Plus Ultra: Rival the Empire of Charles V in Golden Century

From Madrid to Mexico to Manila, the Spanish Crown had the one of the first empires where the sun never set. From the fall of Granada to the Dutch Wars of Independence, Spanish power always had to be taken into consideration. But its road to dominance ran through local rivals like Portugal and Morocco, and its control over the vital sea routes was challenged by English navies and ruthless privateers. What path will you take?

Europa Universalis IV: Golden Century is the newest immersion pack for Paradox’s classic game of empire and exploration in the early modern era, and it is available today on Steam, the Paradox store and other major online retailers for $9.99 / £7,15 / €9,99.

Golden Century focuses its improvements on parts of the game central to the kingdoms of and around Iberia,including new mission trees for the major historical powers and a hypothetical Andalusia if you manage to turn back the armies of Catholicism. But Golden Century also lets you live out your childhood dream of being a pirate king, ruling a republic of brigands, sending your ships to finance realm by raiding the trade routes of more powerful rulers.

Other features of Europa Universalis IV: Golden Century include:

• Minority Settlements: Settle your distant colonies with homeland minorities, promoting greater cohesion at home, while adding more diversity to your subject nations.
• Establish Holy Orders: Iberian nations can appoint Jesuit, Franciscan or Dominican clerics to govern their states to reduce unrest or ease conversion.
• New Mission Trees: New missions and objectives for the nations of Iberia and Northwest Africa, including Spain and Andalusia.
• Pirate Republics: Raise the black flag and pillage the high seas, or defeat these scourges of humanity..
• Flagships: Appoint a Flagship to lead your navy, adding combat and trade power to your fleets.
• Naval Barrage: Use your ships to help besiege coastal forts by bombarding the walls.
• New Army Models: New army and naval models for Castile/Spain, Aragon, Portugal, Leon/Navarra, Pirates, Sale and Galicia
• Plus over ten minutes of new original music.

Golden Century is accompanied by the free Spain update, available to everyone who owns Europa Universalis IV. This update will include newly detailed maps of Iberia, North Africa and the Spanish Main, as well as revised National Ideas for many nations in the Western Mediterranean, new Government Reform options and other changes for all players.

Watch the Europa Universalis IV: Golden Century Release Trailer HERE.

Gaijin Entertainment has announced that the upcoming Update 1.85, nicknamed ‘Supersonic’, will introduce a new top rank of aircraft to the free-to-play vehicular combat MMO War Thunder. The new Rank VI will feature supersonic jets armed with air-to-air guided missiles – a completely new type of armament in the game.

Supersonic Rank VI aircraft: The in-game nations USA, Great Britain and USSR will be the first nations to feature new Rank VI aircraft. Among those is the first mass-produced supersonic jet, the F-100 Super Sabre, which will be available for the U.S. Air Force in the F-100D modification. Royal Air Force pilots will get their hands on the two-engine Gloster Javelin F.A.W. Mk.9, while the USSR will receive the MiG-19PT, the fastest of the three.

The new aircraft can reach a maximum speed of 1200 to 1450 km/h (745 to 900 mph), enabling them to quickly gain altitude to easily catch up with adversaries and take an advantageous position for an attack above the battlefield. At the same time, the high speeds will require pilots to react quickly and anticipate the actions of their enemies, as maneuvering at the speed of sound is by far not an easy task.

Air-to-air guided missiles: The main feature difference of aircraft of Rank VI is the availability of air-to-air guided missiles as a choice of armament. These missiles are guided by infrared, which means they follow enemies by tracking the hot exhausts of jet and gas turbine engines.

This new type of armament will be available for helicopters as well; which will also receive new types of defense to counter air-to-air missiles: heat flares, exhaust infrared suppression system and counter-optical-electronic systems. Deployed infrared countermeasures disrupt the missile guidance, thus ensuring that cannon-based armament remains important.

If a missile is fired at a player, an on-screen warning will let the target know about the incoming attack. In such a case the best course of action is to change the direction of flight direction immediately to evade the attack.

Additional Rank V aircraft: With the embrace of a new supersonic era of combat aviation in War Thunder, several new Premium aircraft will be made available on Rank V for the respective nations. Among the aircraft that will help to quickly unlock the latest supersonic aircraft will be the Soviet MiG-15bis ISh, the American F-86F-35 Saber and the British Meteor F Mk.8 Reaper. All aircraft will feature a large selection of rocket and bomb armaments, which will also provide new opportunities to combat high-ranking enemy tanks in combined arms battles.

More information is available on the official War Thunder website.

New Montana With a Post-Apocalyptic Twist

Ubisoft has unveiled Far Cry New Dawn, the newest installment of the award-winning Far Cry franchise. Set in a breathtaking post-apocalyptic world, Far Cry New Dawn will release on February 15, 2019 for PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system, the Xbox One family of devices including Xbox One X and Windows PC. Players can pre-order Far Cry New Dawn now for $39.99.

Set seventeen years after a global nuclear catastrophe, Far Cry New Dawn brings players into a wildly beautiful and radically transformed Hope County, Montana. Life has begun to emerge from the chaos, but the survivors now face a new threat – the merciless Highwaymen and their leaders The Twins, Mickey and Lou. Raised in a lawless frontier, the twin sisters and their band of scavengers live only for today and have descended upon Hope County to take all available resources. To push back this devastating threat, players must help the Survivors grow stronger, craft a makeshift arsenal and form unexpected alliances to fight for survival in a dangerous new frontier.

Watch the Far Cry New Dawn Official World Premiere Gameplay Trailer HERE.

Check out the Far Cry Website to check out a few articles explaining the game’s setting in Hope, Montana.

1939. The sand is slipping fast through the hourglass and the clouds of war are gathering all around the globe. While in Europe Germany is ready to finally challenge the order established with the Versailles Treaty and Italy is eager to expand its colonial dominion, in the Far East the Empire of Japan – already embroiled in a bitter war against China – has already proved to be a formidable adversary and soon it will have to face the rising American hostility.

Can Germany, Italy and Japan triumph and construct their new world order, or will triumph turn to disaster as the rest of the world mobilizes to meet force with force?

Strategic Command WWII: World at War is your chance to re-fight the 20th century’s greatest conflict, from Poland to China, Normandy to the Pacific, on a map encompassing the globe.

Building on the success of Strategic Command WWII: War in Europe, this new turn-based game will provide even more opportunities to try out different strategies, maximizing re-playability to the utmost!

Both experienced wargamers and newcomers will find much to love in this beautiful WWII wargame!

War Thunder: Italian Ground Forces Set For Release With Next Update

Gaijin Entertainment today announced that the Italian Ground Forces will be the next national research tree to be added to the free-to-play vehicular combat MMO War Thunder. Coming with Content Update 1.85 scheduled for December this year, dozens of Italian ground vehicles will celebrate their debut on the battlefield and reinforce the Italian Air Force that is already present in the game.

Italian vehicles and tanks will form War Thunder’s seventh national Ground Forces research tree. Historically accurate, playable tanks, self-propelled guns, anti-aircraft vehicles and other ground equipment from the early World War II period to the later stages of the Cold War will form the spearhead of the Italian Ground Forces. Offering some of the most interesting and original vehicles to be found in the game, such as armored cars with deadly recoilless guns and powerful, large-caliber anti-aircraft vehicles, Italian tanks will further greatly enrich the diversity of War Thunder’s ground combat experience.

One of the prime examples of Italy’s prowess is the Semovente 105/25 M43 a late World War II self-propelled gun and tank destroyer, featuring a deadly 105mm cannon and a low, well-armored front earning it the nickname “Bassotto”, or “Dachshund”. With its hollow-charge rounds it is a serious threat even to the best-armored enemies it will face on the battlefield.

A Premium version of this vehicle, belonging to the famous “Leoncello” tank division, is now available as a pre-order in the War Thunder store. Owners of any of the three Italian vehicle packs, including those that contain either the P26/40 “Leoncello” or M26 “Ariete” tanks that are already playable in War Thunder, will be among the very first to try the new Italian ground forces in combat. Until December 6th, players can secure a 30% discount by purchasing all three vehicle packs in a bundle.

The Italian Ground Forces will enter testing with the release of Update 1.85. All owners of an Italian vehicle pack and those players that fulfill special in-game tasks in War Thunder will be able to join the testing. These tasks will be published immediately after the release of the update.

To learn more about the upcoming Italian ground vehicles, be sure to follow the War Thunder Developer’s Blog, which will see detailed introductions of some of the most interesting vehicles over the coming days.

The Black Hand Recounts Rico’s Latest Accolades of Destruction in New Video

With just one week before the launch of Just Cause 4, Square Enix is proud to present a new look at Rico Rodriguez through the eyes of the dominant rival faction known as The Black Hand.

Watch the Just Cause 4 “One Man Did All This?” Trailer HERE.

Exclusive gameplay combined with live-action and set to an intense soundtrack from world renowned DJ/producer, Slushii, Just Cause 4’s “One Man Did All This?” trailer delivers a humorous look at the destructive power rogue agent Rico Rodriguez can deliver this December 4. See Rico from the perspective of the enemy militia – The Black Hand – as faction leader Gabriela Morales listens to firsthand accounts of Rico in action from those who survived. From reigning down destruction onto an enemy base to tethering shipping containers with explosive barrels, see what makes the exciting JUST CAUSE series unlike any other.

Set in the fictional South American world of Solis, Just Cause 4 takes the series’ incredible destruction and unique physics to a whole new level with the introduction of tornadoes and other Extreme Weather events. Just Cause 4 has four distinct biomes: Rainforest, Grasslands, Alpine & Desert. With each biome offering its own individual, fully simulated weather event, players will have a truly unique experience as they traverse this deep, diverse world.

Just Cause 4 is a landmark entry in the series, and will release on December 4, 2018 on Xbox One, PC and the PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system.

More game info is available at the official Just Cause 4  website.

By Nathan Kirsch @ Legit Reviews

Samsung launched a new consumer Solid State Drive (SSD) series today called the Samsung 860 QVO SSD. This SATA III 2.5-inch drive series is available in 1TB, 2TB and 4TB capacities and feature Samsung’s brand new high-density 4-bit multi-level cell (MLC) NAND flash. The Samsung 860 QVO was brought to market to help eliminate the need to for PC users to rely on a combination of an SSD as the boot drive and a rotational hard drive for mass storage. In order for that to happen the 860 QVO series needs to be rather inexpensive. The good news is that the Samsung 860 QVO 1TB SSD has a Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) of $149.99 or roughly $0.15 per GB. The larger 860 QVO 2TB and 4TB drives have the same price per GB as they cost $299.99 and $599.99, respectively. These prices are still higher than using say a 256GB SATA SSD boot drive and a 2TB HDD for archive storage, but Samsung believes that the market is willing to pay a little extra as they don’t have to frequently switch data between the primary and secondary drive. Samsung firmly believes that the storage paradigm will shift back to all-in-one drive model.

Read the Review Here

Source: TechPowerUp!

NVIDIA today released the latest version of its GeForce software suite. Version 417.01 WHQL drivers come game-ready optimization for “Darksiders III.” The drivers also add SLI profiles for “Artifact.” The drivers also address a number of bugs, including refresh-rates above 30 Hz not being applicable on certain 4K Ultra HD monitors (provided hardware requirements such as DisplayPort HBR2 or HDMI 2.0 or greater are met). The drivers also fix Frame Rate Limiter 2 not functioning in some cases. Also addressed is an “Event ID 14″ error message when CSM is disabled in the UEFI setup program, G-Sync not disengaging after exiting a game, and incomplete Ansel images appearing when resolution is set 30X or higher.

You can download the new GeForce 417.01 WHQL “Game Ready” drivers through GeForce Experience or 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.

• Sharkoon Releases TG4 and SKILLER SGC1 RGB Midi Tower Cases
• Samsung Launches The New 860 QVO SSD Starting At $149.99 For The 1 TB Model
• DeepCool Intros New Ark 90SE Case with Addressable RGB LEDs
• ROCCAT Launches Unplugged Initiative, Accessories
• HANNspree Launches HQ272PQD Monitor: 27″ HS-IPS, QHD, Quantum Dot, 60 Hz, 5 ms
• Spire Intros Ergo, the First Tenkeyless Ergonomic Mechanical Gaming Keyboard
• GIGABYTE Intros GeForce RTX 2080 Ti Aorus WaterForce Xtreme AIO
• ASRock Intros X399 Phantom Gaming 6 Motherboard for AMD Threadripper X

From jumping into a Panzer tank and piloting a Spitfire in the skies to supplying squadmates and building new fortifications to protect the team, this is World War 2 like only Battlefield can do. Battlefield V, the highly anticipated new game in this award-winning franchise, has been released from DICE, an Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) studio. During the early access periods, the game has driven the most subscriptions for PC players on Origin Access Premier and Origin Access Basic. Battlefield V has also seen global critical acclaim with Screen Rant calling it “the best shooter of 2018” and Jeuxvideo.com claiming “the king of FPS is back.”

“With Battlefield V we set out to build the best playing game in the franchise’s history. Few other games are able to provide the kind of amazing and unscripted moments you experience in Battlefield, like pulling off crazy stunts in a plane while flying through a blown-up bridge as tanks and soldiers battle it out on the ground. The team here at DICE can’t wait to see what Battlefield V becomes in the hands of our community,” said Oskar Gabrielson, GM at DICE. “We have also set out to create a game that will grow and evolve over time, and we’re going to keep tinkering with the gameplay, and provide new experiences to our community for a long time to come.”

Battlefield V gives fans the chance to play the untold stories and visit the unexpected locations of WW2. In multiplayer, DICE builds upon the deepest and most immersive Battlefield experiences yet with massive gameplay changes and the development of new core systems. Whether it’s by foot, driving one of the many different armored vehicles or going swiftly by plane, squad up with three others to play the objectives in any given mode and choose between the recon, assault, medic or support class for whatever the team needs most. Players can prepare for battle across the eight maps and eight multiplayer modes and learn more about the game’s new innovations by visiting the Boot Camp.

In single player, Battlefield V brings back the acclaimed War Stories from Battlefield 1 to portray different people facing brutal warfare filled with Battlefield moments. Players will witness the war through the eyes of the men and women who helped change the world forever as they take on untold stories of human drama. Fight as a Norwegian resistance fighter in Nordlys, a Senegalese French Colonial fighter in Tirailleur or a British criminal in the Special Boat Services looking for a chance at redemption in Under No Flag.

On December 4, players can jump into the new single-player War Story, The Last Tiger, a new tank-focused map called Panzerstorm, the introduction of the Practice Range and a chance to stand out on the battlefield with vehicle customisations for both tanks and planes. Additionally, in the same week, Battlefield V will begin time-limited events from the first chapter of its new live service commitment to players, Tides of War. Each new chapter throughout Tides of War will feature evolving gameplay, an expanding world, new experiences and game improvements all completely free, bringing a new Battlefield with each one.

Chapter 2: Lightning Strikes, debuting in January, will see the introduction of the cooperative Combined Arms mode and the return of Rush and Squad Conquest. Launching in March, Chapter 3: Trial by Fire will see the introduction of the highly anticipated Battle Royale mode, Firestorm, and a new map set in Greece. Beyond the first chapters, more experiences will keep coming as the battlefields keep evolving.

Battlefield V is now available both digitally and in stores on Xbox One, PlayStation®4 and Origin™ on PC.

For more information on Battlefield V, please visit www.battlefield.com.