Playstation 2 (PS2)

Playstation 2 (PS2), Sony

ICO [PS2 – Beta / Concept]

monokoma
28-11-2010
1 Comment

ICO is an action adventure game that was developed by Sony / Team ICO for the Playstation 2. ICO was originally planned for the PlayStation 1, but after two years of development, the team ran into limitations on the PSX hardware and faced a critical choice: either terminate the project altogether or to restart it on the PS2.

An interim design of the game shows Ico and Yorda facing horned warriors similar to those that take Ico to the castle. The game originally focused on Ico’s attempt to return Yorda to her room in the castle after she was kidnapped by these warriors. Ueda believed this version had too much detail for the graphics engine they had developed on the PSX, and replaced the warriors with the shadow creatures. [Info from Wikipedia]

From early beta screens and videos, we can notice that Yorda had a different design and there were some huge shadows enemies, removed from the final version. If you can notice more differences in the screens and concept arts below, please let us know!

Yorda beta:


Yorda final:

Images:

Video from the PSX Version:
 

Dreamcast, Nintendo 64 & 64DD, PC / MAC, Playstation 2 (PS2), Sega, Sony

D-Jump! [N64 Dreamcast PS2 PC – Cancelled]

monokoma
20-11-2010
4 Comments

D-Jump is a cancelled platform / action game that was in development in 1997 / 1998 by Ubisoft Paris, planned to be released for the “next gen consoles” Dreamcast and Playstation 2, and also PC. It seems that the project was canned after 1 year and half of development, but there are just few info available. Derboo was able to find an article about D-Jump! in PowerPlay magazine issue 8/1998, in which we can see a couple of target renders. As we can read at IGN:

Starring a nimble “Rastafarian” lead character, D-Jump! blends action and platforming elements with a storyline based on time travel. Players must traverse several time periods to unlock the mystery of why their character is slowly turning into wood. Originally scheduled for release as a launch title for the PlayStation 2, D-Jump was later cancelled for unknown reasons.

For more information read this Gamespot article.

Thanks to derboo, Jorge and Isatis_Angel for the scans and to Nattie for her help in preserving more screens from their lost game!

One of the below scan is from Games Republic issue3.

UPDATE:

Seems that while the main development version was for PC, initially the game could have been also planned for N64.
A preview with more real-time screenshots are in fact found in GamePlay 64 issue 9.
I’ve added to the gallery a couple real-time screenshots that show the game in a much late state of development with the bright and cartoony style (and some other renders/concept arts).
Additionally I’ve added a brief trailer below.

Images:

Video:

 

GameCube, Microsoft, Nintendo, Playstation 2 (PS2), Sony, Xbox

Monster Island [XBOX PS2 GC – Cancelled]

monokoma
06-11-2010
No Comments

Monster Island is a game project that was pitched in 2001 by Irrational Games for the Playstation 2, Xbox and Gamecube, described as “Rampage meets Black and White Creatures in a Fully Destructible Environment”. Monster Island was meant to be a fast paced action / strategy game in which the player would had assumed the role of either a giant monster out to eat a city for dinner or the authorities pledged to protect the innocent citizenry.

In october 2010, the studio revealed this cancelled project from their official blog and shared some concept arts and a short document that explains the main features of the game. The pitch promised some 20 monsters, a living city, heavily destructible environments, and a dynamic civil defense network.

The monster’s goal is to cause as much destruction as possible while simultaneously quelling its own hideous appetite with tasty, human morsels. The monster might also receive unique goals in a particular mission, such as climbing a skyscraper, locating an enemy hidden in the city and destroying him, or defeating a rival monster! […]

Monster Island will also let the player take on the role of the good guys, protecting the city from the horrible creature. The player will have control of five key units: the Scientist (who gathers information on the monster to help defeat the behemoth), the Girl (who can lure the monster away from its intended target), the Engineer (who can direct rebuilding of the city), the General (who can direct the forces of the army fighting the monster), and the Hero (who can personally fight the monster when the going gets desperate).

The description sounds interesting, but sadly the game was never green-lighted.

Thanks to Robert Seddon for the contribution!

Images:


 

Playstation 2 (PS2), Sony

Stunt Squad (Airblade) [PS2 – Beta]

monokoma
03-11-2010
1 Comment

Stunt Squad was the original title for AirBlade, a futuristic extreme sports game developed by Criterion Games and published in november 2001 by Namco for the Playstation 2, as a spiritual successor to the Dreamcast game Trickstyle.  Pcloadletter found some beta images from the game in Edge 86 (July 2000), in whic Stunt Squad / Airblade looked a lot different from the final version.

Airblade Beta:


Airblade Final:


Thanks to pcloadletter for the contribution!

Images: