Wargame: AirLand Battle is still going strong, as Eugen Systems has announced that the second DLC pack for the game, Magna Carta is now available for free to players. Whenever you next launch AirLand Battle, your game should be automatically updated with the DLC.

Magna Carta will introduce 12 new units, one per nation and also feature 7 new maps including Gjöll and Ásgard which are both designed to support up to 20 players at once for an epic scale of combat. Four other maps – Oslo, Orkolsvik, Karlstad and Aarhus – will be designed for 1 vs. 1, up to 3 vs. 3 players and which are available for both Conquest and Destruction mode. Three Miles Island also makes a return and can also be played in both Conquest and Destruction. Eugen has finally fulfilled demands for the map, which was introduced first in European Escalation.

Eugen has also taken it upon itself to rebalance all 870 units in an update issued days ago. Currently, Eugen is developing Wargame: Red Dragon.

The sequel to 2012’s European Escalation, Wargame: Airland Battle puts a small army at your fingertips once more, with the sole objective of taking ground and annihilating your opponents. Your first port of call is, naturally, the tutorial. Traditionally a gentle playground where users can test their agency, Wargame’s playground is filled with barbed wire and malice. It skims over many important units, mechanics and concepts, leaving the player bewildered and forlorn. It isn’t a great start.

"Once you start to get the hang of things, the strategy becomes exhilarating. Though the macro turn-based overworld gameplay isn't the greatest example of turn-based strategy, the no-frills formation juggling of the core RTS gameplay is refined, elegant and engaging."

Things only get better from there though. Four campaigns throw you into fictitious battles from World War III and, with an overworld map where you move your forces around in a turn-based fashion, there’s a whiff of the Total War series to the single player proceedings. The actual battles will be familiar to previous Wargame players or, going further back, the amazing World in Conflict. Unlike other titans in the RTS genre, Wargame does away with base-building and resources in favour of more tactical unit play.

Once you start to get the hang of things, the strategy becomes exhilarating. Though the macro turn-based overworld gameplay isn’t the greatest example of turn-based strategy, the no-frills formation juggling of the core RTS gameplay is refined, elegant and engaging. The interface itself is surprisingly clean for a game with such great depth and, though it takes a long time to get to grips with, everything about the core mechanics makes enough sense to be picked up through trial and error. It can be a bit of a grind early on as you get accustomed to defensively reversing tanks and juggling recon units, but it’s worth it.

Outside of these pleasantly outlandish skirmishes, you have a massive chunk of multiplayer modes that will really test your mettle. Ranging from smaller matches to 10 vs. 10 team fights, there are a plethora of modes to sink your teeth into. I was surprised by how active the community is, as I was never left without an opponent or match to dive into.

"Graphics are simplistic and, though detailed enough for you to efficiently throttle your foes, the aesthetics are very much a secondary concern. Likewise, the sound, functional as it is, fails to evoke the emotions of the dynamic battles you fight."

There’s even a customisable element to the proceedings, with trading-card game style unit sets you can accumulate and assemble around various themes. The matches are certainly competitive but, if you can get over the initial matches you’ll inevitably lose, there’s something very addictive about the multiplayer setup in Airland Battle.

Whilst the bits under the hood are a real draw, you be forgiven for being turned off by Wargame’s outer shell. Much like European Escalation, it isn’t much of a looker. Graphics are simplistic and, though detailed enough for you to efficiently throttle your foes, the aesthetics are very much a secondary concern. Likewise, the sound, functional as it is, fails to evoke the emotions of the dynamic battles you fight.

With a vibrant community, lengthy campaigns and a host of engaging modes, Airland Battle is a high-value package indeed. When you also consider the many units on offer, each one possessing realistically modelled weapons and ballistics, it’s a wonder developer Eugen Systems managed to fit it all in. Add in the strategic depth and a host of Valve’s new Steam trading cards and you have serious bang for your buck with Wargame: Airland Battle.

Gaming is about many levels, with casual and hardcore fans alike being catered for by the wild variety of titles available. Wargame: Airland Battle is definitely in the more hardcore camp, with poor guidance, a brutal online component and complex gameplay theoretically shutting out RTS newcomers. It’s a shame really, as the game itself is beautifully distilled, offering a simplistic and clear interface that anyone can learn with enough time. Still, accessibility issues aside, Airland Battle is a treat for all the armchair strategists out there and, whether you game alone or in communities, you’re covered in this exciting instalment of Wargame.

This game was reviewed on PC.

You’ll be making movements on a huge map representing Europe as you coordinate strikes and order your army around. The amount of tactical decisions you can make ranges from movement to reconnaissance and even tactical nuclear strikes. Did we also mention bombs? But when you need to defend a zone, you’ll go real time into battle and square off against the enemy.

Your units will keep by your side throughout the campaign, earning experience and increasing their chances of survival. This creates a nifty balance wherein you try to make your troops stronger for long-term success rather than the quick and easy route of straight-forward which could bring mass causalities.

WarGame AirLand Battle is slated to release for PC on May 30th.

Creative director Alexis Le Dressay explains in the video that players can not only customize their armies with tons of units (820 units across 12 countries) but can also choose their specialization. They can even properly stack the units and choose reinforcements to appear in multiplayer, hence creating varying decks for different strategies.

No, it’s not Yu-Gi-Oh, but there’s nothing like building Decks for proficiencies like airborne, armour, supply units and more. There are even “national” decks which give out exclusive bonuses such as prototype units, higher unit availability in specific categories and more reinforcements.

Wargame AirLand Battle will be releasing for PC May 22nd.

Those in the beta will be able to play it immediately. While there are modes that emphasize teamplay and tactics, the new 10 versus 10 takes things a little bit higher in terms of scope. There is also the Army Deck system, wherein specific players (and thus armies) can specialize in different battle tactics.

While some can focus on infantry, others can take up armour or even airborne attacks. Even less battle-savvy players will be able to lend a hand in the supply lines.

There’s a lot of potential for epic conflicts and we’ll see how well they play out when Wargame AirLand Battle releases for PC on May 22nd.

There’s the M50 Ontos, which is armed with 6 anti-tank cannons, Humvees, the Supercobra attack helicopter, the F-14 Tomcat, the F-15 Eagle and F-16 Fighting Falcon. Of course, the firepower of all of these pales in comparison to the F-117 Nighthawk – also known better as the Stealth Bomber that can level entire cities to the ground with its payloads.

These weapons make the United States one of the better armed forces in AirLand, representing one of the two biggest striking forces alongside the USSR. It also features more than 130 units, so you can bet that they’ll be ready to face any kind of obstacle on the battlefield.

Currently undergoing testing in the early access Beta phase, Wargame Airland Battle will release for PC on May 2013.

The FRG’s air force, dubbed the “Luftwaffe”, will feature the F-104G “Starfighter” and the Panavia Tornado while the GDR will unleash the T-72 tank, Mig-17 and variants of the Mig-21 against its enemies.

That’s only a mere scrap of the total units in the game though, as there 150 planes in total, with four new nations joining the original eight from European Escalation for a total of 750+ vehicles and units. There will also be several new dynamic campaigns for players to sink their strategic teeth into.[gallery

Publisher Focus Home Interactive has just unveiled a brand new trailer for their upcoming real-time strategy game, Wargame AirLand Battle. The trailer places the spotlight on some of the many aircrafts that will be available at the player’s disposal.

The sequel to Wargame European Escalation will feature over 150 aircrafts capable of performing  strafe-runs ,bombings, flaming engines and evasive maneuvers. The story will continue the NATO-Warsaw Pact war between 1975 & 1985 at a turning point of the Cold War. Players can shape how the NATO-Warsaw Pact will play out by their actions over the course of the game.

The trailer gives us a brief glimpse at the large scale maps made possible by the new IRISZOOM engine. The game also incorporates several new mechanics which should add a whole new layer of depth.

Wargame AirLand Battle is slated to be out sometime this Spring. You can check out the trailer below and let us know your thoughts.

Just like its predecessor, Wagame: AirLand Battle takes players through a series of conflicts commanding NATO and Warsaw Pact troops between 1975 & 1985 at a turning point of the Cold War. In this episode, war rages in Northern Europe, notably Scandinavia, whose architecture and magnificent landscapes are faithfully recreated in the game. Wargame: AirLand Battle allows players to command all military resources of the Cold War era from tanks to planes.

A total of 150 planes strengthen the playable arsenal of the game, from fighters to bombers to electronic warfare planes. Four new nations and their vehicles join the original eight from the first installment, making a total of over 750 vehicles and combat units rendered in realistic detail! Wargame: AirLand Battle also brings authenticity to the next level thanks to a new weapons system, better handling of fire effects, and a new Urban Combat Interface (UCI) allowing for battle inside cities.

Tell us what you think in the comments section below.