With Hitman’s latest subtitle so recently creeping into public view, IO are already talking about 47′s future. Speaking to OPM, Absolution’s director Tore Blystad confirmed that the next title in the franchise will be developed at Square Enix Montreal rather than remaining in-house. Blystad reckons development will follow a similar pattern to work on the Call of Duty games, so presumably we can expect development duties to alternate between Squenix and IO as they do between Treyarch and Infinity Ward. It almost certainly means we’ll be seeing the wigless wonder more frequently in the next few years. Three weeks ago I would have said that was a good thing. If you’ve played Absolution, perhaps you’d care to compare your thoughts with mine?

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Assassin’s Creed III is the fifth in Ubisoft’s open-world action series. Like its predecessors, it has you playing a historical ‘assassin’ who divides his time between free-running across rooftops, hunting down and killing members of a sinister conspiracy and collecting feathers, with sci-fi diversions into a modern-day tale of one of his descendants trying to prevent an apocalypse. This time, though, we’re in the New World – America in the throes of revolution against its British rulers/oppressors. A few weeks after its console version, it’s not out on PC – here’s what I made of it.>

Picture a very fat man.No, fatter than that. Much fatter. (more…)

Something old, something new, something borrowed and something doomed. That’s the remit, chaps, keeping you updated with all things hard and gamey every week. I’ll stick the best of the latest kit and most RPS-relevant trends under your snouts, a mix of kit I’ve tried, stuff I haven’t got my hands on yet but looks interesting and other things wot you need to know. This week, some sexy new screens, a new SSD from Intel, a pint-sized gaming portable, AMD on the ropes and more. So much more. (more…)>

Last time I spoke with Peter Molyneux, he was practically abuzz with renewed vigor. He’d left Microsoft, started his own hand-picked studio, and ascended back into the high-concept realm he so loves to call home. But reality has a way of dousing even the most excited of flames, and Molyneux knows that better than just about anyone. But the godfather of god games was different when we spoke today: insanely thrilled to be launching a Kickstarter for his Populous meets Dungeon Keeper meets Black & White god opus GODUS, yes, but also wearied, frantic, and tremendously apologetic. It’s been a rough few weeks for 22 Cans, and it showed. And then something crazy happened: Molyneux cried. Openly. Without reservation. But not for the reason you might think. “I just,” he winced, his voice audibly cracking, “I still believe so much.”>

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In an extraordinary interview to be published shortly, a clearly emotional Peter Molyneux broke down into tears when discussing the struggles he’s had with Curiosity, and his concerns about making promises for Kickstarter GODUS.

“I can’t blame people for not believing,” Molyneux responded, when it was suggested that his history of over-promising and under-delivering might hurt prospects for GODUS. Especially in light of the very negative reaction to Curiosity’s server failures – something the creator tells us was “a disaster”.

“I know I’ve said things,” Molyneux continued. “I wish I could not say them, I guess. I just… I still believe so much.”

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Things haven’t exactly been going well for jailed ArmA III developers Ivan Buchta and Martin Pezlar, but if nothing else, they’re not without support. Bohemia Interactive and the Czech Embassy have been in their corner for the more-than-70-day duration – though unfortunately, they haven’t been able to make any significant headway. Most recently, the pair was unable to post bail, and now a trial seems almost completely unavoidable. And so, with things seemingly stuck in a nosedive that never ends, the president of the Czech Republic has decided to step in.

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I don’t think it’s possible to have any misgivings over an update officially titled “Mechsgiving.” As for Portalmas, well, that one’s a bit more up for debate, seeing as it’s just a word I made up. But generosity’s officially in the air, and both Piranha and Valve are doling out fairly significant updates to their breadwinners, MechWarrior Online and Portal 2. Unfortunately, neither involves gigantic mechanized turkeys, but I suppose beggars in the midst of celebrating a decadent holiday of feasting and lethargy can’t be choosers. Still though, that’s far from a reason to mope. So let’s look under the ol’ turkey tree and see what we got.

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Scribblenauts Unlimited – the fourth game in the magical series – released on PC for the first time this week. Kind of. If you’re a North American, you’ll see the game available on your Steam account, and indeed the Wii-U version in your stores. But if you’re outside of the former colonies, prepare to significantly increase the tax on any tea you might want to sell them, because there’s no sign of it at all.

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THQ, if you didn’t know (hint: you did), is in some rather deep water. Not only has it opted to delay a whole mess of games in the wake of Darksiders II’s not-quite-megaton splash, it’s also in a teensy bit of debt. By which I of course mean $50 million - using “teensy bit” as a term relative to all the money ever printed in the whole of human history. But things may not be quite as dire as they seem. Sure, another high-level exec – this time CFO Paul Pucino – has decided to skedaddle, but apparently someone with a fair deal of monetary sway might very well have THQ’s rapidly breaking back.

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You’d think I would’ve figured this out by now. Every year, Steam hosts one of its wallet-eviscerating sales right around American Thanksgiving (or, as it’s known to many of you, Thursday), yet I consistently fail to budget the necessary amounts of money or time for its incredible bounties. One reason for this might be that it’s impossible>. Indeed, it would require setting aside all the money in the world and forever, respectively, and I don’t have either of those things. Alas. But good gravy, these are – as ever – some terrifyingly enticing deals. Can you say Darksiders II for 66 percent off? How about Walking Dead at 50 percent? Anybody want to give me a loan? And, er, immortality?

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