Action/Strategy

Wargaming is pleased to announce the global release of Update 1.5 for its flight combat MMO World of Warplanes. Update 1.5 introduces a brand new PvE game mode, inviting rookies to improve their aerial skills against computer-controlled aircraft, along with complex ground targets, a revamped superiority system, graphics improvements, and a new map.

World of Warplanes pilots can now take to the skies with the brand new 15 vs. 15 PvE mode, where a team of 3 – 5 players are supplemented by AI-controlled allies and compete with an enemy team of NPC warplanes. The PvE mode comes with original battle missions and achievements. Upon completion of each mission, ammo and equipment are automatically resupplied and the level of difficulty for each battle increases.

Update 1.5 introduces complex ground targets, making air-to-ground attacks more engaging for virtual pilots, as well as a complete overhaul of the game’s superiority system to balance the contribution of ground attack planes and fighters in a team’s victory.

Along with a new mode and changes in gameplay mechanics, the update will also add a new battle arena, Canyon, available for tier’s 3–10, a completely reworked National Park map available for tier’s 1–5, and new achievements for both beginners and seasoned players.

For more information on World of Warplanes Update 1.5 and to register for a free account, visit the games official website.

Source: Gamer’s Hell

Ubisoft has unveiled the Paris Horizon Gamescom Trailer from Assassin’s Creed: Unity, the next installment of the 76 million unit-selling Assassin’s Creed franchise due to arrive worldwide on October 28, for PC, PS4, and Xbox One. The game invites you to experience Paris during the French Revolution, from the storming of the Bastille to the execution of King Louis XVI. You will play as Arno, an entirely new breed of Assassin far more lethal than his ancestors, and you will help the people of France carve an entirely new destiny.

Source: Blue’s News

Paradox Interactive announces Hollowpoint, a co-op action-packed tactical RPG set in the 22nd century that’s shooting for release on Windows and PlayStation 4 in the 21st century (specifically 2015). The news is accompanied by a Gamescom announcement trailer showing off gameplay, and the following description:

Hollowpoint puts players in charge of secretive Organizations of corporate mercenaries, taking on missions for pay and prestige alongside three other players in online co-op. Developed by Ruffian Games, the team behind Crackdown 2, Hollowpoint brings classic 2D side-scrolling action into the next generation with seamless 3D targeting into stages’ backgrounds. Hollowpoint features:

• Old School Meets Near-future: Hollowpoint is played in a blend of traditional 2D side-scrolling action with 3D targeting, challenging players to take down enemies in front of them as well as in the background of their surroundings
• Plan and Execute: Each mission is procedurally generated along with objectives, level layouts, and events, requiring a mix of strategic planning and skillful action to complete – no mission is merely “routine”
• Organisation, Corporation, and Cooperation: Team up with friends via Steam or PSN and take on contracts together, handling your personal Operatives to succeed – or fail – together
• Upgrade and Adapt: Earn experience and skill points to upgrade Operatives, and outfit them with the right abilities, weapons, and equipment for the job

Ubisoft has released a new CGI trailer for Assassin’s Creed: Unity that shows Arno racing against time and through a dense and chaotic central Paris in order to prevent the beheading of Elise, a character central to Assassin’s Creed: Unity’s story. As an independent young noblewoman, Elise is determined to secure her place in the Templar dynasty amidst the chaos of the French Revolution. Her quest leads her to cross paths with Arno and establish an unlikely bond with him.

In addition to the new trailer, Ubisoft is offering fans the chance to discover a novel by Oliver Bowden based on Assassin’s Creed: Unity. This new paperback from Penguin Random House builds on Bowden’s past Assassin’s novels – with 3 million copies sold to date – and examines an era when the divide between the rich and poor is at its most extreme, and a nation is tearing itself apart. Told from Elise’s perspective, the book follows her and Arno as they are drawn into the centuries-old battle between the Assassins and the Templars – a world with dangers more deadly than they could ever have imagined – and fight to avenge all they have lost.

Finally, fans can now also order “Elise: The Fiery Templar,” a high quality figurine designed by Ubicollectibles that features Elise as she sets her sights on her target with her gun poised and sword sheathed at the ready on her back. This collectible can be assembled into a diorama with the “Arno: The Fearless Assassin” figurine. Additional digital content for Assassin’s Creed: Unity also is included with the purchase of this collectible.

Assassin’s Creed: Unity will be released worldwide on October 28. The novel Assassin’s: Creed Unity will be available in November. “Elise: The Fiery Templar” figurine will be released on October 14.

Watch the new Arno Master Assassin trailer HERE.

For more information on Assassin’s Creed, please visit: assassinscreed.com

All new clan functionality, reworked Prokhorovka map and HD tank models bring more to the battle in Update 9.2

Wargaming today announced that Update 9.2 for World of Tanks is now available in North America. Players from Europe, Asia and Korea will be able to try out new content and features, including the introduction of the Strongholds game mode and a new map, Fire Arc, on July 31. By adding improvements on eight different maps and four reworked HD vehicle models in game, Update 9.2 continues Wargaming’s commitment to consistently refine the gaming experience throughout 2014.

Strongholds is an all new game mode designed specifically for members of Clan Wars. Clan Commanders are now able to create virtual bases for their clans, participate in Skirmishes alongside their fellow players, earn Industrial Resources, develop their Stronghold up to Level 4 and be awarded with special bonuses called Orders. Tankers can use Orders to activate a variety of temporary in-game bonuses for all clan members in all combat modes. As the level of the Stronghold increases, so does the frequency and quality of bonuses received.

“We are very excited to introduce the first iteration of Strongholds to World of Tanks,” said Anton Pankov, Executive Publishing Producer at Wargaming. “It is an extremely engaging game mode that combines tactics, strategy and action elements, bringing more depth to the World of Tanks metagame. Strongholds will evolve over time based on feedback from the World of Tanks community.”

In addition to Strongholds, Update 9.2 also introduces Fire Arc, the new version of Prokhorovka battle arena with stunning visual effects, as well as four new HD models including the Soviet IS and SU-100, the German StuG III and the British Churchill I, and improvements to eight in-game maps that have been reworked based on player requests.

For more information about World of Tanks and to download the award-winning, free-to-play action MMO, visit the games official website.

Source: Blue’s News

This video demonstrates even Ubisoft’s “chief parkour officer” cannot navigate walls as shown in Assassin’s Creed games, though it does show the way the acrobatics in Assassin’s Creed Unity will be modeled on real-life action. Word is:

“Meet Michael ‘Frosti’ Zernow, Ubisoft’s first Chief Parkour Officer. Starting with Assassin’s Creed Unity, Zernow will serve as an adviser to the franchise, helping the developers ensure the parkour mechanics are as authentic and accurate as possible. In addition to assisting with game accuracy, Zernow and his team of coaches at Tempest Freerunning have helped us design a special parkour course for San Diego Comic Con. Meet Zernow and get your first look at the Assassin’s Creed Experience in the video below.”

Who is really leading the French Revolution?

Source: CVG

A critical moment in the French Revolution sets the scene for Assassin’s Creed Unity in this new trailer from Ubisoft.

“Paris, 1789. Commoners starved in the streets while aristocrats squandered the wealth of the nation,” reads the video description.

“Desperate and angry, they united and revolted against the power at hand and started the Revolution… But did the people truly lead the fight? Or did obscur forces use this time of chaos to spread their power?”

Assassin’s Creed Unity is set in 18th century Paris, during the French revolution, with players cast as French-Austrian assassin Arno Victor Dorian.

Ubisoft has said the game features its “biggest playground ever”, which has been “filled with hundreds of quests, activities and rewards”.

This is the second AC Unity trailer released today – an earlier video discussed the oppression of the people at the hands of “an arrogant and decadent aristocracy”.

The Assassin’s Creed Unity release date is set for October 28 on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.

As obvious as it seems to say, the French Revolution was a particularly violent passage of time.

By Nick Cowen @ CVG

Crack open a history book and you’ll see that the streets of Paris ran red from about 1789 for the next ten years. Heads rolled, blood sprayed and the noggins of popinjays were pinned up on spikes.

(My mum is something of an authority on this. In the few instances I’ve been in Paris with her she’s imparted the bodycount stats outside nearly every landmark in the city of love. True story.)

The Assassin’s Creed franchise has never shied away from bloodletting – hey, the clue is in the title – but Revolutionary France is a particularly bold step even for this series. Not only does it put the action firmly on Ubisoft’s home turf, it explores wounds in a piece of French history that still resonate to this day.

Read on…

Wargaming today unveiled details of its presence at the annual Tankfest, taking place at The Tank Museum in Bovington, England, on June 28 and 29. The company is raising funds to support vehicle restorations at the museum and will reveal its brand new mobile gaming unit, a WWII MGT-20 truck, at the event.

Wargaming organized an in-game special ahead of the military festival, inviting World of Tanks players to purchase a series of premium shop packages from June 21–22, from which the proceeds will go towards restoration projects at Bovington, including repairs of the British Comet tank, the Allied M4 Sherman tank, and the mighty German Jagd Kanonon tank destroyer.

“Wargaming has a long history of collaboration with The Tank Museum in Bovington. We both believe that legendary military warfare has great historic value and should be preserved for future generations,” said Wargaming CEO Victor Kislyi. “This year we’ve offered our players a chance to contribute to the restoration of the museum’s collections, and have been overwhelmingly impressed with their enthusiasm. Seeing our community so eager to participate in such projects allows us to plan for future efforts in supporting events like these.”

Along with announcing its donation, Wargaming will officially open the Company’s MGT-20 event truck. The vehicle will be equipped with gaming stations and Xbox 360 consoles ready and waiting for players to come and test out World of Tanks and World of Tanks: Xbox 360 Edition. Other community events at Tankfest will include raffles, trivia games, Q&A sessions with developers, and giveaways for players.

For more information about Tankfest 2014, please visit www.tankmuseum.org.

Get more game info at the official World of Tanks Website.

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.