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.

Square Enix ships first Western developed game

Square Enix announced that Wargaming.net’s latest strategy game, Order of War, is now available at retailers across North America. Order of War is Square Enix’s first release of a western-developed game outside of Japan. It is the first of many - with the next one coming from Gas Powered Games.

Order of War is a historical World War II real-time strategy game that offers large-scale battles and epic warfare along with a veneer of cinematic intensity. Players are challenged to take command of infantry, tank battalions, heavy artillery and aircraft, planning a multi-pronged strategic assault through missions based on key historic events and operations from 1944.

The single-player mode can be played out in two campaigns. The first features American forces versus German forces as they land on the beaches of occupied France on D-Day. The second lets players change sides, commanding German forces in Poland battling against the Soviet Army and in France battling American troops. The multiplayer mode can be played in either LAN or Internet mode, with battles taken from six maps from the campaign mode

Order of War is available at retailers today, as well as via download through Steam.

Heroes Over Europe instores this week

Heroes Over Europe for the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3 is now available in stores. The sequel to Heroes of the Pacific, this new World War II flight combat game offers more dogfights, a more realistic visual presentation and even more online options. The Windows-based PC version of the game will be available in stores next week. Developed by Transmission Games in Melbourne, Australia, and powered by an all-new engine, Heroes Over Europe also offers the new “Ace Kill” combat feature, four online modes supporting up to 16 players and authentic aircrafts with localized damage. Visually, the game does its best to render environments faithfully like London, Berlin and the French Alps, along with the warplanes of the era,

Look for the game in stores no. To learn more you might want to visit www.heroesovereurope.com. To learn more about World War II, ask and old person (don’t you dare email me).

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.

Red Orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad announced

1C Company and Tripwire Interactive have teamed up for the sequel to Red Orchestra, the popular multiplayer WWII shooter for the PC that began as a Half-Life mod. Red Orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad will take the Red Orchestra franchise into the next generation of gaming with the promise of cutting edge graphics and audio built using the Unreal Engine 3 new features and streamlined realism will deliver an unrivalled WWII experience.

Red Orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad will focus on the Battle of Stalingrad from both sides - German and Russian, from July 1942 to February 1943. The game allows the player to experience one of the most brutal battles in all of human history. The game consists out of two campaigns - the Red Army and German missions.

New features include all new multiplayer game types like Firefight and Countdown, persistent stat tracking and player progression (grow in rank, earn medals, improve abilities, etc.), become a hero (players with hero status inspire troops, cause fear in the enemy ranks and have access to the best and rarest weapons and equipment), a new first person cover system, squad commands, rfined WWII weaponry, and a new morale system.

Red Orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad will be shown at Gamescom 2009 (Cologne, Germany) in 1C’s booth located in Hall 4 booth C-021.
For more information check out www.HeroesofStalingrad.com.

Hearts of Iron 3 development complete

Paradox Interactive announced that production has been completed on Hearts of Iron 3 - or, as we like to say in the news department - the game has gone gold. The third installment of the World War II-themed grand strategy series, Hearts of Iron 3 is ready for release North American retail shelves and all major digital download portals on August 7. The game will hit stores in the UK and Scandinavia on August 14 and Germany and France on August 28.

Featuring turn-based battle simulations that occur throughout 1936-1948, Hearts of Iron 3 will promises to appeal to both veteran players and newcomers with brand new features, including a game map with more than 14,000 land and sea provinces. Players will have the opportunity to take control of countries ranging from larger superpowers such as Russia or the United States, to smaller nations such as Costa Rica.

For more details on Hearts of Iron 3, check out www.paradoxplaza.com.

The Saboteur shipping Dec. 8

EA’s Pandemic Studios announced that its open-world sandbox action game, The Saboteur, will be available worldwide on December 8, 2009. Inspired by a true story (which we expect and hope has been highly embellished for the sake of action), The Saboteur stars Sean Devlin, a street-tough Irish race car driver trapped behind enemy lines in 1940s Nazi-occupied France. Motivated by personal revenge and a strong sense of survival, Sean must fight, climb, and race through Paris, sneak into the heart of the Nazi operations and sabotage their every move.

With the help of the French Resistance, the British intelligence, an arsenal of weaponry, and an uncanny knack for staying alive, players will exact revenge by committing various acts of sabotage including derailing trains and blowing up zeppelins. Sounds like much more fun than Mercenaries 2.

The Saboteur is being developed for the PS3, Xbox 360, and the PC. Those attending the 2009 San Diego Comic-Con International, (July 23 – 26), will be able to check out The Saboteur for the first time at EA’s show booth, stall #5213 in the San Diego Convention Center.