Order of War extras released

Square Enix and Wargaming.net have released a batch of free downloadable content for Order of War today to apparently celebrate one month of being available to consumers. Okay. If you find this action-focused World War II strategy game enjoyable then you might want to check out the new stuff for it. It includes formerly exclusive bonuses that were available only through special pre-order offers. With this update, all players will have identical content, regardless of where they purchased the game. much to the chagrin of early adopters who thought they were special for buying the game early.

The free downloadable content update includes heavy bomber squadrons (German Arado and Allied B-24 Marauder heavy bomber), infantry mortar launchers the addition of heavy artillery strikes added to the air support menu and a survival mission mode where you fend off waves of attacking enemies for as long as possible.

Those that already own the game simply need to launch it and let the auto-update feature do its job.

Order of War in late Sept.

Square Enix announced today that Order of War will ship to North American retailers on September 22. Order of War is a brand-new franchise set during World War II developed exclusively for the PC by strategy game specialist Wargaming.net. This will be Square Enix’s first release of a western-developed game outside of Japan and kicks off the launch of upcoming titles being developed through partnerships, including Supreme Commander 2 by Gas Powered Games® and Front Mission Evolved by Double Helix Games. These titles, says the makers of all things Final Fantasy, are part of its new commitment to offer a broader variety of games across different genres.

Order of War promises massive-scale battles brought to life with cinematic intensity as players take command of an entire army including ground troops, artillery, tank divisions and aircraft in all-out strategic assaults. The single-player mode can be played out in two campaigns – American forces versus German forces in occupied France and German forces versus Soviet forces in Poland and versus American forces in France. Missions will be based on key historic events and operations from 1944.

The free, single-player demo – Road to Paris – is currently available for download at www.orderofwar.com.

East meets West: Square Enix reveals E3 line-up

Square Enix revealed its lineup of titles that will be on display at the E3 Expo, taking place between June 2 – 4. Highlighting the steps it has taken to become a more global entertainment company, Square Enix will feature games developed in partnership with U.S. and European developers such as Front Mission Evolved, Order of War and Supreme Commander 2 and its own properties including Dissidia Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy XIII, Kingdom Hearts: 358/2, Nier, and new downloadable only content like Final Fantasy IV: The After Years and Final Fantasy Chronicles: My Life as Darklord.

While many of these games are already familiar to us, Front Mission Evolved and Nier, are fairly new. Front Mission Evolved is being developed by European developer Double Helix Games for the Xbox 360, PS3 and Windows - and doesn’t have a release date as of this writing. Front Mission Evolved eschews its turn-based strategy roots, instead putting players into a single Wanzer for some third-person shooter action in both single player and multiplayer campaigns.

Nier from Cavia (Drakengard, Drakengard 2) is an action role-playing game being developed for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, with a tentative release date of “2010.” Nier is named after the game’s protagonist, who along with some friends he meets along the way, is in search of a cure for his daughter, who is infected with the Black Scrawl virus.

Square Enix will be situated at booth 1546 in the South Hall of the Los Angeles Convention Center all next week.