After a successful first two weeks in closed beta, the first update to the brutal third-person shooting game, Hazard Ops is now live. Appropriately named “Massacre”, Infernum have added 6 new maps and the opportunity for mercenaries to face their peers in two new PvP modes, Deathmatch and Defusion. Infernum plan to intensify the war effort further, as more recruits are set be allowed into the beta and sent to the battlefield in the coming days. Applications for the closed beta are still being accepted at the official website.

The Defusion mode is a familiar mode for similar games. Two teams face off – one is carrying a bomb, the other tasked with bringing them down to avoid a terrible catastrophe. Arm or defuse?

However, cooperation is thrown out the window upon entering a Deathmatch lobby. No more cross-fire, no more strategies and no more allies – only foes. It’s a total free-for-all and only the most skilled will rise and shine above the fallen.

These two game modes are available on most of the battlefields in the game, including the 6 new maps released today. These combat zones offer an urban and industrial touch to Hazard Ops. From the heat of a foundry to the nerve-racking long corridors of a mall, mercenaries will have to tread carefully.

IDC/Games and Bytex Games are bringing Berserk: The Cataclysm to western players, you can sign up for the beta now here.

Berserk: The Cataclysm is a free-to-play collectible card game in which players have to demonstrate their strategic skills by creating their own squads. The game takes place in the fantasy world of Laar, a universe destroyed by the Darkness in which there are limited resources, and outrageous beings dwell in the lands. The fight for survival is a continuous battle for the few remaining territories in Laar: only those Ungar sorcerers who manage to raise their lands towards heaven and create a floating island will survive.

In this adventure for power and glory, players become Ungars and have to command their squads to hinder other players and enemies attempts to snatch their territories. At the same time, they will have to conquer the power of the five elements and improve their magic skills.

Skyforge has a new video and it’s focusing on how cool the class system is. The Ascension Atlas is the key instrument of progression in Skyforge. It’s where you’ll learn new skills & talents and unlock new game classes. With the ability to switch classes anytime all classes will automatically enjoy the benefits and power of all of your progression. I really like the idea of it myself, it will give a lot of flexibility to groups and I’m hopeful that the game is challenging enough to make us need all 10 classes pretty often. Being able to switch between classes will be convenient so they will have to make sure the game is equally challenging.

You can signup for the beta at the official site. The beta date hasn’t been confirmed but I’ll keep you updated as more is released.

Aeria Games has announced the dates of its regional qualifications round for the A.V.A International Championship and is calling for teams to register themselves this week. You should act quickly as the qualifiers will take place on June 14th and 15th 2014. The two teams who show they are made of the right stuff will win themselves a free trip to the A.V.A International Championship finals in Taipei, Taiwan with the chance to take home a part of the $50,000 prize pool and the bragging rights of International A.V.A Champions! One team will be sent from Europe and another from North America. Even if your team is reasonably good I would still enter for a chance like this! When I was younger and playing in teams for FPS games the biggest prize was simple bragging rights paired with lack of sleep and adrenal fatigue after drinking so much soda!

To sign up, players need to group into teams of five and sign up on the ESL page before Saturday, June 14th. For more information, players can check the official A.V.A site and live streams of the regional qualifiers will be broadcast on ESL.

Get a list all of the rules and prizes at the official site.

Following up on the recent announcement of the world cup mode, World of Tanks have released a game play trailer for the new mode and confirmed a few details too.

On the 12th June 7am BST all players will be given their very own custom T-62A Sport tank, fully customized and ready for the world cup mode. Players in the game at this time will have to either exit the client and login again to have the tank placed in their garage, or play a battle and receive it together with the battle rewards. The Т-62А SPORТ is designed exclusively for the “World of Tanks Football Battles” game mode. You can’t sell it and it will be withdrawn automatically when the game mode ends on 14th July.

Similar to real football, this mode follows certain rules and regulations that you should know:

• Score goals against the enemy team to win. This may be done by either moving a ball with your hull or directing it by shooting at it. Goals are scored once the ball crosses the line of the goal and own goals are also counted. After a goal, the ball returns to the middle of the field for the game to continue.
• Matches will be 3 vs 3. You can play solo and be matched with other solo players and platoons will only be matched with other platoons.
• Every tank is given 1,000 free HE shells.
• Games will last a maximum of 7 minutes or until 3 goals are scored (whichever occurs first).
• The Т-62А SPORT tanks are indestructible. You cannot destroy them or incapacitate the driver. However, you can still interfere with them by damaging the tracks through shooting or ramming to temporarily immobilise your opponents. Savvy tactics and teamwork will help you to defeat the opposing team.
• The mode will feature a commemorative medal called “Football Player 2014”.

Find out more about the mode and the rewards here.

Square Enix just released a new trailer for Final Fantasy xiv: A Realm Reborn that focuses on the terrifying threat of the Primals that are summoned forth by the beast tribes that inhabit Eorzea. Titled “A Realm in Peril,” the trailer showcases five of the classic Final Fantasy Primals, including Garuda, Titan, Leviathan, Ramuh and a sneak peek at Shiva. One thing is for sure and it’s that Square can tell a story, even this short trailer should get your juices flowing!

If the E3 Realm in Peril trailer isn’t enough, Square have also released the trailer for the Rogue / Ninja. Take a peak at a few movements and attacks, personally I love how the ninja moves. They were also previewed at E3 but now you can get a look for home.

Official site.

If you like driving games and you like open world The Crew could be the game for you. Closed beta signups have been opened at the official site. The beta is due to start next month, July 23rd.

If you want to be one of the first to enjoy cruising in the entire USA, challenging your friends in missions and skills, and of course fully customizing your favorite cars, sign up now!

The entire United States is your driving playground, covering thousands of square miles, from city to suburb, county to county, state to state, coast to summit. Discover what freedom truly means, without any barriers to restrict your car to the road, in a world of unprecedented scope and loaded with exciting challenges. Crush rival crews in illegal street races in Detroit, chase down that last Colorado collectable in the snowy mountain peaks of Aspen, beat everyone on the racing track or run after a target in the water drains of Los Angeles. This is driving at its most exciting, varied and open.

World of Tanks is introducing a custom game mode to celebrate the upcoming Brazil 2014 world cup. Not a great deal has been confirmed but they have confirmed that the event will start on June 12th and they have released these excellent screenshots to give us all a peek.

Players will be given a specially modified T-62-a “SPORT” tank with altered characteristics for the mode. The central area on the map Himmelsdorf is going to be used as a football pitch. Of course, some significant adjustments have been applied to do this.

As for the exact modifications and how the matches will play out we will have to wait and see!

Source.

Black Gold open beta registration is open at the official website. The beta is due to start on June 20th but you will be able to get into the character creation from 10am GMT on June 17th. You can play around with the character creation which has a fair few options! You will be able to reserve your player name too so if you plan on playing it may be worth having a look at the early access character creation.

Black Gold Online features a highly detailed character customization engine developed entirely in-house by Snail Games. In the land of Montel, the name of the game is “Sliders”. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and Black Gold Online puts power in the hands of players to create characters to meet any standard with adjustable height, skin hue, and even eye pupils.

http://youtu.be/xNKLj5cud7M

Fans of the popular horror franchise F.E.A.R have been lining up to play the closed beta of Aeria Games’ free-to-play online version. A host of events and competitions are currently taking place, and will continue to do so until the closed beta ends on June 16th.

Closed beta keys were required when the closed beta started, but the sheer demand led Aeria Games to open the servers at the end of last month. Since the start, thousands of fans have been stalking the corridors of the Armacham Technology Corporation and destroying the horrifying inhuman experiments lurking around every corner.

Especially well-received is the weapon crafting system: “the graphics are just wow… the crafting idea is brilliant.” Fans are looking forward to hundreds of options when it comes to weapons: “crafting your own weapons is a fantastic idea and I look forward to seeing many more gun recipes.”

Players have also been receiving loads of equipment and boosters simply by logging into the game each day. Killing an enemy also offers amazing rewards: each fallen opponent reveals an Alma Doll. Collecting these reveals exclusive items which beta players can get their hands on when open beta starts. The top 1000 collectors of Alma dolls will also be rewarded as hundreds of thousands of AP will be distributed amongst the winners.

Official site.