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World of Tanks releases Ultimate Conquest mode
Wargaming.net is finally taking the wraps off its much-anticipated World of Tanks clan wars mechanics, and hundreds of clans are gearing up to wage war across the title's expansive map. Ultimate Conquest is now live and features its own web destination complete with clan rankings, a world map, and a handy guide. The clan wars map currently encompasses Northern and Mediterranean Europe and will eventually include Asia, Africa, and North America. "We've been working on this for so long, and now we are proud to say that the Ultimate Conquest has begun. This mode is a huge leap for the whole project, as it will add an important strategic element everyone has been so passionately waiting for," says clan wars coordinator Kirill Mal. You can learn more about the World of Tanks metagame at the official North American or European portals, and you also check out our clan wars-focused GDC interview with Victor Kislyi. And we've got a new clan wars tutorial video for you just after the cut.
World of Tanks offers pre-order packages that come with your very own toy tank
Unless you're very, very rich or a movie kid powered by a montage, chances are you'll never have a tank to call your own in life. Fortunately, Wargaming.net is getting ready to hand us the next best thing: keys to a virtual tank when World of Tanks launches on April 12th. Fans looking to stock up on goodies for launch should be interested in World of Tanks' pre-purchase program. While the game itself is free-to-play, it will be funded by microtransactions via in-game gold. Until April 12th, players have the opportunity to shell out for one of three pre-order packages to get a good discount on the cost of gold (around 10%) as well as snag a unique tank that comes with special abilities. The "heavy" package will feature the American M6A2E1 tank, the "medium" package has the German Pz. Kpfw. V/IV, and the "light" offers the Soviet A-32 tank. North American players can look over the pre-order packages here, while the European gamers must travel afar to a completely different website. In the meantime, check out 12 brand-new World of Tanks screenies below! %Gallery-96260%
Exclusive WWII Online: Battleground Europe team interview
As we mentioned last week, WWII Online: Battleground Europe is still going strong. In fact, Playnet and Cornered Rat Software are on the verge of a massive update for the game. Update 1.31, currently in open beta, has been in the works for many months and is set to overhaul the graphics of this old-school MMOFPS. It might even give newer games a run for their money! We were lucky enough to sit down with several members of the Battleground Europe development team -- Amy-Lynn Engelbrecht, Dana Baldwin, and Geof Evans -- and fire off some questions about the visual overhaul, as well as a few questions about the weather -- that is, the game's new weather system, which will actually affect land and air conditions in PvP! Click past the break for our exclusive interview with the team!
A look at leveling in World of Tanks
World of Tanks is in a class by itself -- if you want to play a vehicle-based MMO focused around motorized armor units, there simply isn't another option available. And while there were more than a few jokes at the time of its announcement, successful games with a strong vehicle focus exist already. But the core of a game like this is going to be the vehicles themselves, both their diversity and their interesting traits to set each one apart from its peers. The developers have released the access trees for all three main nations in the game -- Germany, the USA, and the USSR -- giving hopeful players an idea of what they can use to thunder about the countryside. Spanning the period between World War II and the Korean War, the list is fairly exhaustive, showcasing the diversity of tanks on the battlefield. The German progression path even includes the Maus, an experimental tank of absurd size that should please fans of bizarre WWII machinery. And if rolling around in a two-story tank doesn't get you excited, well, you're probably not the target audience. All three progress charts can be found on the official site for World of Tanks.
Wolfenstein pre-order goodies revealed
If you're a diehard B.J. Blazkowicz fan looking to pre-order id's recently delayed WWII FPS, Wolfenstein, then know a few outlets are offering exclusive pre-order bonuses. According to the game's official site, four different retailers will provide extra incentive to pre-purchase: GameStop: 2,000 in-game gold pieces for multiplayer (also listed for PC) Best Buy: Early access to the Flammenwerfer weapon Game Crazy: Limited edition collector's medal Amazon: Free copy of Wolfenstein 3D for PSN or Xbox Live Personally, we think Amazon has the best bonus, but we know full well the appeal of limited edition collector's medals.[Via VG247]
Red Orchestra: Heroes of Stalingrad announced
We're as tired as anyone of our seemingly never-ending tour of duty in the Great War, Part Deux. Still, given the unconventional road Red Orchestra has traveled we're just a teensy bit curious what developer Tripwire Interactive has tucked inside its pit helmet. The Georgia-based studio has officially made known Red Orchestra: Heroes of Stalingrad, the sequel to 2006's Red Orchestra: Ostfront 41-45, itself based on the company's celebrated Unreal Tournament 2004 mod, Red Orchestra: Combined Arms. And, breathe.Heroes of Stalingrad will again find players seeking shelter in gun-pits as bullets fly between German and Soviet forces, this time during the historic and bloody Battle of Stalingrad. Setting expectations, Tripwire promises "gritty, vicious combat" and "unrivaled accuracy and attention to detail." While there will of course be multiplayer, the dev also notes players will lace up in the boots of a German soldier as part of a solo campaign told from the Axis point-of-view, something Tripwire claims as a "first" for the FPS genre. No release date has been announced, though armchair soldiers can find out more in the pages of May's PC Gamer.
Call of Duty: World at War ships off this November
For those of you looking to get your hands (or your Zapper) dirty in the Pacific theater, know that the Treyarch-developed Call of Duty: World at War will be hitting shelves this November, according to OnlytheGames. They're claiming an Activision PR rep divulged this info to them and we're inclined to believe it. November seems to be a good month to release games.Joystiq managed to pry a statement from Activision: "we haven't made any announcement about date other than fall of 2008." Oddly enough, November falls right into that timeframe.[Via Joystiq]
2D screenshots aren't good enough for Call of Duty 4
Nay, the traditional adherence to a mere two dimensions simply isn't modern enough to convey the frenetic excitement and danger found in Call of Duty 4: Modern Combat Warfare. Frequent publisher of mass destruction, Activision, has blasted out this 3D screenshot depicting the upcoming shooter in all its gritty glory. If the above video leaves you unsatisfied, you'll also find a series of stills and the original 50MB Quicktime file at Xboxyde.Perhaps this dimensional expansion should be interpreted as a statement of sorts, further highlighting Infinity Ward's movement away from thematically flat World War II shooters. Check back with us when we hit the point where modern war games are considered passé as well. Oh, hello. That was quick.[Via Xbox 360 Fanboy]
Pandemic unveils Saboteur, a 'different' WWII shooter
The April issue of Game Informer is bringing word of the latest project from Pandemic Studios (Destroy All Humans, Mercenaries). It turns out it will be a World War II shooter entitled Saboteur.Another World War II shooter, eh? Before you join us in a collective sigh, Pandemic asserts that this is different than other shooters out there. How so? There will be action, stealth, an open-ended world, and -- here's the differentiator -- a black-and-white color scheme to indicate which areas are controlled by Nazis.It certainly is artistic, but we can't stop thinking about the film Pleasantville. We like the concept, but we'll reserve judgment until we see, in video, how well they pull off the effect. No word on which "secret project" -- B, Q, X, Y or Z -- this was, but they are all good choices in Scrabble. There's a 2008 release date mentioned but no console specified. Given the developer's history, they might end up playing coy for a good while.
Next Call of Duty answered, previewed
If the mention of World War II still compels you to go about shooting things (typically Nazis) from a first-person perspective, you'd best check out 1Up's weeklong feature that promises to detail every pixel, polygon and private that constitutes the upcoming Call of Duty 3. Taking over from Infinity Ward, developer Treyarch is keen on capitalizing on next-gen technology and the creative freedoms it provides -- with any luck, that means we'll actually be able to open doors in this one. Oh well, we suppose loads of on-screen enemies and trampled blades of grass are just as useful.The screenshots and video provided are enough to convince us of the game's technical gravitas, but we're quite interested in the Wii version and how it looks to take advantage of the unique control system. A small blurb in the first part of the preview suggests how, while at the same time suggesting that the other two versions of the game are the main focus here. "The Wii version, in development outside Treyarch, shows some potential to bring the player into the game during the Battle Actions in a way the PS3 and 360 won't be able to. Actually wrestling with a German for his gun or actually disarming that explosive are things only the Wii will let you do this gen."Battle actions are Call of Duty's answer to Shenmue's Quick Timer Events. At certain points during the game, you're required to press certain buttons in order to escape a cinematic struggle or situation. Failure is likely to result in far more unpleasantness than getting smacked in the head by some Japanese kid's soccerball. These sound particularly intriguing if done correctly for the Wii and should make up for some of its inevitable graphical shortcomings. Even then, we have to wonder how long it'll take before we grow tired of crawling through trenches and taking out tanks. Is World War II the new Hoth?[Thanks to everyone that sent this in!]
Call of Duty 2 demo released
At long last, Aspyr has released a demo of the hugely popular sequel to Call of Duty, the aptly named Call of Duty 2. No matter how badly I wanted to run to the Apple store and pick up the retail version, I knew I would feel horribly foolish if I got the game home only to find that it wouldn't run on my PowerBook. I knew I had to wait for the demo. MacGameFiles has the 665MB file as either a direct download, or a deliciously communal bittorrent file (doesn't the sharing just make you want to hug someone!?). If you've been waiting to try the game before you buy it, there is no better time than the present to kick some virtual Axis butt. [Via The MacObserver]
Play the news: kill Al Qaeda's al-Zarqawi
If you've recently witnessed the news on TV or your disagreeable neighbor's house getting blown to smithereens, you'd likely be aware that Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, leader of Al Qaeda in Iraq, was killed in a decisive US air strike earlier this month. If this is the first time you're learning of it, the news is reaching you in a way quite dissimilar to the way in which the people behind Kuma Reality Games want it to. Reaching you is just the beginning for them -- they want it to grab you by the arm and yank you into a Source-powered, 3D recreation.The goal of Kuma\War is elaborate and intriguing, though much like a minefield, it's also laced with topical traps that require careful movements to navigate successfully. For every major battle or newsworthy event that takes place in the ongoing war on terror, Kuma\War offers a free, downloadable counterpart, plunging you right into the war-torn boots of an American soldier and tasking you with carrying out the very same mission. Just a scant few weeks after al-Zarqawi's death, Kuma\War will be offering "players" the opportunity to call in the airstrike that killed him or, alternatively, rush his house with a group of comrades in tow.
Call of Duty 2 Hits Stores
At long last, the long awaited sequel to one of the greatest first person shooters of all time--and 2003 Game of the Year--is available in stores as an OS X compatible Universal Binary. The series, set in World War II, is known for its extensive use of sound and environmental design to make the player really feel like they're in the middle of a war zone. Sporting an all new game engine, COD II officially requires a G5 or Intel Machine, but I've heard reports of it running respectably on even 12 inch PowerBooks. I can't wait to get my hands on this game, see you on the battlefield!
