Unseen News

Time for a winter vacation! See you in 2012!

monokoma
22-12-2011
No Comments

Is it snowing outside? Are you waiting for xmas presents? Well, the Unseen 64 Staff is going in vacation, too (even our server was tired and died a couple of times in these last few days, sorry for down-time!). From tomorrow, 23th of December, this site will be in “Winter Break Mode 2011”, we are going to relax somewhere around the world and dream about beta games while we are playing near the fireplace or skiing down the mountains.

Don’t worry! We’ll be back the 8 of January 2012 with all the updates and news from the unseen videogames’ world. In the meantime, there are still lots of things to do while we are away:

– Look and read: Check our archive of beta and cancelled videogames and read our articles.

– Contribute: Would you like to help the Unseen 64 Archive? Read how you can help U64 to preserve more beta screens, videos and info! Remember that now you can edit all the pages in the Unseen 64 archive, just like in Wikipedia! You can also create a new page for a new beta / cancelled game that is still missing from the archive.

– Interact: Join the U64 Forum to discuss about unseen games with other geeks! We’ll post some updates and unseen-news in the forum while the site will be in winter break mode.

– Share: Do you have a website or a blog? Spread the unseen! Add www.unseen64.net to your blogroll or in your links page, write a post about lost games, talk about U64 with your friends, and share your beta-geekness. If more people know about this site, we could have more contributions and the archive can grow with more screens, videos, and info!

– Donate you love: Your best gift for this xmas? Another year of unseen games preservation! Donate a bit of your love to U64, to help us to pay for the server that will keep up the site for the next year. Every cent is really appreciated and sent towards the site. You know, we are an indipendent community and we work on this for free just because we are super geeks! But it costs a lot to pay the server to archive all these unseen games.

[donateplus]

Thanks to everyone that supports U64 with love. See you all very soon!

– The Unseen 64 Staff – 

Microsoft, Xbox 360

SoulCatcher [Xbox 360 – Prototype]

monokoma
22-12-2011
No Comments

SoulCatcher is a cancelled game that was in development by Rare LTD for the Xbox 360. The project was meant to be a prototype for a fantasy action adventure game in first person view, that used the Xbox Vision Camera and a customized proto-wand for motion-controls to attack and do magics. At Develop 2011 in Brighton, Rare’s Nick Burton shown a video of this game, but sadly it seems that none recorded it. If you know someone that participated at the event and was able to take some photos / videos of SoulCatcher, please let us know!

 

Arcade, Others

Ultimate Domain [Arcade – Cancelled]

Celine
18-12-2011
2 Comments

Ultimate Domain was a 3D fighting game in development by Atlus for Sega’s Model 2 board around 1996. The game had 8 characters ( of which 3 were women ) animated with the aid of JAC ( Japan Action club ) for the motion capture sessions. One peculiar feature was the SOL-POWER where the characters can utilise the sun power to charge up super killing techniques ( just like Daitarn 3 ! ). Ultimate Domain doesn’t appear on Atlus or Model 2 release lists so we can conclude that it was never fully released in the arcades.

Scan from Computer & Videogames issue 181.

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Microsoft, Xbox

Banjo-Kazoomie [Xbox – Cancelled]

U64 Staff & Contributors
14-12-2011
No Comments

Banjo-Kazoomie was a prototype for the original Xbox which was started at Rare Ltd. in 2004. Players were able to construct their karts out of different parts, therefore after it was cancelled the concept may have evolved into Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts, which was released on Xbox 360 four years later.

Brendan Gunn about this project:

“I’ve always wanted to do a racing game. I got to spend two weeks working on a prototype racing game for the Xbox. It was codenamed ‘Banjo-Kazoomie’, and it was a kind of kart racer, but you constructed the karts out of different parts, so I guess it was kind of a precursor to ‘Nuts & Bolts’. But for those two weeks I was doing the driving mechanics for it”

Special thanks to DKVine and RareMinion.com!

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Game Boy (+ Color), Nintendo

Trail Blazer (Death Track) [GameBoy – Cancelled]

monokoma
10-12-2011
1 Comment
TrailBlazers, aka Death Track is a canceled and unreleased game being developed by Argonaut for the GameBoy. It’s currently unknown why this got canceled and unreleased. It was being licensed by Activision, but developed by the famous Argonaut Games, hence it being in wireframe 3D. This game takes a 3rd person approach to the track, and only offers one camera setting.  An interesting note is the combat elements in the game and the upgrade system before each race. You can purchase engine upgrades, homing missiles, oil slicks, mines, and the like. While in race, you can press select to rotate through your defenses, and press up on the D-Pad to deploy them. It feels like if the game had seen a release, it would have pushed the GB to it’s limits, as only Argonaut knew how to do.
If you are more questions, contact Digmac at obscuregamers.com or assemblergames.com

Thanks to Celine we can see a screenshot of Trail Blazer, found in Joypad magazine issue #8.

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