Defense Grid: the Awakening

Defense Grid: The Awakening is a unique spin on tower defense gameplay that will appeal to players of all skill levels, featuring beautiful environments, spectacular effects, and a dynamic, engaging soundtrack.

Defense Grid: The Awakening’s unique spin on tower defense gameplay appeals to gamers of all skill levels, features beautiful environments, spectacular effects, and a dynamic, engaging soundtrack. The controls are intuitive and the gameplay is deep - the special attacks and properties of each tower work together to provide many ways to succeed.

Defense Grid: The Awakening features 10 different tower types that can each be upgraded twice. These towers all have unique tradeoffs that affect ideal placement, such as line-of-sight attack or ballistic trajectory fire; a large area of effect or damage over time; and minimum and maximum ranges. Over the course of the game’s 10 hours of story play, players battle 15 different types of enemies, each with unique capabilities and strategies, across 24 unique environments. To ramp up the challenge even more, Defense Grid: The Awakening now includes an additional 100 unlockable challenge modes.

With each level, players encounter different placement of roads, tower build locations, and open areas to plan a strategy around. Each map, whether open plan or fixed route, encourages a different strategy, such as trying to find an optimal path to redirect enemies, making the best use of limited space, and breaking up individual enemy waves to avoid being overwhelmed, all while planning ahead for future waves.

Once Defense Grid: the Awakening and Verdun, the current free games on the Epic Games Store, have run their course, it will be up to Mothergunship and Train Sim World 2, which will be gratis starting July 22 until July 29, 2021.

Mothergunship

Mothergunship is a bullet-hell FPS hybrid that pits you, Earth’s last hope, against the armadas of data-hoarding robotic alien invaders.

Mothergunship mixes bullet-hell intensity with the shooting, customization, and traversal of the first-person genre. Fight your way through the alien fleets, facing randomized enemy and level mayhem as you clear rooms and take out some of the biggest bosses seen in the FPS genre.

Face off against overwhelming odds in brutal, non-stop combat where thinking on your feet is the only way to survive. Dodge hundreds of bullets with unique FPS/Bullet-hell hybrid gameplay. Each ship hosts hordes of alien machines, deadly traps, and intimidating bosses, all set on preventing you from saving humanity. Go get ‘em.

To take down the Mothergunship, you’ll need your very own personalized arsenal of destruction. Luckily, in Mothergunship you can create the gun of your dreams with one of the most modular gun-crafting systems ever seen in a video game. Want to have twelve-barrel gun that shoots homing rockets? Or do you prefer a lightning shotgun? And what gun wouldn’t look better with a fish tank affixed to the top?  Go for it! The design of your destructive arsenal is in your hands.

Join the ranks of the global resistance movement and take back Earth together with your friends. Fight together with a friend in a full CO-OP experience, or participate with the community while you work together to cut through the alien fleet and reach that ultimate goal – bringing down the Mothergunship.

Train Sim World 2

Train Sim World 2 is the evolution for advanced train simulation with new features, routes and an upgraded engine.

Train Sim World 2 puts you in the cab of iconic machines on three renowned routes, all with exclusive firsts. Feel the thrill of German ICE high-speed with Köln Schnellfahrstrecke, control the raw power of CSX on Sand Patch Grade for the first time on console and master the complex station operations of the world-famous London Underground with the Bakerloo Line.

You’ll be able to personalise your experience with new custom tools. Get creative with the Livery Designer to build custom liveries for your Train Sim World 2 locomotives and use the Scenario Planner to drive what you want, where you want, as you plan out scenarios for your routes.

The proprietary SimuGraph vehicle dynamics engine has evolved, adding adhesion physics for the first time. Feel the wheel slip and slide in adverse weather and the added challenge of control on steep inclines.

Get clearer information on instructions, gradient and speed profiles as you drive, including new HUD displays, clarity to the onboard safety systems, brake controls, power meter and accelerometer. A new controller scheme will give great choices on Camera and Driving modes and allows easier access from external camera mode to enter another vehicle in your consist, all while full physics and simulation are still running.

An upgraded engine allows for greater visual fidelity, giving Train Sim World 2 dynamic skies and 4K support across all platforms.

If you already own Train Sim World, you’ll be able to bring your existing Add-On collection with you to Train Sim World 2. Preserved Collection will ensure you can continue your hobby and play your content in Train Sim World 2.

Key Features:

• Perfectly Replicated Routes - Unique experiences await in Train Sim World 2. Feel the thrill of high-speed intercity German rail as you push the throttle and climb speeds in the famous DB ICE 3M out of Köln, take on the challenge of hauling long freight across Sand Patch Grade with the raw power of the CSX AC4400CW, and master the complex hectic operations of the London Underground on the Bakerloo Line. All official licences, all authentically recreated.
• Immersive Gameplay - With Train Sim World 2 you're in the cab and in control of these epic feats of engineering. Take advantage of a new HUD that provides clear information as you drive, a brand-new immersion controller scheme designed to simplify common functions and streamline the interface – All of which allows you to focus on the task at hand
• New Customisation Tools - Personalise your rail journey with new easy-to-use tools. The Livery Designer allows you to design custom liveries for Train Sim World 2 locomotives using shapes and layers to build your own style. The Scenario Planner gives you the ability to create your own scenario. Customise locos and destinations, then jump in and get driving. Quick drive, your way.
• Realistic adhesion physics – An evolution of the SimuGraph® vehicle dynamics engine brings you a new level of realism with adhesion physics for the first time. Feel the slip of wheels in adverse weather, master moving heavy freight and keep control of your loco power on steep inclines! This brings an engaging challenge to the routes as the train reacts to your control
• Preserved Collection – Your collection comes with you. Play your Train Sim World Add-On routes and locos directly in Train Sim World 2. Train Sim World has always been about your collection, your choice of Add-Ons from your favourite region, time period, diesel, electric, passenger, freight – your way. Your purchased Train Sim World 2020 Add-Ons will be available to play in Train Sim World 2.

Verdun

Verdun is a squad-based, multiplayer first-person shooter set during World War I and inspired by the infamous battle of Verdun in 1916. Players are able to take part in never-before-seen WWI action.

The merciless trench warfare offers a unique battlefield experience, immersing you and your squad into intense battles of attack and defense.

Verdun takes place on the western front between 1914 and 1918, in one of the bloodiest conflicts in world history. The developers were inspired by the infamous Battle of Verdun in 1916. The game offers 4 distinct game-modes: Frontlines, Attrition, Rifle Deathmatch, and Squad Defense. There are also many historically accurate features such as realistic WW1 weaponry, authentic uniforms, horrendous gore, and maps based on the real battlefields of France and Belgium.

The Frontlines game mode is unique in its tactical complexity. The realistic trenches are challenging to fight in and require tactical cunning to capture and defend. The Entente and Central Powers strive to gain control of frontline sectors. In one battle you’ll find yourself rushing the enemy trenches during an offensive action in order to gain ground, while in another you might be defending your recently conquered ground against a fierce enemy counter-attack.

Players can choose to be part of one of the many squad types in the game, each of which have their own distinct tactical roles. By working together with your friends, you can earn experience that improves the power and versatility of your squad. As you gain more experience fighting and get promoted in rank, you also earn Career Points which you can use to unlock specializations, weapons and equipment.

In the Attrition game mode, the Entente and the Central Powers are pitted against each other in a single battle. Each side has a number of tickets which represents the amount of manpower they have. When a player is killed and respawns, a ticket is deducted from the side they belonged to. When a side has no more tickets, players of that side cannot respawn - the last side standing wins!

The Rifle Deathmatch is a free-for-all game mode, where all players are pitted against each other in a thrilling contest of skill using only bolt-action rifles.

In the Squad Defense mode, the player along with three squad-mates will have to defend a position as long as they can against endless waves of AI controlled attackers.