creative assembly
Latest
Sega cancels multiplayer shooter Hyenas at the last minute
Sega unexpectedly canceled the title ‘Hyenas’ soon before it was expected to launch. Layoffs could also be coming to the developer.
'Hyenas' is a team shooter from the creators of 'Alien: Isolation'
The producers of 'Alien: Isolation' have revealed an online shooter, 'Hyenas,' destined for PCs and consoles in 2023.
'Alien: Isolation' is coming to iOS and Android on December 16th
The 'complete survival horror experience' will include all seven DLC packs for $15.
'Total War: Rome Remastered' revives an RTS classic on April 29th
Rome: Total War, one of the best real-time strategy games ever released, is getting a remaster.
Sega unveils 'Total War: Warhammer 3' with a trailer full of magic and monsters
The latest entry in the real-time strategy series will arrive later this year.
'Total War Saga: Troy' will initially be free on the Epic Games Store
When Total War Saga: Troy becomes available on the Epic Games Store later this year, it will be free for the first 24 hours.
'Total War: Shogun 2' is free on Steam until May 1st
One of the best entries in the Total War series is currently free on Steam.
'Alien: Isolation' will terrify Switch users later this year
Xenomorphs will soon hunt you down on the road. Creative Assembly and Sega are bringing the survival horror of Alien: Isolation to the Switch sometime later in 2019. There are precious few details of what will change, but the portability is an obvious advantage over the existing console versions. You can also presume that it'll involve many instances of hiding in lockers and remaining perfectly quiet. Whether or not you'll get the movie-themed DLC is another matter.
Alien: Isolation: One million sold, scared
Publisher Sega and developer Creative Assembly are indirectly responsible for one hell of a laundry bill, as it was announced today that Alien: Isolation has officially sold one million copies worldwide. Accounting for at least one million players, and factoring in regular sessions with Alien: Isolation's precision engineered terror, we're talking millions of soiled undergarments. We're not aware of any spikes in detergent sales, but it seems like a given. We're rather fond of Alien: Isolation here at Joystiq, where the game stealthily crept into our top ten games of 2014.
Total War: Warhammer revealed in series art book
Creative Assembly's next endeavor – a real-time strategy game based on the Warhammer franchise – has been accidentally revealed, Eurogamer reports. Confirmation for Total War: Warhammer comes from The Art of Total War book, wherein Creative Assembly's Mike Simpson is quoted as saying: "...and taking the series to a fantasy setting with Total War: Warhammer." The mention was spotted by an eagle-eyed TotalWarCenter.net user. Creative Assembly's foray into the world of Warhammer is of no surprise, as the company completed a licensing agreement with intellectual property owner Games Workshop in December 2012. Since the agreement was solidified, Creative Assembly has continued its Total War series, as well as taking some time to expand into the world of Ridley Scott's Alien, much to the enjoyment of the Joystiq staff. Joystiq has contacted Sega for comment on the reveal, but no response was offered at the time of publishing. [Image: Games Workshop]
Alien: Isolation's third DLC adds one-life-only Salvage Mode
Are you a survivor, unclouded by conscience, remorse or delusions of morality? If that sounds like you then maybe let's not do coffee... but you may want to check out Alien: Isolation's new Safe Haven DLC. The add-on's new Salvage Mode tasks you with completing ten challenges in a large map as you try to escape from You-Know-Who (not Voldermort) within the time limit. The catch? You've got one life. While dying does take you back to your last saved challenge, it'll cost your final score. So to really do the business on the leaderboards, you'll need to make it through all ten challenges without perishing. On the flipside, if you collect enough points you can trade them in to save your progress. Like the previous DLC, you get to play another new character in Safe Haven. This time around it's Hughes, Sevastopol's communications manager and one of the first unfortunate souls you encounter in the main game. The last bit of intel is that Safe Haven introduces another new mode, Marathon, letting you play Survivor Mode maps in the order of your choosing. For a glimpse at the seemingly misnamed Safe Haven, check out Sega's teaser trailer below the break. If you still want in, the DLC is due to hit all platforms today, except in Europe where PS4 and PS3 players are on standby 'til tomorrow. If you've got the $30 season pass then you have already paid for the pleasure, otherwise the asking price is $8.
Joystiq Top 10 of 2014: Alien Isolation
ATTENTION: The year 2014 has concluded its temporal self-destruct sequence. If you are among the escapees, please join us in salvaging and preserving the best games from the irradiated chrono-debris. I'm suspicious of Alien: Isolation as I play it, waiting for the leather shoe to drop and seeing a meddling executive come chasing after it. It's just a cartoon in my head, sure, but these games are made or broken by how well they can bend to the needs of the creator, the desires of the publisher and the expectations of a varied audience. A low-action survival game with a persistent stalker isn't usually where video game aliens end up - not even THE alien. You start questioning everything. There are too many jagged parts for a blockbuster game, too many harsh pitfalls for the easily frustrated player, too much smart enthusiasm for what is truthfully a tarnished property. And on top of that it's supposed to be an intimate horror game from Creative Assembly, the studio best known for giving you a god's view in the Total War strategy games. And yet few studios could have been as suitable as Creative Assembly, for fanatically recreating not only the look of 1979's 'Alien', but instilling the same vulnerability and paranoia that must have clung to the film's lone human survivor, Ellen Ripley. Alien: Isolation puts her clever daughter in a similar predicament, inherits a horrible monster with a matryoshka doll of mouths, and proves that authenticity is key not only in historical fact. Whereas Total War unfurls the history books as best it can, Alien: Isolation is devoted to recreating the timeless truths of Ridley Scott's film: its look, its unpredictable killer and the sigh of relief we share with those who survive.
PSN Store Update: Alien Isolation, Diablo 3, more
In a last-ditch effort to get in your wallet before the end of the year, the PlayStation Store has a number of good deals on games this week. Among the many deals for PS4 players at the moment, Alien: Isolation is $35.99 ($29.99 for PS Plus members), while the game's season pass is down to $14.99. Additionally, Diablo 3: Ultimate Evil Edition is $39.59 ($35.99 on PS Plus), Escape Goat 2 is half-price ($5, $4 on PS Plus), Metal Gear Solid 5: Ground Zeroes is just $6.80 and Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag is $25 ($20 on PS Plus). As for Vita, players can download Danganronpa 2 for $27.99 ($23.99 on PS Plus), Nidhogg for $10.49 ($8.99 through PS Plus), Thomas Was Alone and Stealth Inc. for $3.99 each as well as Lone Survivor: The Director's Cut for $5 ($4 via PS Plus). A number of games, such as Nidhogg and Thomas Was Alone, are Cross-Buy compatible, so those with multiple systems only need to pay once to access each version. That includes Flippfly's Race the Sun, which is down to $6.99 at the moment across all three PlayStation platforms ($5.99 on PS Plus). Head over to PlayStation Blog for a full list of the current deals. [Image: Sega]
Alien: Isolation adds difficulty modes for two extremes
Do you like Alien: Isolation but wish the xenomorph was hard of hearing? Or maybe you found Creative Assembly's survival horror such a breeze that you could've beaten it with a busted motion tracker? Sure, you can already choose from Easy, Normal and Hard modes, but what if you're hiding in a vent sitting on the extremities of the star-ship Bell Curve? If any of the above applies to you, you should check out today's update which adds Novice and Nightmare difficulty modes to the game for free.
Free-to-play Total War Battles: Kingdom coming to PC, Mac, tablets
A new free-to-play entry in Creative Assembly's Total War series is entering a closed beta on PC platforms soon, publisher Sega announced today. Developed by Creative Assembly's Digital Team (creator of the PC and mobile RTS Total War Battles: Shogun), Total War Battles: Kingdom offers a series of 10th-century combat scenarios that take place in a persistent multiplayer universe. Gameplay features a mixture of sim-styled kingdom-building and tactical combat, and players can carry their custom-created kingdoms across multiple platforms and devices. Closed beta invitations will be sent out soon to players who register at the game's official website. Total War Battles: Kingdom is set to hit PC, Mac, and tablet devices next year. [Video: Sega]
Step into Alien: Isolation's 'Trauma' center in second DLC
Alien: Isolation's second survivor mode pack is now available to download. Dubbed "Trauma," the add-on introduces Sevastopol's medical officer, Dr. Lingard, as a playable character. Lingard explores three new maps in the game while seeking to destroy her research on the Alien, witnessing the consequences of bringing the creature onboard the station. The DLC is now available for Xbox One, Xbox 360 and PC with PS3 and PS4 downloads opening to PlayStation owners tomorrow in Europe and Thursday in North America. Trauma is one of five Survivor Mode add-ons for Alien: Isolation, the first being Corporate Lockdown, which launched in October. The next three pieces of DLC for the mode are Safe Haven, Lost Contact and The Trigger. All five packs are part of the game's $30 season pass, which happens to be half-off on Steam today along with the game itself ($25). Each pack is available for purchase individually for $8. [Image: Sega]
Alien: Isolation is haunted by more than Xenomorphs
You might think that the scariest part of Alien: Isolation is, you know, the alien, but you would be wrong. There is something darker that lurks within Sevastopol station's cramped corridors, something altogether more sinister. If you don't believe us, see it for yourself in a video we captured this morning. Don't worry, it's spoiler-free, though we can't promise it won't fuel your nightmares for months to come.
Alien: Isolation debuts 2nd in UK charts, doesn't scare off FIFA 15
Again and again, the UK charts prove that when all is said and done, FIFA FIFA and FIFA some more. This time around it was Alien: Isolation that failed to prevent FIFA 15 from notching a third week on top of the country's retail sales charts. Still, Creative Assembly's zeal for xenomorphs was enough to take its newly hatched space horror into second place. Regular charters will remember FIFA 15 held off three major new releases last week in Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor, Forza Horizon 2 and Super Smash Bros. 3DS. This week, EA's sportsball sim denied four new challengers. In addition to Alien: Isolation, PS4 racer Driveclub had to settle for fifth, as it didn't manage to overtake Forza in fourth. Like Mordor which placed third, the Xbox game dropped just a place in its second week. Meanwhile, basket case NBA 2K15 debuted seventh. As for the fourth challenger, PS4, Xbox One and PC remaster Sleeping Dogs: Definitive Edition fell short of the top ten in 12th place. As for what kept it out, once again if you regularly keep up with our UK charts posts, you won't be at all surprised to see the two entries sat in ninth and tenth place - as ever, check out the full top ten and customary music video below the break.
How to ruin your pants, or get Alien: Isolation on Oculus Rift
A few questions before we get to the meat of the Alien: Isolation on Oculus Rift instructions: Do you own an Oculus Rift? Do you have Alien: Isolation on PC? Are you sure you want to do this? Like, really? Everyone still with us – let's do this thing.
Joystiq Streams: First date with hard mode in Alien: Isolation
Alien: Isolation is a brutal affair, wrought in the hues of '70s filmmaking and '90s PC gaming. "Checkpoints? We don't need no stinking checkpoints!" says Alien. That's just before it bites your face off, forcing you to start that whole story sequence over again, hiding under desks and in lockers, while a terrifying, two-mouthed freak stalks you around every corner. As Ludwig Kietzmann describes in his Alien: Isolation review, the game's scares and difficulty can be exhausting. Just imagine what it's like on the hardest difficulty. Let's find out together. Starting at 4:00PM EST on Joystiq.com/Twitch, we'll be streaming the middle chapters of Alien: Isolation on hard mode, doing our damndest to sneak past the xenomorph. Anthony John Agnello (@ajohnagnello) will play while Jess Conditt (@jessconditt) offers moral support and hangs in the chat. Anyone who swings by early will get to partake in the usual pre-show tomfoolery. We broadcast live on Joystiq.com/Twitch every Tuesday and Thursday at 4:00PM EST, but we also stream on other days at unusual times so make sure to follow us on Twitch to know when we're on! [Images: Sega]
