First-Person Shooters

Rising Storm 2: Vietnam players can look forward to one of the biggest multiplayer updates released to date with today’s launch of the Rising Storm 2: Vietnam MP Campaign update from publisher Tripwire Interactive and developer Antimatter Games. Following a successful beta and out now on Steam, the update introduces a new 64-player Campaign Mode that charges players with deciding the fate of the war in Vietnam. Choose between Northern or Southern forces and fight for control of key territories from 1965 through 1975 with available forces and weaponry varying depending on the year.

Rising Storm 2: Vietnam MP Campaign key features include:

• Full 64-Player Campaign Mode
• Choose your side: Take control of Northern or Southern forces, battling for control region by region
• Fight from 1965 through 1975 with different forces and weaponry available to each side as time progresses
• Select regions to compete for, the army to use, and the map to fight over
• Northern forces can make strategic use of the Ho Chi Minh Trail option to bring stronger People’s Army of Vietnam (PAVN) forces to bear
• Southern forces can respond with carefully timed use of the Search and Destroy option
• Added Variety: Fight over classic maps with new armies, different Commander abilities and weapons, and different attackers and variety
• Help decide the fate of the Vietnam war!

Tripwire Interactive and Antimatter games are also excited to support the Rising Storm 2: Vietnam modding community with a brand-new player-made map included with today’s official release of the MP Campaign update.

New Map – Highway 14: Winner of the Rising Storm 2: Vietnam $40,000 Modding Contest, this massive map finds the US Army fighting along a highway through difficult terrain, clearing objectives while NFL guerrilla forces work to stop them at every opportunity.

As with every significant update, today’s Rising Storm 2: Vietnam MP Campaign update also includes a large number of smaller updates, bug fixes, and quality of life enhancements, including:

• Tripwire Traps and Tunnel Spawns can now be placed on more surface types, making them more useful in urban environments.
• New Cosmetics: ARVN forces now get their own variant of ERDL camouflage and tiger stripe boonie hat. US forces get Mitchell Cloud camouflage.
• New Thunder Clap sound effect: In response to a request from a Rising Storm 2: Vietnam mapper, the developers have created a new single sound effect for a clap of thunder, replacing the existing looping effect – and hopes the player enjoys using it!

Available now on PC, Rising Storm 2: Vietnam is the sequel to Rising Storm, PC Gamer magazine’s 2013 ‘Multiplayer Game of the Year’, published by Tripwire Interactive and developed by Antimatter Games. Command your team to victory in massive 64-player battles with authentic weapons, aircraft, and maps that pit conventional military forces against guerilla forces.

Stay up-to-date with the latest Rising Storm 2: Vietnam news and information at www.rs2Vietnam.com.

Activision and Treyarch have released a brand new gameplay trailer for Blackout, Call of Duty: Black Ops 4’s all-new Battle Royale mode that delivers signature Call of Duty gameplay immersed in Classic Environments and Characters from the Black Ops universe.

Blackout drops players into a last-player-standing experience that is uniquely Black Ops. A true celebration of the series, Blackout features fan-favourite characters, weapons and iconic parts of classic maps, all in the largest map in franchise history complete with land, sea and air vehicles.

And, starting Monday, September 10th, players can get their first hands-on experience with Blackout in the Blackout Private Beta, beginning first on PlayStation 4. The Private Beta will provide valuable user feedback and data as Activision and developer Treyarch prepare to release the deepest, most engaging Call of Duty game ever on October 12th.

For more information, fans can visit www.callofduty.com.

This evening before gamescom DICE announced that the Battlefield V Open Beta will begin on September 4 for early access and September 6 for all players on Origin for PC, Xbox One and PlayStation®4. The Open Beta will showcase the soon-to-be-iconic Rotterdam map on Conquest mode as well as the Arctic Fjord map on both Conquest and Grand Operations. Revealed just last week, the Rotterdam map will immerse players in a battle fought throughout the streets of Holland where the game’s dynamic physicality and destruction will be on full display. New to the Battlefield franchise, Grand Operations is a multiplayer experience across multiple maps and modes that that takes players through a powerful narrative journey inspired by historical events. All of this Open Beta content can be previewed by attendees of gamescom this week, where it will be playable in Hall 6 on the show floor on PC and Xbox One X.

Also, this evening, DICE showcased NVIDIA’s new RTX technology announced during NVIDIA’s press conference with a jaw-dropping live demo of Battlefield V on PC, one of the first games being developed on the NVIDIA RTX platform to feature real-time ray tracing as a rendering technique. Previously used to pre-render lifelike worlds in movies, ray tracing with the NVIDIA RTX platform brings real-time, cinematic-quality rendering to video games. In Battlefield V, NVIDIA RTX allows DICE to imitate the way light is reflected in the real world enhancing the fidelity of reflective surfaces in every level, map and locale in the game. This will ensure Battlefield V feels more lifelike and dynamic, leading to a more immersive experience that makes players feel like the battle is unfolding in a full 360-degrees around them. The use of real-time ray tracing in Battlefield V is made possible by NVIDIA’s new GeForce RTX 20 series GPUs.

“It’s always been important to us as a studio to stay one step ahead as we look to increase the graphical fidelity in games,” said Christian Holmquist, Technical Director at DICE. “With this new NVIDIA RTX platform, more detail than ever before can now be seen on the battlefield, from recognizing the flash of a muzzle being reflected off a car to spotting the detailed reflection of a devastated facade in a splash of water on the ground. Things in the environment will feel more lifelike and real and all-out war will never look the same.”

“We’ve been close partners with DICE for many years and we’ve spent much of the last year deeply embedded with their team in Stockholm to bring this vision to life,” said Tony Tamasi, Senior Vice
President of Content and Technology at NVIDIA. “With the help of NVIDIA RTX, DICE is creating a revolutionary moment for computer graphics in Battlefield V, as ray tracing has been used in film for years and has long been considered the Holy Grail for real-time rendering in games.”

Building upon this partnership with NVIDIA, both NVIDIA Ansel and Highlights will be also be integrated into Battlefield V for GeForce PC gamers. NVIDIA Highlights automatically captures a gamer’s greatest gaming achievements in video. Integrated directly with the game, it knows precisely when that magic moment will happen and automatically records it using NVIDIA ShadowPlay technology, making it easier to capture those Only in Battlefield moments.

NVIDIA Ansel, available in the single-player War Stories in Battlefield V, is a revolutionary way to capture in-game photography. Users can compose shots from any position, adjust with post-process filters, capture HDR images in high-fidelity formats, and share their screenshots with the world.

Watch the official Battlefield V: Official GeForce RTX Trailer  HERE.

Battlefield V will be available worldwide October 19th on Xbox One, PlayStation®4 and Origin for PC. Those that pre-order the Battlefield V Deluxe Edition on any platform will get access three days early on October 16, while Origin Access Premier members on PC will be able to play the full game on October 11th. Origin Access Basic members on PC and EA Access members on Xbox One will also be able to jump into the Play First Trial on October 11. Players that pre-order any edition of the game with the Battlefield V Enlister Offer will get early access to the Open Beta and other in-game benefits including soldier customization options, access to Special Assignments starting at launch week and immediate access to five weapons to use in Battlefield 1.

Full details on the Open Beta can be found on the Battlefield Blog.

Deep Silver and 4A Games announced today that Metro Exodus is available to pre-order across all major physical and digital retailers in North America.

For those who prefer physical products, two versions are available:

The Aurora Limited Edition contains a copy of the game in an exclusive Steelbook®, a beautiful 32-page art book, and the Metro Exodus Expansion Pass, all contained within a bespoke metal outer case inspired by The Aurora, the steam locomotive that Artyom and his companions use to journey across post-apocalyptic Russia. The Aurora Limited Edition represents fantastic value and will be in limited supply at select retailers worldwide. Meanwhile, the Standard Edition contains the game disc in a standard box and will be widely available.

On digital storefronts, you can choose between the Standard and Gold Edition of Metro Exodus; both contain the game itself, while the latter also includes the Metro Exodus Expansion Pass.

All physical PC pre-orders and Steam pre-orders include a digital art book and the Metro Exodus OST.

No upcoming in-game content has been reserved for pre-order – gamers can order with the knowledge that no matter where, how, or when they buy Metro Exodus, they are getting the full experience as 4A Games intended it.

Metro Exodus will be released on Feb. 22, 2019 on Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC. Pre-order now from www.metrothegame.com/preorder. Watch the Metro Exodus Pre Order Trailer HERE.

Experience the ultimate sniper gameplay, set against the rough terrain of the Siberian wilderness and featuring a brand new contracts system that encourages strategic thinking across engaging, replayable missions

CI Games have announced the next game in its acclaimed tactical shooter series: Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts. The title takes its genre-defining sniping gameplay to the harsh climates of the Siberian wilderness and introduces a brand new way to play – the contracts system. The game features both single player and multiplayer modes, and is set to release on PC, PS4 and Xbox One in 2019.

Drawing upon community feedback, Contracts delivers tense, mission-based scenarios with CI Games’ best sniping ever. This is all thanks to the new contracts system, which takes a step back from Sniper Ghost Warrior 3’s open world. In the single player campaign, players dive headfirst into tailor-made contract missions that offer a clear main objective with a fixed monetary reward, and have the option to complete secondary objectives for bonus payouts. Feel like you can do better? Jump back in and tackle the mission from a different angle — players can repeat every contract to earn more money.

Contracts distills the core sniping gameplay that series fans have come to love, offering dense, more focused maps that reward tactical thinking. With a wealth of optional objectives to complete, the combination of open-ended missions and emergent gameplay ensure these scenarios are wildly replayable. Couple this with the intense environmental obstacles presented by the harsh, modern-day Siberian wilderness, as well as hundreds of ways to take down a wide range of targets, and Contracts offers sniping gameplay at its absolute best.

“It is exciting to see the team really motivated and working hard on our next sniping game,” said CI Games Chief Executive Officer, Marek Tymiński. “They don’t have to start from scratch this time and can now – on top of developing new content – spend way more time on improving things they already have.” This highlights CI Games’ commitment to listening to their community and iterating on their feedback.

Tymiński continued, “We were too ambitious in terms of the scope of Sniper Ghost Warrior 3, but we’ve learned from our missteps. Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts will be more focused on emergent gameplay with an open-ended mission design that the team feels strong about, but it will not be set in an open world. It is going to be a more tactical, more condensed experience and the game will offer plenty of replayability, both on the single player campaign and on the multiplayer modes.”

All of this is coupled with a more optimized game engine, minimizing load times and maintaining a stable FPS, keeping players grounded in the rich, moment-to-moment sniping gameplay. Between the introduction of its Siberian setting, a return-to-form with an intense mission-based system, and sniping at its best, Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts is locked and loaded to impress genre and first-person fans alike.

Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts will launch in 2019 on PS4, Xbox One and PC.

If you’re looking for a tense, tactical game where skill and cunning are equally important, then look no further than Rainbow Six: Siege. Starting Thursday, August 16, PS4, Xbox One, and PC players can play the game for free until August 20.

If you find yourself hungering for some more Siege after the weekend, you can pick up the Standard, Advanced, Gold, and Complete Editions of the game for a discount of up to 60% off if you purchase before August 27. Players who participate in the free weekend will see all of their progress carry over.

The free weekend coincides with the Six Major Paris tournament, Europe’s largest Rainbow Six: Siege competition ever. Tune in to witness the best professional players from around the world compete at the highest level. The tournament will take place from August 13 to August 19 and be broadcast on twitch.tv/Rainbow6.

The Six Major Paris broadcast is also the place to see the full reveal of Siege’s next season, Operation Grim Sky. The new season will feature two new Operators – an American Attacker and a British Defender – as well as a completely reworked Hereford Base map.

The free weekend is the perfect time to join the more than 35 million Siege players around the world. Rainbow Six Siege is currently available on PS4, Xbox One, and PC.

Get into the Free Weekend August 16-20th.

Ubisoft has announced that Far Cry 5: Lost on Mars, the second post-launch adventure, is now available on PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system, the Xbox One family of devices including Xbox One X and Windows 10 PC.

Lost on Mars continues the uncanny adventures in the Far Cry 5 Season Pass as players travel to Mars as Nick Rye and Hurk eradicate alien arachnids. Lost on Mars can be purchased as stand-alone DLC, as part of the season pass or with the Gold Edition.

Lost on Mars transports the franchise’s insanity to the Red Planet as Nick Rye and Hurk teleport to Mars in an effort to restore power to ANNE, a futuristic AI representing humanity’s last line of defense. This adventure will also give players a new arsenal of alien weaponry, including:

• Blaster of Disaster: A single-shot space gun made of trusty alien hardware.
• Hellfire: Fires 15 bouncing laser balls, inflicting serious damage.
• Morphinator: Harness the power of science to turn predators into prey – with an explosive twist.
• Space Jets: Defy gravity and blast across Mars in an entirely new way to navigate extraterrestrial terrain.

In addition, all Far Cry 5 players can access new Mars-themed assets in Far Cry Arcade, available now. Map builders will be able to integrate these assets into their existing maps or create new sci-fi-themed maps.

Ubisoft also released the Far Cry 5: Lost on Mars soundtrack , a funky, sci-fi, 70s-inspired spaghetti western track list created and performed by film composer Anthony Marinelli. Marinelli used his original vintage analog synthesizers from iconic films Young Guns, Starman, War Games and Michael Jackson’s Thriller, as well as sci-fi orchestra riffs, baritone guitar, banjo, dobro, wah guitar and funky bass lines to get players grooving with the spiders on Mars. The soundtrack is available HERE.

The Far Cry 5: Lost On Mars Launch Trailer is available for viewing HERE.

For more information about Far Cry 5, please visit farcry.com.

Following the announcement of Just Cause 4 at E3 this year, we’ve seen a lot of excitement generated around the game. In order to provide more information on what to expect from the game, we are excited to share with you the first five videos in our “Just Cause 4 Making Of” series. Straight from the mouths of the developers, this series delivers key, new information as well as detailing all of the most impressive new features in Just Cause 4.

The following videos are ready to be viewed now:

Apex Power

Named upon the concept of an Apex being a pinnacle or peak, the team at Avalanche discuss the new Apex Engine, built from the ground up to enable them to create the most dynamic instalment of the Just Cause series with best-in class features.

Force of Nature

The team explain how Rico, a force of nature in his own right, will work through and with the elements of tornadoes, sandstorms and torrential rain, and detail the simulation systems necessary for allowing extreme weather the perfect combination of realism and fun.

The Grapple Hook

The embodiment of Rico is the grappling hook, the ultimate sandbox tool. Not only can it still achieve the same explosive destruction that players had in previous titles, it also now has new abilities, new options, and is fully customisable.

Redefining Rico

A best in class sandbox with unrivalled physics would be nothing without a hero to match. A new challenge awaits for Rico, he has left the agency and gone rogue. He returns in Just Cause 4 with more depth and complexity, but is no less the action hero fans have come to expect.

The World of Solis

The team explains how they created 500 years of backstory to inspire the world design and narrative, from colonial style original settlers to contemporary buildings.

The Making of Series originally aired as part of the Just Cause E3 Blowout Livestream at E3.

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 fully simulated tornadoes and other Extreme Weather events. Rico Rodriguez returns in Just Cause 4 with his trademark parachute, wingsuit and, of course his grapple hook, now enhanced with new functionality and fully customisable. Making it the most powerful and creative tool the player has ever had.

Just Cause 4 is available to pre-order now before it is unleashed unto the world on the 4th of December.

New Game Mode, Graphics Overhaul, and BattleRank System are Go!

Old recruits, new recruits, stand to attention! Players of Bulkhead Interactive’s ambitious old-school WW2 shooter Battalion 1944 are about to feel the force of a fairly hefty ammo drop, opening up a new game mode, a slick new graphics overhaul, and a brand new free progression system called BattleRank, amongst scores of other major updates.

Rolling out on 12th July 2018, this package of updates is the latest in a line of tweaks and improvements being worked on by the Bulkhead Interactive team as they continue to manage the game’s run through Early Access – a process bolstered by the team’s decision to solicit feedback from the Battalion 1944 community, helping to improve the game’s stability by testing the latest version.

Leading the line is a brand new competitive game mode Wartide 2.0, a new matchmaking system, a complete visual overhaul (including brand new character models, an impressive graphics revamp, and a total rework of character movement), a new map, a new sound engine, and a massive rebalancing of the game’s weapons.

This new update will also see the launch of BattleRank, which is designed to make Battalion 1944 an even more engaging and rewarding prospect. Split into seasons of roughly three months each, BattleRank will unlock new exclusive rewards and weapon skins that can only be acquired during that period. Continued play will enable gamers to build up their experience points (XP) in order to unlock new levels of rewards. Unlike ‘battlepass systems’ in other games, however, BattleRank will be free.

“This is the biggest round of updates we’ve released for Battalion 1944 to date, and is the result of our mission to make the game as absorbing and captivating as it can possibly be,” says Joe Brammer – Studio Lead at Bulkhead Interactive. “We’ve been listening to our players and taking their feedback into consideration as we look to build the game in a way that both meets their expectations and offers a few surprises for them along the way, too.”

The update follows on from Square Enix Collective® and Bulkhead Interactive’s previous unveiling of a four day long, $50,000 tournament, set to occur September 27-30 of this year. The best Battalion 1944 players will head to the Esports Game Area to compete amongst open qualifiers victors and an invited team for an opportunity to win prizes from a total prize pool of $50,000.

Click here for the full changelog and view the new Major Update 2 trailer.

Battalion 1944 is currently available on Steam via Early Access for $14.99/€14.99/£11.39.

Insurgency: Sandstorm is New World Interactive’s reborn, improved, and expanded sequel to indie multiplayer FPS hit Insurgency, coming September 2018 to PC and 2019 to consoles. In the new E3 2018 trailer, discover how Insurgency: Sandstorm brings you closer to the action than ever in tense, coordinated skirmishes where skill is rewarded, and teamwork wins the fight.

New World Interactive and Focus Home Interactive are also excited to announce the opening of pre-orders on Steam. PC players can pre-order with a 10% discount and get access to the beta a few weeks before the release of the game. An additional 10% discount will be given to players that own the original Insurgency – this additional discount will be offered until the end of 2018.

Prepare for a hardcore depiction of combat with deadly ballistics, light attack vehicles, destructive artillery, and unprecedented audio design putting the fear back into the genre. Death comes fast, ammunition must be carefully managed, and the environment must be tactically navigated at every step toward victory.

Insurgency: Sandstorm is a game of team-based tactics and objective-oriented gameplay in a fictional, contemporary Middle Eastern conflict, complete with player versus player, competitive matchmaking and co-operative game modes versus AI. Your soldier’s appearance, weapons, attachments, armor, and amount of carried ammo are all up to you. Call in airstrikes, use vehicles with mounted weapons, and equip a wide range of specialist weaponry from grenades to drones to C4 explosives.

Visit the Insurgency: Sandstorm  website for more game information.