Creative Assembly’s console team is hiring for “another multi-platform AAA blockbuster”

creativeassembly-logoCreative Assembly has released five downloadable add-ons for Alien: Isolation since it launched in October, but it looks like the developer might be moving on. A large number of listings were recently added to Creative Assembly’s Jobs page for their console team. There’s currently no indication what the team is working on, but many of the posts state the developer is looking to create “another multi-platform AAA blockbuster.”

Late last year, the Lead Designer at Creative Assembly, Gary Napper, said that the team was considering a sequel to Alien: Isolation as their next project. An announcement on exactly what Creative Assembly is working on likely won’t be announced for a while, but if it is a sequel to Isolation, it might look a bit different from the first game. Interestingly, one of the job listings is for an Online/Multiplayer Programmer, even though Alien: Isolation was, as its title implies, a single-player affair.

20th Century Fox currently has several other Alien projects in development including a sequel to Aliens directed by Neil Blomkamp and a sequel to Prometheus directed by Ridley Scott.

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Daily Scoop: March 10, 2015 – It’s been a whole week!

I’m so sorry for my absence! I launched a Kickstarter campaign for my card game, RESISTOR_, last Tuesday, and reached the goal by Wednesday, so Wednesday was a frantic day of trying to get an update up and pack for PAX East! Anthony Amato and I left that night and didn’t get back until yesterday morning. We’re back in the swing of things now! We had a blast at the show, even if I totally lost my voice.

So, what about deals? Well, there’s a brand new Humble Weekly Bundle, and this one’s called Monochromatic. Pay what you want for The Bridge, Closure, and Dominique Pamplemousse. Pay more than the average for NaissanceE, Betrayer, and Oquonie. Pay $10 or more to unlock Neverending Nightmares.

Over at Steam, the Midweek Madness is early access to Carmageddon: Reincarnation, which is just $14.99. The Daily Deal is 80% off Memoria, which is $3.99.

Found four nice shirts today!

Press Start to Continue

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Giant monsters battle it out in Gigantic’s PAX East 2015 trailer

Motiga erected a massive installation to promote Gigantic at this past weekend’s PAX East expo and it paid off. The 5v5 third-person MOBA was the hit of the show, especially after the developer partnered with Microsoft an Xbox One edition of the game earlier in the week at the Game Developers Conference. For those who weren’t able to attend the show, Motiga has released a brand new trailer highlighting the player-versus-player combat as well as the monster-versus-monster carnage that these too factions are trying to trigger.

A closed alpha of Gigantic is currently underway and a beta test of the free-to-play game will take place sometime in the near future. The final version of Gigantic should be released for the PC and Xbox One by the end of the year.

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The Evil Within: The Assignment is now available to download

After announcing a few details and a release date last month, Bethesda is finally ready to launch The Assignment, the first expansion for The Evil Within. The Assignment takes place alongside the narrative of the main game and follows Juli Kidman, the partner of main character Sebastian Castellanos:

In The Evil Within: The Assignment and The Evil Within: The Consequence, players take on the role of Detective Juli Kidman, Sebastian Castellanos’ mysterious partner, in a concurrent story that looks to answer some of the questions surrounding her whereabouts during The Evil Within. Along the way she will encounter disturbing new enemies, discover new mysteries, and uncover new horrors. The Assignment and The Consequence give fans of The Evil Within the perfect opportunity to discover Detective Kidman’s hidden motivations and her mysterious connection to Mobius, the shadowy group thought to be behind the gruesome events of The Evil Within.

The Assignment will be followed in the Spring by a second expansion, The Consequence. Both The Assignment and The Consequence have been priced at $9.99 apiece or $19.99 as part of The Evil Within’s Season Pass. If you’re not ready to drop a few dollars on the DLC just yet, be sure to check out Bethesda’s recent gameplay stream of The Assignment, which has been embedded above.

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Batman: Arkham Knight is rated M For Mature because of blood and torture

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People were reasonably curious after the ESRB awarded an Mature rating to Batman: Arkham Knight last month. With yesterday’s publication of the game’s Rating Summary, now we know why.

Arkham Knight is said to include fight scenes reminiscent of previous Arkham games as well as the colorful characters that are typically found on the streets of Gotham. But the game also includes several scenes of torture and a lot of blood. One section of the game even combines the two as a character is tortured on a bloody operating table. Also, someone says the word “gobsh*te” (please be Batman, please be Batman, please be Batman).

The full Rating Summary from the ESRB can be viewed right here:

This is an action-adventure game in which players primarily assume the role of Batman as he battles several villains spreading chaos across Gotham City. Players traverse a variety of locations around Gotham while battling thugs, examining crime scenes, and occasionally rescuing hostages. Players engage in melee-style combat using punches, kicks, and gadgets (e.g., batarangs, explosives). Enemies cry out in pain when struck, and some takedowns are highlighted by brief slow-motion effects and loud impact sounds.

Some sequences allow players to use tank-like vehicles with machine gun turrets and rockets to shoot enemies; a vehicle’s wheels are also used to torture an enemy in one sequence. Cutscenes depict characters getting shot (on and off camera) while restrained or unarmed.

Large bloodstains/pools of blood appear in crime scenes and in the aftermath of violent acts; one room depicts a person torturing a character on a bloody operating table. During the course of the game, players can shoot unarmed characters and a hostage. Neon signs in a red-light district read “live nude girls” and “XXX.”

The words “b*tch,” “gobsh*te,” and “a*s” appear in the dialogue.

Batman: Arkham Knight will be released for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One on June 2.

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The Sonic-like Freedom Planet will be available on the Wii U this year

“It’s what you’d get if Treasure made a Sonic game.”

That’s how creator Stephen DiDuro described Freedom Planet to me as I was playing it this past weekend at the PAX East expo. And it’s obvious that he’s not just blowing smoke. The game’s art style is very reminiscent of Sega’s red-sneakered mascot and the sense of speed will feel very familiar to gamers who grew up with the Genesis. But there is also a heavy focus on platforming and exploration, with a little shooting thrown in for good measure. It’s like Sonic, but it is also it’s own thing.

DiDuro also wanted everyone to know that the game will be out for the Wii U by the end of the year. And in case you couldn’t make it to Boston this year, he shared the good news with the world through Twitter on Sunday:

Freedom Planet was originally released for the PC last year, and currently available through Steam.

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Killer Instinct’s “ghost girl” makes her debut at PAX East 2015

Representatives from Iron Galaxy attended this weekend’s PAX East expo to unveil the next downloadable character from Killer Instinct. Hisako is a Japanese “ghost girl” who will surely invite comparisons to The Ring‘s Samara. But there’s much more to her than that. Creative Director Kraig Kujawa, Director of Production Derek Neal, and QA Lead Isaac Torres joined forces with Microsoft’s James Goddard and Adam Isgreen to discuss the character at a panel dedicated to Killer Instinct. The quintet also screened an extensive gameplay walkthrough showcasing the character and posted 20 minutes of unused footage on the Killer Instinct YouTube Channel afterwards.

Owners of the Xbox One fighting game will be able to download Hisako sometime this month.

The panelists also discussed their future plans for Killer Instinct and confirmed that “Shadows,” a CPU-controlled sparring partner that learns your fighting technique and uses it against you, will be available in April alongside the “Story Mode” update. Season 2 will come to a close over the next few months with the addition of two other playable characters: Cinder, the living flame, and Aria, the villainous head of Ultratech.

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Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel will get Claptastic Voyage expansion on March 24

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At PAX East 2015 this past weekend, Gearbox Software announced that the fourth (and final) downloadable add-on for Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel will be available on March 24. Claptastic Voyage will be a full expansion to the game’s campaign and include a second Ultimate Vault Hunter Upgrade Pack, which raise the level cap for each character to 70.

Claptastic Voyage is a riff on the classic sci-fi book/film Fantastic Voyage and will finally reveal exactly why Claptrap is the way he is:

In Claptastic Voyage, Handsome Jack has found something ludicrously powerful within Claptrap’s mind. Never one to turn down a chance at more power, Handsome Jack digitizes the vault hunters and sends them inside! Their goal is simple: find the mysterious “H-Source” code and get out of Claptrap’s consciousness without going completely insane. These anti-heroes will have to deal with Claptrap’s personal insecurities, his malware, and digital representations of his crushing loneliness!

In a post on their official website, Gearbox has promised that players will learn “why Claptrap loves dubstep so much” and get to play with a new “glitched weapons system.” We’ll also be able to battle through a new Mutator Arena “that lets you choose your own gravity settings, enemy mixes, and more.”

Claptastic Voyage is part of Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel’s Season Pass, but it can be purchased separately for $9.99. The expansion will also be included in Borderlands: The Handsome Collection, a PS4/Xbox One upgrade of Borderlands 2 and The Pre-Sequel which will be released on… wait for it… March 24.

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