Playstation 2 (PS2)

Ratchet Deadlocked [PS2 – Beta]

Ratchet Deadlocked (Ratchet: Gladiator in PAL regions, also known as Ratchet & Clank 4) is an arena style shooter from Insomniac games, released on 10/25/05 for the Playstation 2. This game strayed the most from the standard gameplay of the Ratchet and Clank series, being the first and only Ratchet game to be based upon the idea of arena fights instead of exploration.

Combat bots at one point were supposed to have legs instead of their hover base. This changed how they affect gameplay, mainly because flying lets them get a better angle than they could by walking. Also to be seen here, is that when given a command, that command appears above their heads. This can be seen at the very start of the video. The combat bot on the left to be precise. Also here, is a beta version of the ammo crate. It’s orange here, but the final version is green. And also, the ammo refills are the Gadgetron ones, and they are cylinder shaped. The final versions, are more box shaped, and green and black in color. Finally, notice that Ratchet has two combat bots here, and rescues a third. It is not known if the third battle bot would have affected gameplay or not.

Evan Hanley found even more differences in the early trailers shown at E3 and Tokyo Game Show:

  • The Eviscerator lacked his leg pads.
  • Ace Hardlight has a different missile glove.
  • The combat bots had legs at one point.
  • The Landstalker had different missile sound effects.
  • The HUD was different.
  • The health bar was different.
  • The weapon icons look slightly different.
  • The number text for the health bar, ammo and bolts was different.
  • The minimap is different.
  • The robot ability box is a different shape.
  • There is no level text for the weapons.
  • The EXP text is different.
  • The EXP bar is smaller and harder to see.
  • The Weapon EXP bar is different and in a different position.
  • The Landstalker’s health bar is different.
  • The Flail Whip has no hit sound effect.
  • The Electric Mine Launcher has a different sound effect.
  • Ratchet doesn’t grunt when hit.

The Online Multiplayer footage has pretty much the same differences as the Tokyo Game Show Trailer but has different HUDs and activity texts for different modes.

Thanks to Evan for the contribution! 

Ice Nine [PS2 – Cancelled]

Ice Nine is a cancelled FPS with tactical elements (inspired by the film “The Recruit”)  that was in development by Torus Games in 2002 / 2003 for the Playstation 2. The project would have been published by BAM! Entertainment, but for unknown reasons they never released it. During the missions the player would have been able to make choices that would have ultimately impact the multiple endings of the game. A GBA version of Ice Nine was released, but it was obviusly a different game from this one.

Over at Gaming Target we can read an old interview with one of the developers, that has some more info on the game:

AH: The enemies have an ‘awareness cone’ which is visible on the HD, showing you when they’ll spot you. The cone is not static however, and is affected by player actions. Knock an enemy out and grab a disguise and the enemies relax, meaning their cone will shrink. If you start shooting wildly, the enemies will go on alert and their cone will grow.

The system is designed to make the game feel more dynamic than most shooters – we wanted it to have more depth than just running and shooting, and allow the player to work through each level in their own way, making sure they got feedback from the enemies for each of their actions.

AH: There are twelve playable levels, each of which has at least two different art styles and three to five load sections. Each level is unique – we were very keen to make certain that there was a lot of variety through the game. We have forests, mines, submarines, office buildings and more.

Thanks to Userdante for the contribution!

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Ratchet & Clank 3: Up Your Arsenal [PS2 – Beta]

Ratchet & Clank 3: Up Your Arsenal is a platform / third person shooter developed by Insomniac Games and published by Sony. It is the third installment in the Ratchet & Clank series and was released in November 2004. [Info from Wikipedia]

Bowsersenemy was able to notice various differences in the early beta screens and in some videos:

  • The upgraded version of the N60 storm, used the icon from the Lancer from RAC 2. The whole weapon status meter is from RAC 2!
  • In another beta screen the N60 had the icon of the second form Lancer, with LESS max ammo than before!
  • A beta screenshot of the multiplayer mode
  • Some removed enemies
  • A removed wrench weapon
  • Holostar studios mission was set in the evening, while the final version is in the day.
  • Qwark vid comics had beta timer, beta life bar, and beta Q token counter (bottom right corner)
 

Guy Savage (MGS3) [PS2 – Cancelled?]

As we can read at Metal Gear Wikia, Guy Savage is the name of an easter-egg mini game that can be found in Metal Gear Solid 3. This mini-game was directed by Shuyo Murata (MGS3 writer) as stated in the credits. Guy Savage is a basic hack-n-slash game where the player encounters a vast amount of enemies, and must press the attack buttons repeatedly to defeat them.

While there’s not an official statement, rumors say that Guy Savage was supposed to be a Konami game in development, that was later cancelled. The playable demo that was created as an internal pitch for the project was added in MGS3 just for fun.

Thanks to Userdante for the contribution!

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I-Ninja 2 [Cancelled – PS2, XBOX, GameCube]

The original I-Ninja is an underrated action game that was developed by Argonaut Games and released for the Xbox, Playstation 2 and GameCube at the end of 2003. The works on the  sequel were started after a few months, but sadly the studio had some economic problems and they had to closed down in October 2004. I-Ninja 2 was never officially announced: only some concept arts remain as a memento of the project.

From the looks of these arts, it seems that the sequel would have been set in the same setting as the original I-Ninja, with a scenario that mixed ancient Japan and futuristc robots, with even more crazier and hardest levels to play in.

Thanks a lot to Tanguy for the contribution!

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