This new chapter in the Alone In The Dark series was in development in 2003 at Computer Artworks Studios, but it vanished when the studio closed down the same year. Probably this project was only in early stages before the cancellation.
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Maximo 3 [PS2 – Cancelled]
Maximo 3 is the cancelled third episode in the Maximo series, a game that many fans were waiting for, but unfortunately things went not as planned. The original Maximo: Ghosts to Glory is a 3D action game created as a spiritual sequel to the 2D Ghosts n’ Goblins series, developed by Capcom Production Studio 8 and released for PlayStation 2 in 2001 / 2002. A sequel, Maximo vs. Army of Zin was released in 2003 and the third game was in the works by the same team, but after only a few months of development it was canned due to lower than expected sales from Maximo 2.
Maximo 3 was started soon after Studio 8 finished to work on the second chapter (Maximo 2 ends with the promise of a third game, with Maximo and his allies teaming up to find Queen Sophia), and they created many concept arts that you can see in the gallery below, with new enemies, settings (an Arabian theme, inspired by the success of Prince of Persia: Sands of Time) and features. The “cartoony” feel of the original games was dropped for a more gritty look.
In the original design doc we can read more about Maximo 3’s gameplay mechanics and story:
Across the Southern Sea, in a land of exotic culture a great history, lies the city of Mashhad, the gateway to the ancient east, but lurking in the shadow of a proud people are the forces of blood and corruption. The Cult of Chut, a religious order legion with fanatics, is preparing to transform the city into a single bloody alter whose population will be the sacrifice in their apocalyptic ritual.
But all is not lost: Maximo stands against this tide of destruction. Having followed the trail of his lost love, Maximo arrived in Mashhad with hopes that his journey will soon end. Now he will pit his sword and wist against the church’s faceless leaders and rescue Sophia; the possessed conduit through which Chut makes itself heard.
Maximo 3 stars with Maximo and his band in bad shape. In their quest for Sophia, the heroes have encountered the Cult of Chut, death worshipers who find a “man who walks with Death” an affront to their beliefs. As a result, Baron has beel killed, Tinker maimed and Maximo and Grim have been merged into one, thanks to a curse. Maximo and Tinker have been hunting down cultist sects when they arrive in Mashhad, seeking revenge and a cure to Maximo’s condition.
The new connection between Maximo and Grim would have been used as one of the main features of Maximo 3, needed to progress through the game:
Maximo is covered in tatoos, which are actually the external manifestation of the cultist’s curse that has trapped Grim within him. With the press of a button, Maximo transforms into Grim, allowing him several abilities.
As a result of the curse on Maximo, turning into Grim drains Maximo’s Health. Stay as Grim for too long and Maximo will lose a life. Only by collecting the souls of the evil cultists can Maximo sustain himself in Grim form.
At some point in the game, Maximo will use Grim’s form as a disguise to infiltrate the cult’s tower during Chut Holy Day. Gameplay will have the players switch the two forms.
As a phantom. Grim can slide up walls, flow like a shadow along walls, give a little extra distance to a jump and glide down from long drops. In addition, the player can perform several attacks with his scythe. Grim attacks do not always kill, rather they are used to “prep” an enemy for Maximo’s attacks, such as breaking a cultist’s protection spell or “mortalizing” ghostly foes.
While in Grim form, the player cannot talk to innocents as they are too scared. However, Grim’s attack will free the innocents of the cult’s influence, turning them from enemies to normal innocents that Maximo must rescue from othe enemies.
After this first concept phase, Capcom Studio 8 created an early playable prototype with a test level which would have been the hub world of the game, to test out Maximo’s new abilities, as Wall Jump, Carry / Push / Pull / Throw items, Swim (to maneuver around obstacles, resolve puzzles and find hidden treasures in deep lakes), Talk to NPCs to gain information, advance the story, start mini-quests, rescue innocents from enemies and free them from the influence of the Cult.
Some new items and weapons features were also planned, as the Sword Grapple to grab ledges, the Flintlock Rifle (a new gun-weapon type), Claws to climb up walls, the Crossbolt Gauntlet (to shoot bolts and to use it as a grapple hook to swing or to be pulled towards a secret area) and the Horn (to knocks enemies back and to cause parts of the scenario to shake and break to find new paths). There was also a “lock on” mechanic, very much like the 3D Zelda games.
Maximo 3 was going to be a much more ambitious project than Maximo 1&2 and would have taken the series into a full action-adventure game, more similar to The Legend of Zelda. The new lead designer was heavily inspired by exploration / puzzle aspects of Zelda, so the game was going to be more focused on exploration and to be less linear than the previous titles.
In the Maximo 3 prototype it was possible to explore a small town, to interact with a few NPCs, climb upon its walls and fight with some enemies. There was just one functioning enemy, which was a the basic cultist that you can also see in the concept arts. Looking at this unfinished prototype and reading the design doc, it seems that Maximo 3 could have been the best game in the Maximo series, but unfortunately not much more work was done on it, as it was canned soon after the creation of this early demo.
Capcom Production Studio 8 was full of talented artists and after they finished Maximo 2 they started to work on 3 interesting pitches: Maximo 3, DeVargas and Final Fight: Seven Sons, the unreleased FF that was planned before Final Fight: Streetwise. In the end, only FF: Streetwise was greenlighted from Capcom, but when it was released it failed to achieve mainstream success and it bombed in sales. Capcom decided to not invest in their California team anymore and sadly Production Studio 8 was closed down in 2006. Only few concept arts, a video and a few pages from the design doc remain to preserve the existence of Maximo 3.
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Doomsday Rescue [GC/XBOX/PS2 – Cancelled]
Doomsday Rescue was an action / combat racing game that was in development at Beyond Games in 2002 and it was going to be published by Midway. The project was later cancelled as many other Beyond Games titles, probably because of the bankruptcy of the company.
[spoiler /Click here to read the original Midway press release/ /Hide the press release/] LOS ANGELES – May 22, 2002 (E3 Booth # 800, South Hall) – Midway Games Inc. (NYSE: MWY), a leading software industry publisher and developer, announced today that Doomsday Rescue, an all-new combat racing game, is in development and scheduled to ship in 2003 for next-generation systems.
When a deadly asteroid shower hurtles toward earth, the collective governments of the world band together to save the human race by resettling on Mars. In order to ensure the revitalization of human life, key scientists, doctors and politicians from around the globe have been selected for transportation and relocation to Mars. To further guarantee the success of the resettled civilization, a planet-wide relocation lottery was held and a number of lottery-winning civilians have been granted seats on ships to the new settlement. As a hotshot driver for the Doomsday Rescue Corp., you embark on a frantic adrenaline-rush mission to find and deliver these key humans to their waiting transport ships within 24 hours. Doing your job means saving your own life. If you complete your rescue missions, you can resettle on Mars.
“Doomsday Rescue is the only combat racing game set in apocalyptic urban environments where players battle with rioting civilians to save themselves and the human race,” said Helene Sheeler, vice president of marketing, Midway. “With an engaging mix of time-based combat racing and sheer wanton destruction, Doomsday Rescue brings a fast-paced, tension-filled experience to next-generation consoles.”
In your quest to resettle the human race, crash and bash your way through seven free-roaming urban environments and destroy anything and anyone between you and your goal – including hordes of rioting civilians who know they aren’t included in the resettlement. Players must be on high alert as meteorite showers pummel and obliterate urban buildings, cars and civilians, presenting new obstacles and opportunities as the environments dynamically evolve on-the-fly.
To complete your mission and guarantee your own relocation to Mars, you must also defeat the Back Yard Rocket Federation (BYRF), a group of terrorists whose plans to steal your colonists puts the survival of the human race in jeopardy. With a real-time physics engine tuned for pick-up-and-play driving action, players can jump right in the driver’s seat and unleash total carnage from their transport vehicle with an awesome arsenal of weapons including machine guns, lasers, missiles, chain guns, cannons and more. [/spoiler]
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Spongebob: Battle for Bikini Bottom [PS2/XBOX/GC – Beta]
SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom is an action video game based on the television show SpongeBob SquarePants. The game has been released for the GameCube, PlayStation 2 and Xbox. Joel has made us to notice about a beta video that shows some differences from the final game:
1. The green arrows that are shown when targeting an enemy are replaced by a white glove pointing at them in the finalized version.
2. A purple collectible is shown when an enemy is destroyed that is not in the finalized version.
3. Various sound effects and soundtracks are missing.
4. A playable character (Sandy) has a completely different animation for sliding down tracks by doing it on her tail.
5. Another playable character (Spongebob) is shown with less-finalized attacks, showing his “bubble moves” with less detail and they are more rounded in shape.
6. A non-playable character (The Flying Dutchman) is shown in a different area of a level and he looks somewhat different (since he is a ghost character he has a glow effect in the finalized version that isn’t in the beta).
7. There is a smoke effect that I do not recall seeing in the finalized version.
Thanks to Joel for the contribution!
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Sly Cooper 1 & 2 [PS2 – Beta / Prototype]
Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus (Sly Raccoon in Europe and Australia and Kaitou Sly Cooper in Japan) is a platform game created by Sucker Punch Productions, and released on the Sony PlayStation 2 in 2002. The sequel, Sly 2: Band of Thieves was released in 2004. In Sly Cooper 3 they added an interesting bonus video documentary about the development of the series, in which we can see some beta footage and an early prototype of the original game and a removed level from the second game.
Thanks to NastyKill for the contribution!
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