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Sniper Elite 5

Sniper Elite 5

Oxford, May 23rd, 2022 – Sniper Elite 5 – As part of a covert US Rangers operation to weaken the Atlantikwall fortifications along the coast of Brittany, Karl makes contact with the French Resistance. Soon they uncover a secret Nazi project that threatens to end the war before the Allies can even invade Europe: Operation Kraken. It’s Karl’s mission to take out the high ranking Nazi officers and end Operation Kraken once and for all.

See the launch trailer here!

Based upon real world locations from France in 1944 the new game maps are the largest and most immersive in the franchise’s history with the new traversal system offering players an even greater sandbox of options when it comes to taking out their targets. You can even invite a friend to help you on your mission with enhanced co-operative gameplay options.

Sniper Elite 5 – Chris Jones Gaming

Sniper Elite 5 continues the franchise’s unparalleled tactical sniping experience complete with incredible ballistics and enhanced kill cam taking the genre-defining feature to the next level. New customization options allow you to adjust your rifle, other weapons and ammo to suit the mission and your play style.

 Rebellion, one of the world’s most successful video games developers and publishers, has today release a new Sniper Elite 5 video that reveals further details about the stealth options that will be available to players when the game is released on May 26th. Offering insight from the development team as well as from the game’s military advisor and motion capture artist Paul Biddiss, the new Spotlight trailer features interviews and gameplay footage showcasing the new traversal, sneaking and takedowns in Sniper Elite 5, including new non-lethal options. The new Spotlight video is available to watch here: https://youtu.be/u435k6geWj8. 

Paul Biddiss, the military advisor and action coordinator for a number of high-profile movies and TV shows, provided his expertise to the Sniper Elite 5 development team as well as being the motion capture artist for Karl Fairburne, helping to ensure the highest possible level of authenticity to his movements and takedowns. Speaking about his involvement in the game Paul said: “All the takedowns are realistic to the training that was given to SOE operatives… everything is realistic. There is no embellishment.” 

The new video also gives details of the other stealthy options open to Karl including new traversal mechanics which open up hidden areas of the maps as well as giving the player alternative routes to approach their objectives. The player will also have to consider the audible distance of both their weapon and ammo when taking a shot if they want to remain undetected. 

For Sniper Elite 5 the player will have a host of non-lethal options at their disposal including the ability to incapacitate the enemy with non-lethal takedowns and ammunition. These options provide the player with even greater scope to approach each mission and game scenario in a way that best suits their playstyle and their objective.

War Thunder

War Thunder

The legend of US carrier-based aviation is coming to War Thunder in June

The F-14 fighter and the battlecruiser HMS Hood will be part of the “Danger Zone” update

Gaijin Entertainment announces that the online military action game War Thunder will receive a major Danger Zone content update in mid-June. For the first time ever, players will be able to take to the skies in the long-awaited F-14 Tomcat, legendary US fourth-generation fighter jet and star of the popular Hollywood movies. The update will introduce dozens of other types of military vehicles ranging from the battlecruiser HMS Hood to the exotic South African G6 Rhino self-propelled howitzer. New “Abandoned Town” and “South-Eastern City” maps will also be added to the game.

The F-14 is a twin-engine variable-sweep wing jet fighter that was in service with the US carrier-based aviation from 1974 to 2006. American F-14s took part in the wars in Vietnam (in the final stages), Iraq and Yugoslavia. In addition, the F-14 fighters are still in service with the Iranian Air Force – these machines were tested in action on the fronts of the Iran-Iraq war, where they scored dozens of air victories.

The first modification of the F-14 in War Thunder will be the F-14A, equipped with an really nice set of air-to-air missiles. In addition to the Sparrow AIM-7E and F, as well as the Sidewinder AIM-9D and G that are already familiar to the players, the F-14A will feature the AIM-9H (a further development of the G version) and the AIM-54A Phoenix, a long-range missile with an active radar guidance system (both missiles will appear in the game for the first time). In addition, the F-14A has a 20mm M61A1 cannon with a rotating barrel, as well as bombs and unguided rockets in case it needs to attack ground targets.

The battlecruiser Hood was commissioned into the Royal Navy in 1920, becoming the largest warship in the British Navy. Eight 15 inch guns are capable of inflicting devastating damage to any enemy, including battleships. The main caliber is supplemented by an auxiliary battery of seven twin 4 inch all-purpose guns, as well as 40mm guns, machine guns and torpedo tubes. Due to its size and powerful armament, the ship was nicknamed the “The Mighty Hood” and became a symbol of the power of the British Empire, but at the beginning of World War II, she was tragically sunk in battle with the German battleship Bismarck.

The G6 Rhino is a self-propelled howitzer on a wheeled chassis with a 155mm gun that can quickly change position and unleash huge high-explosive projectiles (regular and with remote fuzes) on the enemy. The large caliber and weight of the explosives allow even  inaccurate hits to cause significant damage from the blast wave and overpressure.

The Danger Zone update will also introduce other new features, including two new vehicle tech trees, as well as new graphical and weather effects. Detailed information about this will be available on the game’s official website in the coming weeks.

How to Create Factions: Part 1

Starting with…

The World ready!

The easiest way to determine factions would be to simply split them by location, or world history.

Then, the conflict could revolve around gaining or maintaining territory, and that could include groups being pushed out of their original territories and then trying to take them back.

You can also split it by the each of the area’s history, using previous conflicts to shape the factions, i.e. political ones.

The Characters ready!

Build your factions around your characters’ core beliefs.

What do your characters care about? What is their worldview? What about the opposite?

With a focus on the characters, the creation of the factions can become integral to your OC’s story. Will they need to grow out of the faction? Will the faction grow and change as the character does? Will they leave one for another as their story moves forward?

And conversely: what does being in that faction say about the character? What does a monster being in a Hunter’s faction, for example, say about the monster? Are they guilty? Do they doubt their identity, or are they a wolf in Sheep’s clothing waiting to strike?

by Abby Zarakovich

How to Create Factions: Part 2

Video Games have long graduated from simple fights between good and evil. Games are now tied with intricacies and multiple sides, each believing that they are the ones that are correct.

The question now becomes “How do I put that into my game?”. As with my other articles, there are multiple ways to go about this!

It is best to begin at the beginning!

I want to start with the factions…

The Question to ask here is “Why are there factions in the first place?”

Usally a group splits over an arguement; as creator, you decide what kind of disagreement causes the breakup.

What do people believe in enough that their goals and ideals split? Is it something simpler, like a land disagreement or a family squabble? Are the factions gunning for power, splitting politically? Are the factions after a superweapon, an their reasons for wanting it are causing the divide?

In this way, the creation of the factions and therefor, their very existence drives the story.

Emphasis

By creating them first, it puts more emphasis on them, rather than other aspects. This works in your favor if you want to use your story to explore methodologies or philosophies, and what causes people’s differences.

Having factions be at the center of your story allows for discussions with lines drawn in the sand, and it’s up to you (or your players) to decide if they stay, move, or fade entirely.

Effect

A good way to gauge how much your factions affect the story you’re creating is this:

What happens if something about the faction changes?

If destroying the faction of choice does nothing, then it has no impact on the story. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing: If it impacts the World or the characters, it can stay! Asking this question can help gauge how much you want to focus on that faction. If it’s deemed insignificant, than you can skim over it, or maybe change your story if you’re really attached to the idea of it.

What does the faction add to your story?

As mentioned above, if the addition of this faction bolsters other parts of your story, it should stay in. Depending on how much it affects the rest, you can draw the players/readers attention to it by having the story be more closely tied to the factions.

Just Read the Instructions (yes, that’s the name)

Bored of Games where all you do is shoot a bunch of zombies? Just read the Instructions adds in puzzles as you mow your way through waves of robo-like enemies!

Explore a surreal environment with your friends! This game is a co-op, and solving the set of instructions given to yuo allow you to access the next level.

This game is for those who want just a little something more in their classic shooters.

Both the environments and the monsters give you something interesting to look at as you brainstorm your path through the game.

Just read the Instructions is available to Beta, and is due to come out sometime in 2021 on Steam.

From their Steam page

by Abby Zarakovich

Ancient Board Games: Chaturanga

History:

This game from 6th century India is believed to be the ancestor of chess and other games (worldwide!) like it.

There are a few things that set Chaturanga aside from modern chess. For one thing, unlike modern chess, this game can be played with up to 4 players. In 750 CE, this version of chess reached China, and by the 11th century it had come to Japan and Korea. It went through Persia and into Europe around the same time.

The theory of the game’s spread revolves around the Silk road, an ancient trade route spanning from Italy in Europe to Xian in China. This trade route moves through land and sea, and facilitated trade of all kinds.

It’s due to the silk road that it can be hard to determine the origins of chess, as pieces simular to what we know have been found all over 3 different continents.

Like other ancient games, some of the rules are up to speculation.

What we know about the rules and play:

Of the pieces that we know of today, the rook, knight, pawn and king move the same. However, The kings do not face each other (aren’t in the same column), and the pawns don’t have the option to move 2 spaces on their first move.

The Queen was the Counselor, and could only move 1 square diagonally. The Bishop was the Elephant, and could only move 2 spaces diagonally.

One of the theorized rules is that the pawn, instead of automatically becoming the Queen/Counselor, would actually become the piece that occupied that square in the beginning.

Chaturanga was won by what we know as checkmate, or by eliminating all pieces except the king.

Castling and En-passant weren’t introduced until the 15th century, and the checkerboard pattern we associate with Chess was only introduced as decoration around the year 1000.

What I found to be interesting, was that in the 4 player version of Chaturanga, what piece you played was determined by dice throw, which completely change the flow of the game. The dice is a D4, and the sides are as follows: The Raja (king) and pawn, the knight, the elephant (bishop), and the boat (rook). The four player, as you can see, does not include the Counselor.

Where to play?

You can buy physical boards around the internet, or just use a regular chess set, and modify the rules.

You can play online here, but you have to sign up, and there are a few apps that allow multiplayer versions of the game.

Sherwood Extreme

A free-to-play spin on the classic Robin Hood tale, Sherwood merges it with what any love about modern PvP games.

Building on the aesthetics of Middle Ages Europe, Sherwood is rendered in stylized polygons, with a wide range of customization for your player character.

Sherwood has abilities unique to Co-op, and maps in environments ranging from seaside pirate ships to nighttime forests.

I Love the way they have the tutorial text integrated into the game’s background scenery. It both blends really well while still catching the eye of the player.

Everything is very visible, but not in a way that’s jarring or takes out of the gameplay. The 3-d word effects for headshots or explosives add a fun, cartoony element. Leaderboards also appear as physical objects in the game, which make the standing feel more solid.

Overall, it’s a fun simple game, that lovers of Fortnite and Apex will enjoy, especially with friends that might be new for this genre.

From their Steam Page

 

Hacker vs. Corporation: the Card Game a.k.a. , “Android: Netrunner”

While researching Magic the Gathering (I had heard it was a fun play), I came across something else that piqued my interest: an extinct game by the name of Android: Netrunner.

At the Brain-dead hour of 4 am, the fast-paced commentary on the Netrunner U.S. Nationals 2019 The Cut was a pleasant listen. From what I’ve gathered on a brain full of sleep soup (probably better known as melatonin), I’ve gathered that it’s a combination of Magic the Gathering and Poker.

The game runs as follows: You and another player oppose eachother; one plays a corporation, and the other plays a hacker. Each team has to get 7 “agenda points”. Hackers gain them from taking the cards from the corporation, and the corporation from completing agenda card requirements.

Entertaining, or at the very least, compelling!

This game involves Resource management, and much like our own monetary system, there is some complexity. The game involves 6 kinds of tokens, most of which are double-sided to signify different things.

The Artwork is lovely as well!

An Example of the art
“The Personal Touch” Card Art

For those who want a true cyberpunk experience, this is the game for you.

Since it was cancelled in 2017, there’s no chance of getting new cards, but there is an online deckbuilder/play site here.

A beat ’em Up well suited to the time of Romans…

Asterix and Obelix was a French Comic series that started 1959 (and still going strong) about Gaul (France)during the Roman Occupation. It’s a fun romp with magic potions, rambunctious bards and fiendish Romans all being explored (or beat up) by the comics namesakes’, Asterix and Obelix.

These historic heroes are getting a 2d beat-‘em-up in fall 2021!

It’ll be hand-drawn, to stay true to the style of the comics! It looks to have simple controls, and from the sneak peeks, it looks like it’ll be going through several of the comics’ storylines.

The game will have local co-op, and you can experience this historical-fantasy with your friends, and for those who read the comics, a fresh perspective on a French classic

It’ll be on these Platforms: PS4, Xbox One Consoles, Nintendo Switch, PC/Mac  – Backward compatible on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S

Obelix at work
Obelix at work

Call of Duty: Black Ops 4

Call of Duty in 2018

MODERN WARFARE 2

The Call Of Duty franchise is getting a lot of attention so far this year. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, the 2010 release, appears to be getting a remaster. See this article from CharlieIntel. Several sources are saying this, but this has yet to be confirmed by Activision. I will refrain from too much speculation other than to say, bring it on!

BLACK OPS 4

In what looks to be a game-changing experience, Call of Duty®: Black Ops 4 launches worldwide on Friday, 12th October for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC.  Tune in Thursday, 17th May, when publisher Activision, a wholly owned subsidiary of Activision Blizzard, and award-winning developer Treyarch, host the community reveal to a worldwide audience. Places to check:  www.callofduty.com , www.youtube.com/callofduty and follow @Treyarch and @CallofDuty on Twitter and Instagram and Facebook.

I am hearing that Black Ops 4 will not include a single player campaign mode. There could be any number of reasons for this. Making sense is the speculation surrounding the remaster of Modern Warfare 2 being Single player only. You would get one game for Single Player, another for the Multiplayer experience. Black Ops 4 may get a mode involving Zombies, but that is not the same as a single player mode. On a digression, I personally do not understand the fascination with zombies in video games. But anyway..

 

Gaming News and the Ultimate Universe