Alien: Isolation promises to be the Alien title that fans of the film series have been waiting for. Although there is still some skepticism about just how definitive this Alien experience will be, Creative Assembly has still already wowed plenty with the claustrophobic scares of their title. Alien: Isolation has already officially gone gold, and the latest series of trailers has only increased expectations.
The core game is not the only lure for survival horror fans, however. There has been plenty of emphasis on additional content as well. Gamers who pre-order the Nostromo Edition of Alien: Isolation will receive two DLC packs including the original characters - and cast - of Ridley Scott's 1979 original. The two DLC packs will not solely be for pre-order customers, either - Creative Assembly has confirmed that both packs will be available at a later date.
As it turns out, there is even more additional content in store for Alien: Isolation players. Sega and Creative Assembly have unveiled Survivor Mode, a game mode focused on tense, one-on-one, player-versus-xenomorph challenges. The Survivor Mode maps will give the players limited resources, forcing gamers to make sure every item counts as they try to complete a unique set of objectives in as short an amount of time as possible.
Survivor Mode was initially revealed at this year's E3 Expo, and apparently the player reaction to the mode impressed Al Hope, Creative Lead on Alien: Isolation. "This is the game in its purest form," Hope said. "It's you against the creature and it's against the clock." The focus on time certainly adds an interesting, competitive edge to the mode. Players will also be able to upload their completion times to leaderboards.
Creative Assembly has a series of additional content packs for Survivor Mode, too. Although Alien: Isolation will ship with one playable map, the developer also has six months of DLC support lined up, made up of five add-on packs. Each of these packs will contain three new maps, with their own challenges and set objective, and a new playable character. The first of these add-ons will be available on October 28, although players will also be able to purchase a Season Pass, granting access to all five packs at a 25% discount. All packs are scheduled to be released by March 2015.
If you're looking forward to Alien: Isolation, be sure to check out the game's PC requirements. The title's achievement and trophy list has also been revealed, if you want to see some of the challenges involved in completion. Be warned, though - the list contains spoilers for the game's story.
Alien: Isolation is set to launch on October 7, 2014, and will be available on PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One.