Strategy and Wargaming

Rome 2 players will find their game updated via Steam today with a new, free content pack. The August Warriors Update adds unique units such as the Hex-Bearers, Amazonian Riders and Scythian Noblewomen to several playable factions, and includes a significant upgrade to the Suebi roster.

Also available for purchase today, the Daughters of Mars Unit Pack brings fearsome new warriors to Rome 2. Whether in defence of their homelands or called upon to fulfil their part in glorious conquest, female combatants featured throughout the ancient world. Adding a swift and deadly mix of fighting styles and abilities to the fray, generals will wisely place value on those who aspire to be the avatars of the war gods themselves!

Daughters of Mars expands the faction rosters of Rome, the Lusitani, the Suebi and Sparta. These new units can also be hired as mercenaries from specific provinces, whichever faction you play as.

Find out more at the official Total War: Rome 2 website.

Learn the Art of War with the Father of Europe in “Art of War” and “Charlemagne” Content

Paradox Interactive today revealed two new game expansions for their award-winning grand strategy titles Europa Universalis IV and Crusader Kings II. The expansions, entitled “Art of War” and “Charlemagne,” coming respectively to Europa Universalis IV and Crusader Kings II, will add new events, new mechanics, new in-game abilities, and plenty of new ways to change the course of history for strategy fans everywhere. Both expansions will be available for their respective games on Windows, Mac, and Linux PCs in the near future.

Charlemagne will introduce Crusader Kings II players to the man who became the “Father of Europe,” uniting much of the continent for the first time since the since the fall of Rome and founding the Holy Roman Empire. Now starting in 769 AD – another century to play! – the expansion will include a series of story events that follows his rise to power, and will come with new game options to allow players to chart their own places in history – such as a new in-game “Chronicle” that highlights a dynasty’s conquests, marriages, and labors for the faith. Kingdoms are also more customizable in Charlemagne with the option to create your own with custom names and banners.

Join the revolution and watch the trailer for Crusader Kings II: Charlemagne HERE.

In Art of War, players of Europa Universalis IV will add new possibilities to explore what Clausewitz called the “continuation of politics by other means.” Changes to battle mechanics will allow wily warlords to launch sorties from sieges, sell obsolete ships and transfer occupied lands to allies. A revamped Reformation system will let you relive the Thirty Years’ War in a series of unique in-game events to see how they fare in Europe’s greatest conflict prior to the 20th century. Once the fighting has settled down, rulers will be able to try a new set of diplomatic options inspired by the Napoleonic Era, including the creation of client states to support – or resist – revolutions. And this is just the beginning.

View the trailer for Europa Universalis IV: Art of War HERE.

To learn more about Europa Universalis IV, visit www.europauniversalis4.com.

To learn more about Crusader Kings II, visit www.crusaderkings.com.

All New Standalone Single-Player Expansion Reliving the Infamous Battle of the Bulge

SEGA of America, Inc. and SEGA Europe Ltd. today announced Company of Heroes 2: Ardennes Assault; an all new standalone single-player expansion and a harrowing new chapter in the critically acclaimed series. Company of Heroes 2: Ardennes Assault is inspired by the conflict that Winston Churchill once described as “undoubtedly the greatest American battle of the war” – the Battle of the Bulge. The new campaign content will see players take control of the US Forces in this pivotal World War II battle in the densely forested, strategically critical Ardennes region of Western Europe. They will face huge tactical and navigational challenges as they strive to repel a surprise attack from the relentless German Oberkommando West forces in 18 brand new, single-player scenarios.

Company of Heroes 2: Ardennes Assault will feature three entirely new Companies to choose from within the US Forces, each with their own unique Officers and play-style. Players will see their decisions and actions reflected across the Ardennes landscape in this dynamic new single-player campaign. Player choices are crucial as every decision will not only impact the story but also their Company with upgrades and Veterancy carrying over from mission to mission. With limited soldiers under your command, you must manage their lives and well-being effectively or risk losing that Company for good. Will you lead your Company valiantly and emerge as heroes?

“We can’t wait to bring our players this awesome new single-player campaign for Company of Heroes 2,” said Greg Wilson, Executive Producer at Relic Entertainment. ”We managed to include more missions in this expansion than we had in the original release and it’s packed full of great new features which we’ll be revealing over the coming months.”

Company of Heroes 2: Ardennes Assault is developed by Relic Entertainment and will be launching on November 18, 2014, for Windows PC and PC digital download platforms.

August 13, 2014 – One hundred years ago today Austro-Hungarian forces cross the River Drina and start their invasion of Serbia. General Oskar Potiorek, Commander of the Austrian forces in the Balkans expected a quick and easy victory, but unexpected resistance from Serbia led to the Battle of Cer that resulted into a serious defeat for the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Field Marshal Putnik, the battle hardened leader of Serbian forces, launched a counter-attack on August 15th giving the Austro-Hungarian’s a bloody nose. Although both sides sustained heavy casualties, the Austro-Hungarian army, surprised by the tenacious resistance fell back in panic and disarray. General Potiorek was humiliated but it was only the first major encounter on this front and lots of famous battles followed.

However Europe was not the only battlefield and at the same moment in Africa, the Entente was seizing the capital of Togoland from the German Empire. The war was spreading like wildfire!

In To End All Wars, the latest wargame designed by Ageod, you will be able to refight the Great War and to manage the destiny of your alliance across the world. Trenches, aerial warfare, new technologies, and an original diplomatic system have been implemented to model the conflict with a high level of realism.

To End All Wars will be available on August the 26th. The countdown has begun…

Get more information on To End All Wars from its official product page.

June 21, 1941 – The German army suddenly turns east and embarks on its ambitious Operation Barbarossa intended to put German troops to Moscow in a couple of weeks. This was the first move of a frightful 4-years conflict that involved millions of soldiers, tanks and weapons of all genres.

In Battle Academy 2, you will have the possibility to join both sides and re-fight some of the key operations that made the east front legendary. Building on the qualities of its predecessor, the gameplay of Battle Academy 2 will preserve both the accessibility and dynamism that built its reputation while enhancing it with brand new tactical tools and vast amounts of new content as well. There are 4 campaigns, a random map generator, multiplayer modes with cooperative and versus gameplay and a unique skirmish mode that allows to generate an infinite number of customized scenarios, you should prepare for long, tough journey on the Eastern Front!

Matrix Games and Slitherine have the pleasure to unveil the official release date of the game: Battle Academy 2 will be available on both our sites and Steam on September 12th.

Get more information on Battle Academy 2 from its official product page.

New Trailer Reveals First-ever In-engine Footage to the General Public

Paradox Interactive today invited strategists and warmongers everywhere to enlist in the “Rush to the Front” reward campaign for Hearts of Iron IV, the upcoming World War II strategy game from Paradox Development Studio. Armies are massing as the world prepares to rewrite the greatest conflict in history, and Hearts of Iron fans can unlock exclusive rewards by winning over recruits to their side.

Simply by visiting the Hearts of Iron website at heartsofiron4.com, ambitious generals can join one of three factions: The Axis, the Allies, or the Comintern. The more members each faction recruits, the more rewards will ultimately be unlocked for all fans, and fans who recruit 20 or more soldiers will have the chance gain access to the Hearts of Iron IV beta. For more details, please visit heartsofiron4.com.

A new trailer today for Hearts of Iron IV has been revealed, displaying in-engine footage of the game’s new strategic planning system for the first time ever.

Witness history in the re-making HERE.

Hearts of Iron IV challenges players to face the brutal conflict of World War II in a multifaceted grand strategy game, where history can be fully relived or rewritten from the perspective of a global superpower attempting to change the world – or a small nation simply trying to survive.

Strategy fans will discover the most authentic real-time simulation of World War II to date, with authentic historical figures battling on land, sea, and air with period-accurate armies, vehicles, and newly discovered weapons of mass destruction – along with plenty of diplomatic and trade tactics.

Gentlemen, upgrade your war! The 3.0 Upgrades for Combat Mission: Battle for Normandy and Combat Mission: Fortress Italy are finally here! The Upgrades convert and upgrade your existing games (and any installed modules) automagically to include most of the advanced new CMx2 v3.00 game features! (This includes features you may already know and enjoy in Combat Mission: Red Thunder and makes them available for Normandy and Italy!)

Visit the Combat Mission: Battle for Normandy news page at Battlefront.com for more upgrade information!

For the last two months the On Target Simulations team has been hard at work to polish the PC Game of the Year 2013 (awarded by The Wargamer) – Flashpoint Campaigns: Red Storm. The developers have been focused on the community feedback, and the 2.04 patch introduces a lot of improvements that the players have been requesting since the original release of the game.

New features, tons of fixes, UI improvements and enhanced game functions come together to make the game play even better. As of now you will get more feedback on events, more flexibility with custom maps and markers, and even get open access to the game’s awesome scenarios so you can adapt them to your own taste!

The list of improvements is so long that On Target Simulations wrote a comprehensive “What’s new” document that you can read here. They do not forget the newcomers either, so the new armchair generals can get access to the revised version of the “Quick Start & Tutorial Guide” by clicking here.

Here you can see some of the major changes brought by 2.04:

• Movement Orders End State Setting: Once you finish issuing a movement order you can select the end state order of the move among four choices: Hold, Screen, On Call and Resupply
• Dismount Dialog: If the unit is carrying infantry or scouts you will have the option to have them dismount and move to the final objective on foot with the transports supporting the move. The unit will adopt the order state given in the new Orders on Arrival dialog
• Waypoints/Waypoint Editor: there is an option to inspect group waypoints and also set delays to coordinate arrivals better.

Click here to download the 2.04 patch.

Get more information on Flashpoint Campaigns: Red Storm from its official product page.

Matrix Games announce that Warhammer 40,000: Armageddon, one of the most anticipated turn-based strategy games of the year, is getting ready for release! This detailed multiplatform wargame is now ready to enter the PC beta phase and we invite players to help us test it! By signing up for the beta, players will have a chance to be selected to be one of the lucky few, who will be able experience Warhammer 40,000: Armageddon before release and help us with the final touches, ensuring a smooth release later this year.

Warhammer 40,000: Armageddon is set during the Second War for Armageddon. In this hex-based, turn-based game developed by Flashback Games and The Lordz Games Studio, players will lead the Imperial forces of the Armageddon Steel Legion and Space Marines from a variety of Chapters against the Ork invasion through over 30 scenarios, on the hostile terrain of the planet and its gigantic Hive Cities.

The game features a complex plot, involving known characters from the Warhammer 40,000 universe and while advancing through the campaign, the player will have the ability to carryover his core force from scenario to scenario.

Players can sign up for the beta by clicking here.

Get more information on Warhammer 40,000: Armageddon from its official product page.

Source: Blue’s News

Steam News announces the release of six new commanders for Company of Heroes 2, the World War II RTS sequel. There are three new US commanders and three new German commanders, and for the next week they are all being offered for 25% off.

The new commanders are:

• US Forces Commander: Recon Support Company
• US Forces Commander: Mechanized Company
• US Forces Commander: Rifle Company
• OKW Commander: Elite Armor Doctrine
• OKW Commander: Scavenge Doctrine
• OKW Commander: Fortifications Doctrine