Author: Donster

Source: The Battlefield Blog

Rack your 9mm and take to the streets – PC players now have instant access to the Battlefield Hardline Beta.

Cruise over to battlefield.com/beta, sign up to gain instant access and nab your beta perks.

Battlefield Hardline Beta Rewards

Just for signing up you’ll receive:

• Instant Access into the Battlefield Hardline beta for PC (when selecting PC as your platform)
• Weapon camo/skin in Battlefield Hardline
• Weapon sight in Battlefield Hardline
• Additional Battlefield Hardline content
• Unique dog tag in Battlefield 4

Note: The Battlefield Hardline gear will be available when the game releases on October 21, 2014. The Battlefield 4 unique dog tag will be available in the game next month.

Those freebies not enough for you? We got you covered.

Battlefield Hardline Beta Challenges

• Reach Rank 10, Get a Special Battlepack at Launch: Score a special Battlepack in the retail launch of Battlefield Hardline by reaching rank 10 during the beta. (This reward is open to both PC and PS4 players.)
• Enable Facebook Sharing, Get $1K In-Game Cash: Enable Facebook Sharing when firing up Battlefield Hardline or through the in-game Options and land yourself $1K in-game cash to spend on additional weapons and gadgets. (This reward is open to both PC and PS4 players.)

Gear up and prepare for war on the streets of Los Angeles like you’ve never seen.

The Alea Jacta Est series expands with a standalone release centered on Hannibal’s campaigns.

Hannibal – the legendary Carthaginian military commander – is reviewing his troops before the battle. Today he’s waging one of his most important campaigns with the release of  Terror of Rome, the latest installment of the Alea Jacta Est Series!

In this new Grand Strategy game using the AGEod engine(www.ageod.com) , you will be able to join the Roman or the Carthaginian forces and relive one of the biggest clash of Ancient History with only one goal in mind: vying for hegemony in Mediterranean territories.

Hannibal: Terror of Rome is a true simulation that puts you in the place of the main commanders of the Ancient World. You will be in charge of building, managing, organizing and maneuvering armies, whilst taking into account the economic, military and political situation. The game is built on the renowned AGE engine and offers a comprehensive level of detail and historical accuracy.

The game features five historical scenarios:

• The First Illyrian War (230-228 BC) sees Rome opposing the aggressive Illyrian pirates and the Greek cities of the South in the Adriatic Sea. To contain the pirate’s activity, military forces were sent by the Achaean League and even Rome. For the first time the Roman consuls focus on the East.
• The Cisalpine War (225-222 BC) confronts Rome with a ferocious Celtic tribe. It’s time for revenge as these Gallic warriors sacked Rome in 390 BC.
• The Second Punic War (219-201 BC) is a major campaign that starts even before the clash between Rome and Carthage; with Roman legions fighting in the Second Illyrian War, and Carthage finishing its conquest of Hispania…
• Cannae (216-201 BC) begins with panic in the Roman army after its catastrophic defeat at the Battle of Cannae. The scenario starts with the withdrawal of Syracuse, Capua and Taranto from the war in Italy. The situation is critical!
• Scipio Africanus (211-201 BC) narrates the Spanish campaigns of the best Roman general of the war, and his final fight against Hannibal in Africa.

Note this is a stand-alone game that does not require the Alea Jacta Est base game to play.

Get more information on Hannibal: Terror of Rome from its official product page.

Purely Offensive Character Type Added to Title Alongside New Maps and Game Mode

Paradox Interactive today revealed and added a new character class to War of the Vikings, the Viking Age close-quarter combat game from Fatshark. The Berserker, a dual-wielding class focused entirely on offensive capabilities and intimidating appearances, joins War of the Vikings today as part of a free update to the game. This update also includes three new in-game maps to allow the Berserker a variety of terrain to charge across, as well as a new game mode, “Domination,” to provide veteran Vikings with a novel challenge.

The Berserker sacrifices armor, ranged weaponry, and weapon pick-ups in exchange for pure adrenaline-powered attacks, possessing the ability to dual-wield weapons. Players taking the role of Berserker will no longer charge up their swings, instead focusing on special attacks and a new combo system to keep their blades flying. Combos can be created with queued attacks, dodges, and different move sets depending on whether a warrior wields two swords, two axes, or one of each. In addition, the Berserker will be visually distinct on the battlefield, clad in bear pelts, fierce tattoos, and the blood of their enemies.

What’s more, a Berserker will not die easily: when struck by a fatal blow, the character is granted 10 seconds of ‘blood rage,’ which will allow them to continue the fight if they can claim a kill before that adrenaline runs out!

Berserkers will make their debut alongside three new maps and a new fast-paced game mode called Domination. In Domination, the Vikings and Saxons must compete for control of only a few flags – and holding the majority will cause the enemy to start losing respawn tickets, as will slaughtering their warriors. The last team with tickets remaining is the victor!

Developed by Fatshark, War of The Vikings brings the next generation of close-quarter combat games to Viking Age England, allowing players to conquest across the British shores as fierce Vikings – or defend them as stalwart Saxons. With skill-based combat, authentic historical weaponry and environments, and a variety of game modes, War of the Vikings will test players’ mettle and determine who is worthy of entry to Valhalla.

See the Berserker’s Fury in a new spotlight video. (Hosted by YouTube – 01:37)

More info can be found on the official War of the Vikings Website.

Paradox Interactive and Paradox Development Studio today revealed the third expansion for Europa Universalis IV, the award-winning grand strategy game of empire-building and global domination. The new mini expansion, entitled Res Publica, will introduce new systems of governance and trade to the game, including an all-new government type and several new Idea Groups for ambitious strategists to explore. The mini expansion is scheduled to release this summer for Windows, Mac, and Linux PCs.

Res Publica, a Latin phrase meaning “Public Affairs,” expands upon the critically acclaimed strategy game Europa Universalis IV, providing players with even more ways to rewrite history and tell their unique stories of conquest. In Res Publica, dictators and diplomats will discover new ways to manage and govern their empires, including additional ways to influence growth, sway the balance of power, and maintain – or shatter – a nation’s stability.

For more information and screenshots, please visit the official Europa Universalis IV Res Publica product page.

Author: Brent Justice @ HardOCP

Today we review the brand new ASUS STRIX GTX 780 OC Edition 6GB DirectCU II video card. ASUS has taken an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 GPU and wrapped it in a complete custom “silent” cooling solution and doubled the stock VRAM creating a unique package. We will look at performance and compare it to GTX 780 and R9 290X.

What is STRIX? STRIX is simply a new branding by ASUS and for video cards it will describe video cards that have its new 0dB “silent” fan technology.

Read The Review Here

By Ian Cutress @ AnandTech

Overclocking motherboards are here to stay. The $200 overclocking motherboard market seems to be growing, even when overclocking is limited to specific processor SKUs. Intel’s Devil’s Canyon models or Anniversary Pentium have been launched recently, specifically for overclockers to have more fun until the next generation. GIGABYTE’s 8-series overclocking motherboards were very well received, so it was a no-brainer to release upgraded models for 9-series. Today we are reviewing the Z97X-SOC Force, a $210 member of the punch-counterpunch in this market segment.

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.

• NVIDIA and Partners Launch GeForce GT 730
• NZXT Kraken G10 GPU Bracket Now in Red and Blue
• Lian Li Adds PC-B16 and PC-A61 to Mid-Tower Case Lineup – VIDEO
• DEEPCOOL Announces Colorful STEAM CASTLE Micro ATX PC Case
• Thermolab-Designed, Cooltek-Branded LP53 and ITX30 CPU Coolers Selling in Europe
• I-O Data Unveils New Portable Hard Drive
• ASUS Enables Intel Pentium Anniversary Edition Processor Overclocking on H97, H87, B85 and H81 Series Motherboards

The time has come! Stronghold Crusader 2 is now in beta and set for release on Steam on 2nd September 2014. To celebrate reaching this stage in development we have put together an E3 trailer with fresh footage of the game at beta, including many of the new features that set Crusader 2 apart from the original game.

The game is essentially finished with all our core systems in place including co-op, unit abilities and dynamic events like the tornado and locust swarm. Self-publishing comes with its own set of challenges but one of the great advantages is that we can release when we are ready, when the bugs have been squashed and the game is worthy of the Crusader name. After taking the game to several public shows over the past nine months we are very happy with the game’s feel. The team has been tweaking areas of gameplay such as unit balance and castle destruction in direct response to feedback received at these shows and it has made a huge difference. Players are telling us it feels like the original Crusader in terms of moment-to-moment gameplay and just hearing that is hugely encouraging.

The whole team feels as though we have managed to make a game that expands on the original Crusader without changing what people found so enjoyable about the original. It is mission accomplished on that front and we still have time for a lengthy beta period to polish everything off before launch. Having to be so vague about our release date, at least until recently, was frustrating but we only wanted to give a specific date once we knew the game would be finished and up to the kind of standard players expect. Soon there will be a great Stronghold game available on Steam, one we can’t wait to get into the hands of players.

More game information can be found on the official Stronghold Crusader 2 Website.

Battlefront.com has released patch v1.05 for Strategic Command WWI Breakthrough! Patch 1.05 contains numerous bug fixes, game enhancements and even brand new Decision Events!

Players can now form the Polish Legion in Austrian service, and General Haller’s Polish Blue Army in France, as well as enjoying numerous other improvements. As always, player feedback has provided much of the inspiration for these changes.

All previous improvements are of course included as well, such as numerous improvements to the new 1870 Franco-Prussian War campaign to increase its historical accuracy and playability, as well as significant changes to game balance in 1939 Storm over Europe to give the Axis a much better chance of victory.

Click here to jump to the games download page.

By Mike @ PureOC

Things have been getting a thorough rustling in the case market in recent history. Every form factor from ITX on up to XL-ATX, has been getting some new life breathed into their respective segments with cases replete with features and styling that no one thought possible. NZXT, not being one to rest on their laurels for very long, have introduced a little something new to the ATX mid tower segment. It’s something they like to call the Phantom 240.

Read The Review Here