Live now, the latest free update for Rome II adds the festival of Lemuria to the game and a new seasonal challenge, Nightmare Mode!

Lemuria was an ancient feast during which restless spirits were exorcised from the home with the alternate offering of beans and then clashing of cooking pots. Perhaps an early Roman version of Trick or Treat?

Nightmare Mode can be toggled on from the game options menu, causing your troops to suffer horrifying visions in battle. Harpies descend from the skies as a terrifying atmosphere envelopes your forces. Assailed by such apparitions it is no surprise that your soldiers will find the enemy extremely frightening!

Any generals skilled enough to complete a Campaign battle in Nightmare Mode will earn a new Steam achievement and the adoration of their peers. May the gods help you if you try to complete a whole campaign…

More details on this update and exclusive new detail about the recently announced Total War: ATTILA can be found in this month’s Rally point.

Total War: Rome II Emperor Edition is Available Now, see www.totalwar.com for details.

You Gotta Have Faith to Conquer the Most Detailed Map Ever

Paradox Interactive has released “Art of War,” a new expansion for the award-winning grand strategy game Europa Universalis IV, for Windows, Mac, and Linux PCs. In what could be the largest expansion DLC in Paradox history, Art of War includes a broad selection of updates and features for Europa Universalis IV starring the most detailed and historically accurate map in Paradox’s strategic titles to date. Hundreds of new provinces dot the globe as the masters of grand strategy cast their eye on new nations and history beyond Europe’s shores.

Marvel at the size of Art of War by viewing the launch trailer.

Alongside the release of Art of War, a massive, free patch with loads of new content has also been issued that all players of Europa Universalis IV can download and use. Details on what is available in patch 1.8 can be found HERE.

To learn more about Europa Universalis IV, visit the games official website.

Independent developer Rebellion has announced the launch of a completely FREE new singleplayer mode for Sniper Elite 3 called the “Shooting Range”. Testing the skills of even the sharpest marksmen, the Shooting Range offers four sharpshooter challenges and new achievements across dedicated rifle, SMG and pistol ranges.

The Shooting Range also enables any player to plan their perfect loadout for the campaign and multiplayer modes by enabling them to test the game’s complete collection of over 30 weapons, including all firearms developed and released as DLC since launch.

This week you can get 33% OFF individual Sniper Elite 3 weapon packs on Steam or save a massive 50% with the Weapons Pass on the Rebellion Gamestore, gaining instant access to 24 new weapons! Upgrade your arsenal to a new level today to become the ultimate sniper! Sale ends November 5th.

By Jake @ PureOC

Today we’re looking at an interesting mechanical keyboard from Tesoro, the Excalibur G7NL. Appearing to be well designed, sporting a uncomplicated design, catering to gamers who want something simple and solid, the Tesoro Excalibur G7NL has some unique features including full N-Key rollover, extensive lighting effects, and perhaps most notable, a very attractive price of only $90. Let’s delve a bit deeper and see if the Excalibur G7NL can stand out in a widening field of mechanical keyboards.

Read The Review Here

By: Hilbert Hagedoorn @ GURU3D

We review the GALAX GeForce GTX SOC edition. SOC is short for Super Overclocked, and that certainly is the case. Armed with sturdy looks, based on a custom PCB and a third party cooler the guys behind KFA2 and Galaxy introduce this gaming weaponry. The card has 4 GB graphics memory, is energy efficient and factory overclocked for you. Oh and hey, it overclocks nicely as well as we even pass 1500 MHz on the GPU boost frequency.

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.

• Rapoo VPRO V900 Gaming Mouse Starts Selling
• MSI Unleashes the Record-Breaking X99S MPower Motherboard
• Roccat Announces Ryos TKL Pro Gaming Keyboard
• Corsair Introduces Ultralight Corsair Gaming Sabre RGB Mice
• Samsung Offers Gaming Bundle with UD590 Monitor or 850 PRO Series SSD
• Toshiba Expands Internal Desktop HDD Offerings to Include 4TB and 5TB Models
• EverCool Introduces HPS 810CP Low-Profile CPU Cooler
• Lian Li Unleashes Hell on the PC Market with the PC-D666
• Razer Introduces the Naga Epic Chroma Mouse for Wireless MMO Gaming with 19 Buttons and 16.8 Million Color Options
• Galax GeForce GTX 970 and 980 HOF Announced
• ASUS Announces Z97-Pro Gamer Motherboard

Japan’s Aircraft Carrier Operations in WWII

By John Dudek @ The Wargamer

The bright sunny brilliance of a warm Pacific Ocean early June day was marred by the angry black mushrooming flak shell bursts of anti-aircraft fire as the remaining American Douglas Devastator torpedo planes of USS HORNET’S Torpedo Squadron 8 swung into their final low level attack runs on the four Japanese aircraft carriers of the Midway invasion task force. Previous torpedo attacks had proven fruitless so far as the combat air patrols of Zero fighter planes had attacked the earlier torpedo bomber formations like so many swarms of enraged bees, shooting down virtually every one of them. This latest attack proved no exception. The last remaining torpedo plane, piloted by Ensign George Gay was rocked by flak bursts, but he grimly pressed on with his attack as Japanese Zero’s attacked him from all quarters. He heard his back seat radioman gunner shout over the plane’s intercom. “Mr Gay! I’m hit!!” and then, nothing more. Gay himself was wounded in the hand and leg by machine gun bullets. As he pulled the plane’s manual torpedo release lever, he felt the aircraft’s aileron controls go slack, obviously shot away by Japanese machine gun fire. There’d be no returning to the carrier now. The badly damaged plane, its engine coughing and blowing black smoke, bucked and lurched along, gradually losing most of its remaining altitude. Gay somehow managed to fly his terminally damaged plane a few more miles before crashing it into the ocean. The torpedo plane sank like a rock and he only just managed to keep from being carried down with the plane to the ocean bottom, surfacing with his yellow seat cushion and attached un-inflated life raft. He later remarked how he had a “ring-side seat” for what happened next.

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EA announces a release window for the next game in the Battlefield series.

Source: GameSpot

The Battlefield game that follows Battlefield Hardline won’t be released until the last quarter of 2016, roughly two years from now, Electronic Arts announced today.

During a conference call with EA investors today, CEO Andrew Wilson revealed the release window for whatever the next Battlefield game might be–Battlefield 5 or otherwise. “Battlefield 4 continues to add new players and engage existing fans a year after launch,” Wilson said. “As a result of the extended services and content updates that we provide, it’s clear that players want to experience the games we’re delivering for longer periods of time. Looking into next year, we will ensure that our players have enough time between releases to fully explore the depth and innovation in our shooter titles.”

With Hardline now confirmed to be launching in March, we won’t see another Battlefield game pushed out just six or seven months later, as some fans worried. “Following this launch, our next Battlefield experience is planned planned for launch in Q3 FY17,” Wilson said, referencing the period that spans October-December 2016. “We want to give Battlefield 4 and Battlefield Hardline players more time to enjoy these games and immerse themselves in a game, the live service, and the community.”

Hardline was expected out this month before being delayed until early 2015. EA has said previously that it doesn’t want to annualize the series, similar to what Activision has done with Call of Duty.

This announced timeline for the next Battlefield would put about a year and a half between Battlefield releases (BF4 in October 2013, Hardline in March 2015, and the next game in late 2016), but would mean that new Battlefield games debuted in consecutive years.

Ubisoft has unveiled a revolutionary new interactive trailer for Assassin’s Creed: Unity. Co-created by the community, the CGI trailer offers a breathtaking dive into the French Revolution, and showcases fan made Assassin’s flooding the city of Paris.

Over several months, the community created and voted for their favourite Assassins that would feature in the trailer. Over 200,000 Assassins were designed, with the top 1,400 making the cut. At any moment in the trailer, the community can pause and zoom in on any Assassin, allowing them to spot their creations in action. A gigapan will also be released that features every single Assassin’s in the one image.

“The Assassin’s Creed universe lives through its fans’, and this trailer is an amazing opportunity for them to be part of the campaign. They can see their own Assassin running through the streets, breaking into buildings and parkouring on Paris’ rooftops” said Guillaume Carmona, Marketing Director at Ubisoft EMEA. “We wanted to take the interactive and social aspect of gaming to the next level.”

As well as the Assassins themselves, 15 secrets have been included in the trailer, allowing access to exclusive footage and content upon discovery.

The trailer was created as part of Ubisoft’s ‘Unite’ campaign and can be viewed HERE.

Source: CVG

Activision has released a new Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare Season Pass video detailing what players will get for paying up-front for additional DLC content.

The Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare Season Pass will cost $50 and will grant buyers access to four DLC packs planned for release throughout 2015 – Havoc, Ascendance, Supremacy, and Reckoning – each one containing new multiplayer content, typically including maps and modes.

Season Pass holders will also get early access DLC weapons, and will get an additional DLC multiplayer map on launch day. Called Atlas Gorge, the map is an enhanced remake of Call of Duty 4′s Pipeline map, and the focus of the above video.

The $50 Season Pass will represent a $10 discount on buying the expansions separately at $15 each. The first DLC expansion, Havoc, is set to drop in January.

Activision recently announced that customers who purchase Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare digitally on Xbox 360 or PS3 will be able to download the new-gen version within the same console family for free.

The Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare release date is November 4 on Xbox 360, Xbox One, PS3, PS4 and PC.