Strategy and Wargaming

Sudden Strike is back! Kalypso Media and Kite Games are thrilled to announce the return of the beloved Real Time Strategy series; complete with bigger battlefields, more units, better graphics, new scenarios and legendary commanders with individual abilities – all of which makes Sudden Strike 4 the most tactical and authentic title in the series to date!

Developed as a fully-fledged series entry and not a remake or reboot, Sudden Strike 4 sends you off on three extensive campaigns set amongst the battlefields of World War II. Commanding the British and American, German or Soviet troops, you will lead over 100 different units into battle, including the German bomber Heinkel He111, the Russian T-34 tank, the British Hawker Typhoon fighter plane and the notorious German Panzerkampfwagen VI Tiger. In a first for the Sudden Strike series, you can now choose from one of nine individual commanders, such as George Patton or Bernard Montgomery, who will each allow for different approaches to combat and boast unique abilities.

Prove your tactical expertise in over 20 demanding single player scenarios, the challenge-focused skirmish mode, and the competitive multiplayer mode. A new reward system rewards clever and tactical play, awarding the player with skill points and bonus content, such as historical film footage of the era.

Features of Sudden Strike 4:

• Sudden Strike 4 offers realistic real-time strategy gameplay with tactical depth and a historical setting
• Three campaigns with over 20 missions to test your tactical skills and determining the outcome of significant WWII battles
• As one of nine commanders, lead your army on the battlegrounds of the biggest military conflict in history
• Command more than 100 authentic units – including the Königstiger tank, the Katyusha rocket launcher and the Hawker Typhoon fighter plane
• Pit yourself against other commanders in the competitive multiplayer mode
• The PC version features modding support with Steam Workshop integration

Sudden Strike 4 is available for pre-purchase today on Steam. Along with a 15% discount, those who pre-purchase Sudden Strike 4 will receive: an exclusive skirmish map, ‘The Battle for Kursk’ – one of the biggest tank battles of World War II! A digital copy of the official soundtrack recorded by the Hungarian Studio Orchestra. The Official Digital Art Book featuring the game’s fantastic artwork, including the work of Simon Robert, best known for his work on the hit TV series Game of Thrones!

Sudden Strike 4 offers countless ways to vanquish your opponents. Exploit the weak spots of tanks, set up an ambush, occupy buildings with infantry, outmanoeuvre the enemy with clever positioning or unleash devastating air strikes – how you approach each mission is up to you!

Watch the trailer for Sudden Strike 4 here.

Matrix Games has released some new screenshots showing the new exclusive DLC for Command: Modern Naval Air Operations, You Brexit, You Fix it!

The expansion is the second episode of the innovative series Command LIVE, which goal is to represent contemporary events as they happen as well as what-if scenarios.

In You Brexit, you Fix it! Russia takes advantage of turmoil in Europe following the Brexit to make a move on the Baltic states. Will Putin’s gamble be successful? Or will NATO manage to answer in a decisive manner?

Get more information about Command LIVE: You Brexit, You Fix it from our official product page!

By Jeff Renaud @ The Wargamer

Order of Battle: World War II recently added its Winter War (WW) DLC alongside Morning Sun and U.S. Marines. The latest expansion inaugurates the series’ foray into the greater realm of WWII, the foregoing installments having all been set in the Pacific theatre.

Beginning with the defence of the Mannerheim Line, the DLC’s 13 scenarios also cover the so-called Continuation War, when the Finns allied with Nazi Germany in order to recoup territory lost in the Winter War. Following a separate peace the Finns made with the USSR, German forces sought to evacuate northern Finland and Norway; the Lapland War was the result, concluding OoB: WW.

Read on…

Deadly New Expansion to Launch on August 25 with New Patch

Paradox Interactive, a publisher and developer whose games have serious reaper-cussions, today announced the release date for “The Reaper’s Due,” the upcoming expansion for the medieval grand strategy game Crusader Kings II. Featuring new disease and medicine mechanics and a whole host of deadly new challenges for players’ in-game nobles, The Reaper’s Due will be available on Windows, Mac, and Linux PCs on August 25, 2016.

This expansion will return the Black Death to its rightful place in the center of medieval history, and add new systems that reward sound realm management and planning. But, as with all expansions from Paradox, The Reaper’s Due will launch with a new content patch for Crusader Kings II, updating the game for all players, whether they purchase The Reaper’s Due or not.

Among the changes coming in the new patch will be:

• New custom rules options at start up for epidemics, invasions, legal changes and so on,so you get the Middle Ages that you want.
• New options to auto-save the game at different time intervals
• A new interface for better understanding the death and succession of rulers
• Adjustments to how alliances work, including AI attitudes to disloyal allies
• Major improvements to game optimization
• “Continue” button on game launcher to get you to your map even faster
• New mod triggers to account for The Reaper’s Due content
• Tons and tons of balance and gameplay tweaks, plus new events
• The new patch will also be available with the release of The Reaper’s Due on August 25, 2016.

For those who want more details on The Reapers Due Paradox Development Studio releases regular developer diaries on their forums.

For more information about Crusader Kings II, visit the games official website.

Welcome to the first Beta-AAR of Strategic Command WWII: War in Europe. This is a mini AAR, and as such, the AAR will only cover the inital shots in Gleiwitz Poland in September of 1939, to the fall of France in mid 1940. Since the game is still in Beta, there might be some changes of the material covered between now and the final release, but the game already feels complete and the development team assures me that they don’t expect much to change other than minor items to ensure any final polish and balance to the main campaign.

Check out the first Strategic Command WWII: War in Europe AAR here.

BattleGoat Studios has answered the call to make available new DLC, Trump Rising, for its Geopolitical Game Supreme Ruler Ultimate. Commented Lead Designer, David Thompson, “It is with incredible anguish that we feel obligated to provide our players with a new option to our game. We have prided ourselves with our games’ realistic approach to the world but absolutely nothing prepared us for this…” Lead Programmer, George Geczy added, “”Our games have always excelled at creating a real world simulation with a chaotic future storyline. Now the chaos can feel even more real!”

Availability: Supreme Ruler Trump Rising (FREE DLC for Supreme Ruler Ultimate) will be available for download from Steam on Tuesday July 26th.

“Make America Great Again!”

At first he was dismissed as comic relief and a game show host in a country whose election cycles were long, arduous, and boring. With his bombastic style, he brought entertainment to a process that had long since lost its lustre to a jaded population. However, as the election progressed from Party Primaries to National Conventions and into the General Election, the international community started to take notice, and in some cases, make plans.

“I, Donald J. Trump, do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”

And with those words, the world changed…

Within the United States, civil unrest fueled by racial tensions reaches even higher than in the 1960′s. To China and Russia, the new US President seems so unpredictable and reckless that it seems logical to make a pre-emptive strike rather than wait for him to have a ‘bad hair day’ and launch a strike against them. In Western Europe, leaders are shaken by their new reality and realize they may have to make concessions to Russia now that America can no longer be relied upon. In Mexico, and even in Canada, militaries are brought to an unprecedented level of readiness over concern of Trump’s ambitions.

How will this play out? Will you assume Trump’s role as the new US leader and guide America to renewed Greatness? Or will you instead lead another nation and take advantage of a potentially dysfunctional America to further your own ambition? Supreme Ruler Ultimate: Trump Rising will allow you to take control of a nation in 2020 as the world is engulfed in chaos, or start on inauguration day in January 2017 as Donald Trump takes control of the most powerful nation on earth. Manage economic, diplomatic, and military policies, take on ISIS and North Korea, defend the South China Sea, or just build a wall instead.

Find out more about Supreme Ruler Ultimate at the BattleGoat Studios website.

Is there anything that seems more crucial in recent European history than the possibility of Great Britain leaving the European Union?

Probably not, because it’s really too early to say what the likely outcomes are for the near future. Nevertheless, many military observers seem pretty much convinced that this event could make NATO, the main western collective defensive system, weaker and less effective: What if other countries decide to follow the British example and like in a domino effect, the internal cohesion and cooperation of the European nations is diminished as a consequence?

You Brexit, You Fix it, the second DLC from the innovative Command LIVE series, aims to explore this not so unlikely possibility.

What if the Brexit heralds the beginning of an escalation of events, creating a powder keg situation in Europe?

How would NATO and the EU act in such a situation, where timing and close cooperation are everything?

As for the Old Grudges Never Die scenario, developers WarfareSims, together with help from the modding community have worked hard to recreate, in every detail, a fragile geopolitical tapestry, where even the finest military power is at risk of being futile.

A full analysis of the situation has been dispatched and will be available soon!

Get more information about Command Live: You Brexit, You Fix it from our official product page!

“The Reaper’s Due” Expansion Announced for CK2; Gamebook Available Now

Little remains of those settlements where the Black Death has passed through. Hasty burials make a mockery of the sacraments and set a feast for the crows. Once prosperous provinces have been laid waste, and the lord of the land hides away – secluded in his hilltop fortress, hoping the plague will pass him by. Wiser princes took precautions, and didn’t waste the revenues from more prosperous years.

But, in time, all must pay The Reaper’s Due.

The Reaper’s Due is the newest expansion for Crusader Kings II, the best-selling medieval strategy simulator from Paradox Development Studio. This expansion highlights the historic importance of epidemics and disease in the Middle Ages, especially the Black Death – an outbreak of the bubonic plague that may have killed a third of the population of Europe.

The Reaper’s Due introduces many new systems and features to what is already the richest medieval tapestry in gaming:

• Epidemics Boosted: As diseases may spread from province to province along trade and sea lanes, they lower your manpower and sap your wealth
• Hospitals and Royal Physicians: Prevent the outbreak of disease in your kingdom, and make sure your courtiers have access to the latest in Dark Ages Medical Science
• Prosperity and Royal Focus: Well managed provinces in peaceful kingdoms will pay huge dividends in gold and levies
• Seclusion: Shield yourself from the diseases tearing your kingdom apart, even if it means ignoring the plight of your people
• New Event Chains: Is the new epidemic the End of Days? Is there someone else to blame for these horrors? Are there supernatural origins or solutions to the world’s problems?

Watch the Crusader Kings II: The Reaper’s Due – Announcement Trailer here.

To help you pass the time until release, Paradox is happy to announce the release of a Crusader Kings II gamebook. Crusader Kings: Chronicles is a mobile interactive adventure from M. Harold Page set in the tumult of the Black Death as it ravages England. Read more about the game book here.

For more information on Crusader Kings II, click here.

In Strategic Command you take command of the Axis or the Allies as a whole, without being limited to a single nation. This forces the player to think globally, in order to make the best use of all the resources and to plan successful strategies.

Knowing the strengths and the weaknesses of each faction is crucial to achieve victory!

Take a closer look at this infographic, featuring an interesting comparison of the evolution of the opposing forces in 1939 (the beginning) and in 1943 (the turning point). Divided in four main branches – Military, Research, Economy, Logistics – you’ll find tons of precious information and data!

Get more information about Strategic Command WWII: War in Europe from its official product page! The game is releasing this fall!

Winter War, the latest DLC for the highly praised Order of Battle: World War II, is now OUT for PC and Mac!

Never before have the Winter War and the Continuation War been recreated in such detail. Developer studio The Artistocrats brings these under represented conflicts to your screens.

With a radically different terrain and tactics, gameplay has been greatly altered. Employ ski troops to outmaneuver the enemy on snowy fields! Cross frozen lakes to catch the enemy unaware! Launch ambushes in deep forests! Use mud and frost to slow down the enemy advance then lure them into huge pockets, cutting them off from supply routes, then eliminate them and capture their vehicles!

Take command of the Finnish army and resist the red tide as the Soviet Union assaults you in the Winter War, then take the initiative and launch an offensive to regain lost ground in the Continuation War.

A new campaign with 13 new scenarios, 90 new units, a whole new environment: Winter War revolutionizes the Order of Battle formula. Will you be up to the task?

Grab Winter War now!

And if you’re interested in Winter War, don’t miss tonight’s Twitch live stream on our Twitch Channel at CEST 8 PM / UTC 6 PM / EDT 2 PM!

Remember: you can try the first scenario for free by installing Order of Battle: World War II and launching the Winter War campaign! Give it a try, it’s free!