G.Skill hasn’t been a very visible SSD OEM lately. Like many DRAM module companies, G.Skill entered the market early around 2009 when the market was very immature and profits were high, but lately the company has more or less been on a hiatus from the market. Even though G.Skill has had an SF-2281 based Phoenix III in the lineup for quite some time, it never really did anything to push the product and a Google search yields zero reviews for that drive (at least from any major tech review outlet). However, back at Computex this year G.Skill showcased a prototype of its next generation SSD: the Phoenix Blade. Unlike most SSDs on the market, the Phoenix Blade utilizes a PCIe 2.0 x8 interface, but unfortunately it is not the native PCIe drive many of you have been waiting for. It is driven by four SandForce SF-2281 controllers in a RAID 0 configuration. It makes sense for G.Skill to pursue the ultra high-end niche because the SATA SSD market is currently extremely populated. It ends up being close to impossible for the smaller OEMs to compete against giants like Samsung, SanDisk and Crucial/Micron while being profitable, since ultimately the NAND manufacturers that are vertically integrated will always have a cost advantage.

Read The Review Here

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.

• Spire Announces Curvature Ergonomic Keyboard
• DeepCool Intros Quanta DQ650 EVO Power Supply
• Razer Debuts Seirēn Digital Microphone with Studio-Grade Recording Quality
• Ozone Launches Argon Ocelote World Gaming Mouse
• COUGAR Announces 500K Gaming Keyboard
• GIGABYTE Secret OC Session Unlocks 9 World Records
• Toshiba Canvio AeroCast Wireless Hard Drive Now Available
• X99 Chipset Problems Force Intel to Pull a Driver, Orders Partners to Do the Same
• PNY Launches HP v231w “Goat” Flash Drive
• Digital Storm Eclipse SFF Gaming PC Unveiled – Slim Gaming Tower – VIDEO

The Scarborough Naval Raid, December 1914

By John Dudek @ The Wargamer

The silent grey line of massive battle cruisers sailed majestically and intimidatingly out from the mist shrouded winter sea wastes, and the fog shrouded cloud banks seemed to part out of respect at their passing. Morning was coming to these northerly latitudes, but it would be some time yet before the winter sun’s rays could cut through most of the foggy gloom. However, a freshening offshore breeze raised the fog, revealing the intended targets ashore. The warship’s main gun turrets swung out for a full broadside salvo as firing solution data was relayed from the range finders. The gun barrels now adjusted their elevation accordingly. Bright booming flashes belched forth from the gun muzzles followed by gouts of black cordite smoke as the giant shells arched their way across the sky towards their intended targets inland. The other warships inline followed suit, adding their own explosive steel to the man made hell they were creating ashore. The high explosive shells detonated throughout the town and upon its factories, shipyard and support facilities, causing great consternation and considerable civilian casualties amongst those who were then on their way to work. However, this was not some historical scenario from WWII taking place along the shores of occupied Europe, this scenario actually took place in three towns along the Yorkshire coastline. Nor were the affected civilians German, French, Belgian, Dutch or Norwegian, they were British civilians and the warships offshore delivering this punishing artillery bombardment were German battle cruisers of the WWI German High Seas Fleet carrying out a series of punitive shore bombardments upon the towns of Scarborough, Hartlepool and Whitby England in December 1914.

Read on…

“Valor is stability, not of legs and arms, but of courage and the soul” (Michel de Montaigne – French Writer)

Sword, Juno, Omaha, Utah, Gold! 5 names that made their mark on history forever. 5 Normandy beaches that shattered the Atlantic Wall and brought a decisive advantage to the Allied forces in Western Europe. 5 thorns in the German side that made Berlin tremble. This massive seaborne operation was one of the main turning points that gave victory to the Allies!

70 years after the Normandy landings, players have the opportunity to relive this key moment of WW2 in Frontline: The Longest Day. They will have to lead their troops across beaches heavily defended by veteran soldiers of the Wehrmacht. Finding a path through minefields, bunkers, artillery barrages, and antitank barriers will require courage and tactical science! Successor to the very successful Frontline: Road to Moscow that reached the top of the charts on iPad this past spring, The Longest Day keeps all the ingredients that made the previous game highly addictive while introducing brand new battlefields, plenty of units, and more complex combat mechanics for an intense experience of the D-Day operations!

Today we have the pleasure to announce that the game from developer 88mm is finally released on all platforms. So whether players own an iOS, Android or PC device, they will have a chance to jump on a Landing Craft Assault and fight on the frontline with the Allied forces!

Frontline: The Longest Day is available via Steam now!

Click here to view the games launch trailer.

Get more information on Frontline: The Longest Day from its official product page.

Source: Blue’s News

An update to Battlelog has word that Final Stand is not the final DLC for Battlefield 4, as EA announces that more content is coming to the military shooter sequel. They are playing this close to the vest for now, saying: “We will share details on exactly what this new content will be, and when it will arrive, in the near future. We understand that this may lead to even more questions about our plans, but rest assured that we’ll get back to you on the future of Battlefield 4 when the time is right.” One hint about where they are going with this comes as the solicit suggestions from fans for classic Battlefield maps they hope to see remade.

Dovetail Games, the multi award-winning developer and publisher of the Train Simulator series and Dovetail Games Fishing, today gave flight sim fans a lift for the holiday season with the announcement that Microsoft Flight Simulator X: Steam Edition will launch on December 18 at a spectacular introductory price.

Microsoft Flight Simulator X: Steam Edition delivers an authentically accurate aerial experience for simulation enthusiasts and those with a passion for all things flight. Pilots can climb into the cockpits of over twenty aircraft, from commercial and fighter jets to single-engine private planes and helicopters. More than 80 missions will test players in a variety of ways, including search and rescue challenges, test pilot scenarios, races and more. The game features updated multiplayer functionality, Windows 8.1 support and over 24,000 airports, delivering a beautiful, connected world and vast horizon begging to be explored.

First released in 2006, Microsoft Flight Simulator X’s arrival on Steam marks the first exciting steps in the global licensing deal between Dovetail Games and Microsoft announced earlier this year. In addition to distributing Microsoft Flight Simulator X: Steam Edition, Dovetail Games is also working on its own original titles based on Microsoft’s flight technology, carrying on nearly three decades of tradition established by this award-winning franchise. Dovetail Games and partners will also be launching a range of add-ons for Microsoft Flight Simulator X: Steam Edition on Steam in the New Year.

Microsoft Flight Simulator X: Steam Edition will be available on Windows PC via Steam on December 18.

There’s something momentous on the horizon, and you’re just the salty-dog to get the job done. We’re looking for a few good sailors to join us in testing the latest build for World of Warships! We’ve got a cargo hold full of keys to distribute, so scope the information below and get in on all the high-seas action!

• Begins: Friday, December 12 at 15:00 PST / 18:00 EST
• Ends: Sunday, December 14 at 23:59 PST / 02:59 EST on December 15

“This weekend with World of Warships, we are starting with a new model of testing and are looking forward to seeing the results of this new approach,” states Daniil Volkov, World of Warships Development Director. “The game is still in the early stages of development. Opening it to a larger audience will allow us to get a lot of relevant feedback that will be instrumental in defining player expectations and outlining what we are to focus on in the coming months.”

The event will feature three classes of military vessels, offering players the chance to experience the unique “Rock-Paper-Scissors” approach to naval combat. Players will have the opportunity to command American cruisers and destroyers as well as Japanese battleships, cruisers, and destroyers.

Once they’re up and running, you’ll be able to head to any one of our media partners’ sites for details on how to secure a ticket aboard this weekend’s World of Warships testing event.

• IGN
• Gamespot
• MMORPG
• Curse (requires login)
• TenTonHammer

Activating Your Key
After you’ve run the gauntlet and secured your key, it’s time to click on this link and follow the directions! Please keep in mind that there is a non-disclosure agreement and an embargo on any media impressions or reviews at this time.

Watch the first World of Warships gameplay video HERE.