Month: May 2018

Creative Assembly has announced the next slice of Total War: Warhammer 2 DLC called Queen & The Crone.

The Hag-Queen, Crone Hellebron, will be leading a murderous army of Dark Elves from the dark lands of Naggaroth to wipe out everything that is good in the world. This will be the first Legendary Lords pack released playable in both the Eye of the Vortex and Mortal Empires campaign. The content will include new elite units, quest chains, magic items and skill trees, all centred around Queen Alarielle the Radiant and Crone Hellebron.

• Two new Legendary Lords with new quest chains, magic items and skill trees
• New campaign mechanics and objectives
• New Hero type for High Elves
• New Lord type for Dark Elves
• New battlefield units for both races
• 16 elite Regiments of Renown

Free content will also be released at the same time, Alith Anar will be a new, free Legendary Lord alongside The Queen & The Crone, as well as his personal Shadow Walker unit.

Due for release on 31 May, The Queen & The Crone is currently available to pre-order at a 10% discount from SEGA approved digital retailers including Steam. Further details can now also be found in a blog post from CA.

Paradox continues their expansion announcements at PDXCon with the reveal of Crusader Kings 2: Holy Fury. Holy Fury is coming in 2018 for the suggested retail price of $19.99.

Crusader Kings II: Holy Fury is the newest and one of the most wide-ranging expansions to Paradox Development Studio’s beloved medieval grand strategy role-playing game. Take charge of a body of righteous warriors in Holy Fury, leading your army on a Crusade for the faith, or defending against attackers. Holy Fury takes its inspiration from the Northern Crusaders of Catholic Europe against its Pagan neighbors. Play either side in a new holy war.

In Holy Fury, Pagan rulers who reform their religion instead of converting will have a chance to design that new Reformed Paganism. A religion of peace or one of war? Will you be guided by the stars or bow to the whims of bloodthirsty gods? Who will lead this new church? Build a new creed on the ashes of the old ways.

Other features in Crusader Kings II: Holy Fury include:

• Shattered and Random Worlds: Start your game on a fictional map of Europe as a small realm fighting for space, or on a random map with historical analogues for the great kingdoms of yore.
• Warrior Lodges: Join a Pagan warrior lodge and raid your way up the ranks, unlocking access to powerful allies and greater military skill.
• Legendary Bloodlines: Descendants of great warrior heroes will have bonuses that match the accomplishments of their forefathers, including historical bloodlines of Charlemagne, Genghis Khan and others..
• Sway or Antagonize Your Neighbors: Try to win a reluctant vassal through charm and persuasion, or provoke someone you want to push into conflict.
• Sainthood: Pious Catholics can become canonized, passing on their glory to their descendants and making their resting place a site of great value.
• Coronations: Feudal kings and emperors must find clergy to crown them, since all power descends from the heavens.
• New Crusade Events: Deeper gameplay for the religious wars of the era.
• New Succession Laws: A Pagan Elder Council may have the final word in how a realm is divided among heirs, or a ruler may challenge his brother to combat to unify a realm.
• And much more: Changes to religion, custom names for people or objects, deeper baptismal mechanics, lists of people you’ve killed, and other small changes for flavor and variety.

Today Activision and Treyarch will be revealing this year’s COD which is Call of Duty Black Ops 4.

The game will be revealed in a live stream which can be watched from numerous locations at 6PM GMT. Youtube will have the stream live as will Twitch.

We’ll pop the embed link in here once it becomes active. Expect to see “behind the scenes content, and additional declassified intel”.

Paradox will be inviting you to unite the Indian people in the Europa Universalis IV: Dharma expansion which has just been announced. The expansion will be available later this year priced $19.99.

Dharma is the newest expansion for Europa Universalis IV, Paradox Development Studio’s best selling history strategy game about the early modern era. Dharma puts greater emphasis on peacetime interactions, especially for the varied nations of India and those colonial powers who want to make their fortune in Asia. This government design feature is the most significant change in Dharma, with some exclusive reforms for many nations.

In Dharma, players will find a new level of customization for their governments, since not every monarchy should be the same! Design a kingdom or republic with new reforms and upgrades as the balance of priorities shifts around you.

Features in Europa Universalis IV: Dharma include:

• Design Your Government: Unlock reforms that will define how you govern your kingdom or republic, earning free policies and boosting the power of some estates.
• Reworked Policy System: Policies get a new look in the free update, but Dharma will include special bonuses that make this system even more attractive.
• Trade Company Investments: Upgrade and improve the provinces tied to your trade companies, conferring bonuses both to the European master and neighboring Indian nations.
• New Cossack Government: Exclusive for owners of The Cossacks expansion.
• New Indian Mission Trees: Unique mission paths for the most important Indian sultanates and kingdoms.
• New Indian Estates: Alongside a free update to the estate system, India gets five new castes. Raise the brahmins to reduce unrest in a province or install Jain governors for a boost to income while reducing manpower..
• New Mughal Culture Bonus: The Mughal Empire can assimilate and accommodate newly conquered cultures with ease.
• Charter Companies: Europeans can buy a foothold into trade charter zones in Africa and Asia, if they can find a prince that trusts them.
• Upgraded Trade Centers: Invest in the development of your Centers of Trade
• And more, including: new ways to suppress rebellion, the monsoon season, new uses for colonists in non-colonial development, scornful insults, multiplayer teams, new art, and a host of new achievements.

As usual, Europa Universalis IV: Dharma will be accompanied by a free update for all Europa Universalis IV players, including a major reworking of the game’s map of India, Tibet and Burma.

INSOMNIA: The Ark from developer Studio Mono attempted a Kickstarter back in 2013 which was subsequently canceled. In July 2014 they returned to Kickstarter and this time saw it through successfully.

Today Studio Mono has released a new trailer for the game which they describe as a single-player/co-op RPG set in a living dieselpunk sandbox with real-time tactical gameplay. To accompany the trailer they have also announced a closed beta for Kickstarter backers who helped them raise the $100,000 USD back in 2014. A more expansive beta will follow.

Anatoly Nekrasov, CEO and Lead Developer of Studio Mono, said: “It’s our first project, our beloved child. We’ve been developing INSOMNIA for nine years, and finally, we’re almost there! We’re delighted to present the game to our biggest fans from Kickstarter. The game has been altered several times, we’ve changed concepts, plot and mechanics, but we’ve attempted to save the unique visual style and deep dystopian atmosphere.”

INSOMNIA: The Ark takes place on a space metropolis brimming with the secrets of a long-gone civilization. The world is populated by the descents of a once powerful race called Nomah, who abandoned their home planet following a catastrophic war. Awakening in the adaptation chamber during your recovery from the Great Sleep you discover a large-scale terrorist attack but that’s not all there is to worry about.

More news out of PDXCon today as Paradox announce that the latest Stellaris story pack, Stellaris: Distant Stars, will release next week on 22 May. Here’s a quick reminder of what to expect and below you can watch a feature break-down video ahead of next week’s release.

Stellaris: Distant Stars adds unique solar systems and a mysterious sealed off constellation entirely removed from our galaxy. There is no telling what you and your crew will discover, but one thing is for sure, you’re a long way from home now.

Ubisoft returns to their racing playground with The Crew 2 which launches on 29 June. Today they announced the closed beta dates.

The closed beta will include the first level of the progression system and players will compete in races across the first four disciplines which include Street Race, Rally Raid, Powerboat, and Aerobatics. This will all take place on a redesigned U.S,A.

Players will be able to use the Fast-Fav feature and instantly switch their vehicle type depending on the type of terrain they will encounter. For example, if you are flying under the Golden Gate Bridge you can change into a boat.

The closed beta will take place between 31 May at PAM GMT and run until 4 June at 8AM GMT. Preloads will start on 29 May. Potential testers can now sign-up to take part in the test by heading over to the thecrewgame.com/beta  page.

Now check out the new trailers…

At PDXCon today, Paradox announced a new grand strategy game called Imperator: Rome which is scheduled to release in 2019. Here are the details and trailer.

The masters of historical strategy have returned to the days of legions and legends. Paradox Development Studio is happy to announce Imperator: Rome, an upcoming grand strategy game set in the classical world from the glory days of Athens to the establishment of the Roman Empire four centuries later. Rule any nation on the most detailed Paradox map ever stretching from the Pillars of Hercules to the far reaches of of India, allowing you to build an empire to dwarf that of Alexander. Govern republics or monarchies, balancing the factions, and keeping the loyalty of your most capable generals.

Imperator: Rome’s features include:

• Character Management: A living world of characters with varying skills and traits that will change over time. They will lead your nation, govern your provinces and command your armies and fleets. We also introduce our new, more human-like character art.
• Diverse Populations: Citizens, freemen, tribesmen and slaves – each population with its own culture and religion. Whether they fill your armies, fill your coffers or fill your colonies, keep an eye on their happiness – your success depends on their satisfaction.
• Battle Tactics: Choose your approach before battle to counter the stratagems of your foes.
• Military Traditions: Each culture has a unique way of waging war. Romans and Celts have different options available to them. Unlock unique bonuses, abilities and units.
• Different Government Types: Manage the senate in a Republic, hold your court together in a monarchy, answer to the clans in a tribal system.
• Barbarians and Rebellions: Migrating barbarians may sack or settle your best land, while disloyal governors or generals can turn against you – taking their armies with them!
• Trade: Goods provide bonuses to their home province. Will you take advantage of stockpiles for local strength or trade excess goods to spread the wealth around?
• Provincial Improvement: Invest in buildings, roads and defences to make your kingdom stronger and richer.

With E3 just around the corner, you can expect all kinds of teases and Bethesda has posted a Fallout-related tease this afternoon with the usual “Please Stand By” image.

Let the speculation begin. Fallout Shelter 2? a Fallout 3 remaster? a new Fallout game? Whatever it is Bethesda will milk this tease for as long as possible.

What are your thoughts on this one?

#PleaseStandBy pic.twitter.com/5IUjkURCcM

— Bethesda Game Studios (@BethesdaStudios) May 29, 2018

Ah, Star Citizen. It never fails to disappoint when it comes to crazy sums of money for virtual items. With $186 million banked from backers and still no sign of a decent game, or even Squadron 42, you can’t help but feel disappointed as a backer.

The latest money making scheme is called the Legatus Pack which comes with 117 ships and a further 163 extra bits and pieces. To be eligible to view instantly what’s on offer in the pack, backers will have to have spent $1000 on the game already. Yes, this one is designed for gamers who are already quite far gone when it comes to backing the project, or perhaps CIG was too embarrased to let everyone see this. Anyone who is not one of those big money backers but is serious about actually buying this has to contact customer support to see the page.

There is a lot that can be done with $27,000.  A new car or even a downpayment on a property springs to mind. On the other hand, there’s always the hope that one day some virtual items costing $27,000 will actually be usable in a ‘game’ that is over budget and long overdue.

It has got to the stage with all the different sales and the high price of some items that I am becoming more convinced Star Citizen is some kind of sick social experiment concocted by Chris Roberts to fund a dream and lifestyle. Again, I have to say this in every Star Citizen news story, if you have backed it already then do not spend any more. If you have not backed it, then do not buy in at any level until there is something that starts to look more like a game or Squadron 42 is at least released.

Below are the images from the page in question which were posted up on Spectrum.