New Cancelled Games & Their Lost Media Added to the Archive

Dark Eyes [Dreamcast – Cancelled]

In 1999 Sega announced that two PC fantasy RPG were heading to its flagship console. One was Bioware’s Baldur’s Gate while the other was NextTech‘s Dark Eyes. Sadly neither of them would end up running on Dreamcast. Set in a fantasy world, Dark Eyes enabled hundreds, if not thousand, of simultaneous players to interact and do battle via the Dreamcast’s built-in modem. An article appeared on PlayerOne issue 99 suggested how 3000 player could reside in the same universe and that the game was compatible with the ZIP drive.

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The Swamp Thing [GEN MD – Cancelled]

The Swamp Thing is a cancelled action / platform game that was being developed for the Sega Genesis / Mega Drive by Nuvision, the same team behind the unreleased Bean Ball Benny. There is a Nes title with the same name, created by Imagineering Inc, but it is a different game.

As we can read from the Sega Age Forums , in november 2010 a proto of The Swamp Thing was released to the community:

The game is unique to say the least. In this side scrolling 2D platformer, you travel around as Swamp Thing while taking out baddies intent on destroying the environment. During the game, you are able to take the form of various objects (like a leaf, log, and apple) to help you in keeping the forest clean.

This game was displayed at a CES show, and for one reason or another, was never finished or released. This proto locks up at the end of the first level, but it gives you a great idea of what the game would have looked like.

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ShadowClan [X360 PS3 – Cancelled]

Shadow Clan is a cancelled action game similar to Ninja Gaiden that was in development in 2005 / 2006 by Tiger Hill Entertainment for the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3. The studio was founded by John Woo and Terence Chang, to try to enter into the digital entertainment business after their popularity with films, but in the end they never released any game. In ShadowClan players would had took the role of a ninja able to control and to cooperate with multiple AI characters, a planned online mode was meant to have ninja-clans to fight against other human opponents. We dont know what happened to Tiger Hill Entertainment or how much of the game was done before its cancellation.

Thanks to Celine and Userdante for the contribution!

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4th Battalion [PC – Cancelled]

4th Battalion is a cancelled Action RPG that was in development by russian studio GFI Russia (MiST land). The game was announced in August 2005 and it was planned as a prequel to Paradise Cracked / Access Code: PARADISE.  4th Battalion’s script started 20 years before the events of “Access Code” on-ridden civil war Mars. The game’s protagonist was meant to be a representative of the Earth and the only hope for restoring order on Mars. The main mission in 4th Battalion was to establish new stability on Mars. As we can read in an old press release:

  • Up-to-date graphics, using all the power of modern video chips.
  • The most realistic physics and dynamics.
  • Real lighting and spectacular special effects.
  • Huge and fully interactive world.
  • Complex and non-linear plot.
  • Advanced Dialogue System.
  • Ability to drive more than 30 kinds of vehicles, from light sand-buggy to heavy assault walking-tank.
  • Huge list of available weapons and equipment.
  • Unlimited possibilities to improve your character.
  • You will be able to fully modify and upgrade vehicles for any purpose.
  • Massive dynamic battles with thousands of units.
  • Ability to create your own army.

In the end the game was never released, maybe because they did not find a publisher interested in the project.

Thanks to Megalol for the contribution!

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San Francisco Rush Extreme Racing [GBC – Cancelled]

Announced in 1998, around the time of the Game Boy Color unveiling this cancelled conversion of San Francisco Rush looks quite excellent from the only image in our possession. Sadly this racing game was never released and the port for the little handheld of the  following episode, San Francisco Rush 2049, looked totally different and with a more conventional top-down perspective.

Image from Consolemania issue 78.

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