New Cancelled Games & Their Lost Media Added to the Archive

F-Tank [Tech Demo – Saturn / PSX / PC]

In development by Titus Software, F-Tank was a 3D futuristic tank simulation planned for PC, Saturn and Playstation. The game main attraction was the compatibility with a Virtual Reality headset to enhance the player immersion. The VR-project was never released for these platforms, but it seems that the game evolved into “Metal Rage: Defender of the Earth“, released in 1996 for PC-Dos.

Scans from Mega Force issue 36, CD Consoles 4 – february 1995 + CD Consoles 8 – june 1995.

Thanks to Youloute for the contribution!

Image:

Viper: Red Sector [PSX – Cancelled]

Viper: Red Sector is a cancelled sci-fi shooter that was in development by New World Computing for the original Playstation. The game was based around aerial combats with a squadron of robot fighter planes and the player had to eliminate a race of irate synthetic humanoids through more than 40 levels. The missions were set in open areas, so that you would have been able to freely explore the world to reach the different objectives.  We dont know how much it was completed before 3DO purchased New World and decided to cancel the project.

In 1998 Ocean released another flying shooter for the PSX named Viper, but it should not  be related to Red Sector as it was developed by X-ample.

An image probably taken from a Viper: Red Sector’s FMV was found in EGM #84

Images:

The Little Prince [Prototype – Xbox 360]

In 2008 MKO Games, a French independent studio, worked on a platform / adventure game prototype based on The Little Prince book. The project looked really nice, with a colorful style that was similar to the drawings that are in the book. Microsoft was interested in this proto for their Xbox 360, but they asked MKO to create a second prototype based on the art style of The Little Prince animated series created by Method Animations. Sadly neither of these prototypes was developed into a full game, maybe becaue Microsoft and other publishers seen The Little Prince as a “difficult” IP to sell to gamers.

Thanks to Superannuation for the contribution!

Images:

Videos:

Ferrari 360 Challenge [PS2 – Cancelled]

Ferrari 360 Challenge is a cancelled racing game that was in development by Brain in a Jar Games and it would have been published by Acclaim for the Playstation 2. It was one of the first announced PS2 games from Acclaim and it promised an arcade racing engine with two main racing modes, eight different circuits, limited car deformation and two-player split-screen multiplayer. The project was officially cancelled in august 2000, because of high development costs and undisclosed troubles with the Ferrari license.

Thanks to Celine for the contribution!

Images:

Full Auto (Inertia) [PC – Cancelled]

Full Auto, also know as Inertia, was one of the first prototypes in development  (in 1997) at Pseudo Interactive and it’s interesting to notice that it had the same name of a game developed by the same company and released in 2006 for the XBOX 360.  Inertia was a car combat game too and we can wonder if this proto influenced somehow FA 360. As we can read in one of developers’s site, the game “… suffered from problems such as feature creep, code bloat, and scheduling overruns, and was eventually cancelled shortly after being featured at Microsoft’s Gamestock ’99 press event. However, the publisher was impressed enough with the potential shown by the game to continue their working relationship with Pseudo Interactive, which is how PI came to be one of the first third party developers working on a title for the XBox console…the title that would in the end be known as Cel Damage.

Some more info can be found in an old press-release:

Players maneuver futuristic combat vehicles and battle their way through the rich, alien and interactive world of “Full Auto,” an advanced 3-D vehicular shooter game. As a car-warrior for hire, gamers custom-build their battle cars and prepare for intense combat missions and death-match battles. Players pit their skills against evil corporate mercenaries or sophisticated mechs in either single-player or Internet multiplayer mode via the MSN™ Gaming Zone (http://www.zone.com/). Players succeed by increasing their wealth and improving their car in this intense, nonlinear action game.

Unrestrained gameplay. Players devise unique strategies on the fly, manage their resources carefully, and uncover hidden surprises in 27 interactive, unrestrained and highly replayable missions, battle arenas and racetracks.

Customizable vehicles. Players design their battle vehicles from a large selection of options — cars, weapons, engines and accessories — to meet the challenges of precision driving and intense shooting battles.

Huge interactive environments. Players delve deep into the secrets of a strange alien planet as they progress through 17 challenging missions, including exploration, assassination, demolition and high-speed chases. Skills are honed in one of 10 arenas as users compete in events such as races, death-match combat, “Capture the Flag” and more. While a special tutorial mission makes gameplay easy to learn, “Full Auto” is difficult to master.

Thanks to Hey Hey and Vicente for the contributions!

Images: