New Cancelled Games & Their Lost Media Added to the Archive

Microsoft, Playstation 2 (PS2), Sony, Xbox

Driv3r [PS2/XBOX – Beta]

monokoma
24-09-2009
2 Comments

Driv3r (also known as Driver 3) is an action /sandbox game developed by Reflections Interactive and published by Atari, released for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox in 2004. Slayermaggot81 has linked us to the Driver Madness Forum, where they found many screenshots and a video (from Spetrikbob YT channel) with some beta differences.

Before the game came out, it was meant to be called Driver 3 and not Driv3r. If you have the videogame ‘Stuntman’, go in the Bonus section. There’s a preview of Driv3r, an the title at the end is ‘DRIVER 3’.

Stuntman came out in 2002, Driv3r came out in 2004 and they needed 3 years from the first idea to the release of the game. That mean they started making the game in 2001. So this video from Driver 3 in Stuntman can only be from 2001 or 2002.

In the beta videos and screens we can notice:

  • A yellow car that isn’t in the game (Miami)
  • The graphics are much better
  • The Ocean Drive looks different (Miami)
  • How can you have a so hight view of Istanbul ? Even with the film director it isn’t possible to go as high. Or is it a Cutscene … ?
  • The Sun looks different
  • The night looks better
  • Tanner looks different
  • Different and removed cars
  • Calita wearing red clothes and has a different hair cut
  • Miami looks different
  • & more…

Original Driv3r trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fgim9EkL10

Note that it was known then as “Driver 3″ and features Tanner in alternate clothing to the final game. It seems to be the same suit worn in Driver 2.

Thanks to Slayermaggot81, Martin Bigg and Vicente for the contributions!

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Playstation 2 (PS2), Sony

Kingdom Hearts 2 [PS2 – Beta]

monokoma
24-09-2009
4 Comments

Kingdom Hearts 2 is an action RPG developed by Square Enix and published by Buena Vista Games and Square Enix in 2005 for the PlayStation 2. Superfun64 has noticed a beta screenshot from an old magazine article, in which we can see Donald and Goofy in the scene with the huge Heartless war battle, but they are not in there in the final game.

Also, in a beta video from Tokyo Game Show 2003 we can see a different Twilight Town, the removed Hollow Bastion Tower and various removed scenes, like one in which Donald freeze himself.

Yaz0r found out that there is a Woddy & Buzz (from Toy Story) model in the KH2 data. They are unfinished/untextured but it looks like they were planned as summons. They are in the middle of the other summons models, that’s why we can assume that they were planned as summons. During KH2 production, there were an issues between Disney & Pixar (especialy around Toy Story 3 and the deal they had signed together). It’s possible that Square scraped the Pixar stuff to prevent from beeing involved.

There are even more early screens at KH2 website, if you can find other beta images, let us know!

Thanks to Superfun64 and Yaz0r for the contributions!

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Playstation, Sony

Jet Moto 4 (2124) [PSX – Cancelled]

monokoma
22-09-2009
3 Comments

Jet Moto 2124 is the cancelled 4th episode in the Jet Moto (Jet Rider in Europe) series of futuristic racing games, that was in development for the original PlayStation as the previous 3 games. The gameplay differs from that of a traditional racing game with cars, as players instead control hoverbikes which hover close above the ground and can be driven over both land and water. [Info from Wikipedia]

Soon after finishing Jet Moto 3 the team started to work on the sequel: JM2124 was set in the future and it had 16 tracks to play through, across the  entire solar system from the Moon to Jupiter. Even if Jet Moto 4 was almost finished, after the low sales of the third game  they decided to kill the new project and the development was stopped. A playable build exists somewhere out there and maybe in the future it could be preserved somehow.

Thanks to Hey Hey for the contribution!

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