First-Person Shooters

Source: Blue’s News

EA’s Battlelog has details on how to pick up Battlefield 4 Second Assault for free for the coming week (June 21 to June 28), offering a 100% discount on this DLC for owners of Battlefield 4. In the same update they also offer details about a new community challenge in the military shooter sequel that will reward participants with gold backpacks (perfect camouflage for battles in Fort Knox) if the community can manage 25,000,000 collective revives over the next week. Battlefield 4 Second Assault includes four maps that hearken back to the old days of Battlefield 3. Here’s a trailer promoting the giveaway.

Alongside a brand new trailer, which premiered during the PC Gaming Show at E3 2016, Bohemia Interactive has announced the release date for the much-anticipated Arma 3 Apex expansion. Launching worldwide on July 11th this year, Arma 3 Apex will bring players to the 100 km² South Pacific archipelago Tanoa, with a new arsenal of weapons and vehicles at their disposal, as well as additional armed forces, a co-op campaign, and more.

Calling all troops to the front lines, Bohemia Interactive also announced that, as of today (almost one month before release), everyone who pre-ordered Arma 3 Apex has Sneak Preview Access to all of the expansion’s content, except for the co-op campaign. To install the Apex Sneak Preview build, you simply need to right-click on Arma 3 in your Steam Library, go to ‘Properties’, visit the ‘BETAS’ tab, and use the drop-down menu to select and install the Apex Sneak Preview build. This build represents a work-in-progress version and is not yet fully representative of the final Arma 3 Apex release.

With its distinct geographical features and varied locations, Apex’s South Pacific island archipelago of Tanoa introduces fresh opportunities for all types of combat operations. Making use of 13 new weapons (providing a mix of classic and near-future firearms), and 10 new vehicles (including new vehicle classes such as VTOL aircraft and LSVs), players can engage in authentic combat on a massive scale, where movement, shooting, and teamwork truly matter. The new 1-4 player co-op campaign sees players take on the role of NATO CTRG special operators, who are sent to Tanoa in order to prevent a humanitarian disaster, but quickly find themselves facing a far bigger threat than they bargained for.

Representing the pinnacle of over 15 years of Arma development, Bohemia Interactive has published a brand new developer diary video about their major upcoming expansion for Arma 3: Arma 3 Apex. In the video, Project Lead Petr Kolář and Creative Director Jay Crowe unveil the expansion’s setting and content.

Arma 3 Apex is now available for pre-order with a 20% discount for 23.99 EUR / 19.99 GBP / 27.99 USD (regular price: 29.99 EUR / 24.99 GBP / 34.99 USD) on Steam and the Bohemia Store. Those who are new to Arma 3, but want to enlist for the complete experience at the best price, can choose to pick up the Arma 3 Apex Edition for 59.99 EUR / 44.99 GBP / 69.99 USD.

For more information about the Apex expansion, please visit the official web page where you find a complete overview of its content and features.

Today, during the E3 press conference, Ubisoft® revealed that Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Wildlands, the latest in the best-selling Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon franchise, will be available March 7, 2017 on Xbox One, PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system and Windows PC.

Developed by Ubisoft Paris, Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Wildlands is a military shooter set in a massive and responsive open world, entirely playable in single-player or up to four-player co-op. Players will discover Bolivia a few years from now, a country turned into a narco-state by the vicious Santa Blanca drug cartel.

Sent behind enemy lines, Ghosts will have to cripple the Santa Blanca cartel’s operation, breaking alliances between the drug lords and the corrupted government, and saving the Bolivian population from the cruelty of El Sueño, Santa Blanca’s ruthless leader. To do so, players will have a total freedom of choice to accomplish their missions how they want and watch as the world reacts to their actions.

For more information about Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Wildlands, please visit ghostrecon.com.

Independent UK developer Rebellion is delighted to announce the release date for Sniper Elite 4: its new entry in the award-winning, chart-topping World War 2 shooter franchise will open next year’s Q1 of big-hitting game releases, landing worldwide on February 14, 2017 for PS4, Xbox One and PC.

Jason and Chris Kingsley, co-founders of Rebellion, explained the decision to release the studio’s marquee title in February:

“When we revealed Sniper Elite 4 back in March our plan was to release it at the end of 2016,” they explained, “However, we now know Battlezone will release in October as a launch title alongside PlayStation VR. That gave us a tough decision to make. Ultimately, we’re a relatively small independent studio, and releasing two major titles in the same quarter didn’t seem like a sensible thing to do. A few of our shared internal teams will probably sleep a bit easier now!”

While this does mean players will have to wait just a little longer to get their hands on the title, there is another big benefit to a 2017 release:

“Launching Sniper Elite 4 in February gives us the opportunity to take a game that’s already received some of the best preview feedback we’ve ever had, and give it that extra bit of attention,” the Kingsley brothers affirmed, “We know a lot of you will be disappointed you won’t get to play Sniper Elite 4 this year, but we feel this decision will prove in the long run to be a win-win for both us and you, the fans.”

Check out some new screenshots here (Hosted by Blue’s News).

‘Empires fell. Teabags were invented’ – DICE on the brilliant Battlefield 1 – New Videos

By Martin Robinson @ Eurogamer

Battlefield 1, in case you had any doubt, is shaping up to be a fine video game, even if it’s a very familiar one. EA afforded us the chance to play it before the publisher’s E3 showcase, granting a quick 15-minute blast across the new map St. Quentin’s Scar in Battlefield’s trademark Conquest mode, with a full complement of 64 players. It’s a very impressive-looking game, bringing a heightened level of physicality to the series as players burst through doors or seamlessly transition into vehicles, and a new level of destruction as whole villages are levelled through the course of a match.

Following the hands-on, I caught up with Lars Gustavsson, creative director at DICE and a stalwart of the Battlefield series, to find out anything more I could about the new game.

Read on…

New Call of Duty Coming Nov. 4 Features Harington as the Face of the Enemy

Activision Publishing, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Activision Blizzard, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI), announced today that Kit Harington will be featured in the upcoming Call of Duty®: Infinite Warfare, scheduled for release 4th November. The role marks a dramatic shift for the popular actor as he portrays the face of the enemy in the new Call of Duty game in development by Infinity Ward.

“Kit is an amazing talent and the consummate pro,” said Taylor Kurosaki, narrative director, Infinity Ward. “Our story is about an epic showdown of opposing forces and Kit immersed himself into the role and truly became the embodiment of the enemy, the Settlement Defense Front. We can’t wait for fans to see Kit play an entirely different kind of character.”

To lend additional support to the production, Activision and Infinity Ward worked closely with director Guy Ritchie, who is familiar with the Call of Duty ® franchise, having helmed the acclaimed live-action trailer “Surprise” for Call of Duty®: Black Ops II.

Read more…

By Robert Purchese @ Eurogamer

CI Games has moved the Sniper: Ghost Warrior 3 worldwide release date to 27th January 2017. It’s due on PC, PS4 and Xbox One.

The statement was made by CI Games for the Warsaw Stock Exchange but was spotted by Eurogamer Poland and then relayed to me.

Sniper: Ghost Warrior 3 had been due this year. This game will be the biggest and most expensive in the popular series so far. There’s a new parkour system this time, there are vehicles, and there are War Crimes side missions, gruesomely.

Find out more about Sniper: Ghost Warrior 3 at the games official website.

Following an early release for Expansion Pass holders, Just Cause 3: MECH LAND ASSAULT – the second content pack from the Air, Land and Sea Expansion Pass – is out on 10th June for everybody, and there’s a brand new animated launch trailer to mark the occasion.

The launch trailer, released today, shows Just Cause’s signature destruction realised in an animated style, as Rico’s mechanized loader punches a helicopter out of the sky.

MECH LAND ASSAULT takes Rico Rodriguez to the new island of Lacrima, home to an abandoned eDEN research base and a prison camp run by the mysterious Black Hand. Defended by huge powerful Mechs, Rico will need the new Bavarium Power Core rifle to disable their shields and hijack them. Once inside, Rico can use their powerful cannons and the GRIP Gravity Guns to hurl and smash the enemy into pieces.

Features

• Pilot two types of powerful Mech and drive them anywhere in Medici.
• Unleash the Mech’s Gravitational Remote Influence Projector or “GRIP” to attract and hurl objects at your enemies.
• Jump and smash helicopters from the sky or ground pound tanks with the GRIPS’s “Force Pulse” attack.
• Prove your skills and earn upgrades in Mech arena challenges.
• Call in a Rebel Mech buddy for extra firepower when the going gets tough.
• Includes a powerful new energy weapon, the Bavarium Power Core rifle.

The MECH LAND ASSAULT pack is priced at $11.99 / €11.99 / £9.49 whilst the AIR, LAND & SEA Expansion Pass is available for $24.99 / €24.99 / £19.99. The final content pack – BAVARIUM SEA HEIST – will be released by the end of summer 2016, released one week early to Expansion Pass holders.

More game information available at the official Just Cause 3 website.

Battlefield 1 Will Have Six Weapon Classes

Source:  PCGamesN

Battlefield 1 is heading back to the muddy murder fields of World War One, and that means an era where there weren’t quite the gazillion different guns that there are in the modern world. There will still be plenty of weapons to choose from in the game though, drawn from a pool of six types.

Available to use will be shotguns, SMGs, LMGs, semi-autos, sidearms, and sniper-rifles. Presumably ‘sniper rifles’ mean any kind of bolt-operated weapon, considering most standard infantrymen in WW1 were using non-scoped, manual rifles.

A short trailer shows some of those weapons in action, including a mace and a German LMG. It’s a mere 15 seconds though, but we’ll get a much better look at the game on June 12, when DICE will host a 64-player match at E3 to show off the game’s multiplayer.

Heroes of The West Mod, Darkest Hour: Europe ‘44-’45 Mod Updated

Tripwire is very pleased to announce that a brand new content update is now live for Heroes of the West, the official community-made mod for Red Orchestra 2/Rising Storm to coincide with the anniversary of the Allied landings in Normandy on D-Day 72 years ago.

First made available in March of this year, Heroes of the West was created entirely by members of the community (as Kernow Interactive with support and assets from Tripwire and Antimatter Games) and showcases Tripwire’s commitment to its fans.

The update introduces 2 new maps, the first being a combined arms map featuring the British in a grueling fight to break out from the Normandy beachhead in summer 1944. The map, Caen Outskirts, introduces the British Bren Carrier troop transport.

The other map, Hill 400, recreates the bitter fighting in the winter of 1944 with the 2d Ranger Battalion struggling against Axis forces in the Hurtgen Forest.

There have been numerous balance, technical and cosmetic additions and fixes introduced in this update. To view a full changelog, please visit the Heroes of the West Steam Store Page.

For fans of the original Red Orchestra game, Darklight Games has also released a free update today for Darkest Hour: Europe ‘44-’45. More information about that new update can be viewed on its respective Steam Store Page.

To celebrate the release, Tripwire is also kicking off a 75% off sale for Red Orchestra, Red Orchestra 2, and Rising Storm. The sale runs from Monday June 6 at 10AM PST/1PM EST through Wednesday, June 8 at 10AM PST/ 1PM EST.