PoketMechs was a prototype for a side scrolling action game that was in development at Puppybomb Games in 2004, but sadly the project was cancelled, maybe because they did not find a publisher interested in the game.
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Cyber Clash [3DO – Cancelled]
Cyber Clash is a cancelled action game that was in development by Crystal Dynamics for the 3DO. We would have play the role of a cyberspace hacker, to combat into virtual arenas with a tank-alike vehicles, in first person view. A 2 players coop mode was planned too and every vehicle available was able to morph into 2 different forms, with unique close and long-range weapons. A video preview of the game was even added in the “Sample This!” 3DO CD Demo, but in the end Cyber Clash was never released for unknown reasons.
Thanks to Celine for the contribution! Scans from EGM #64 and GamePro #67.
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Protected: Brain Wave Project [PS2 – Technology Prototype]
The unreleased NES game based on a Terry Jones book
Robert Seddon has linked us to an interesting interview that TrueChipTillDeath.com had with Neil Baldwin, chip music composer and director at Eurocom (a UK-based video game developer founded specifically to develop games for the NES), in which he revealed a previusly unknown (?) – and unreleased – NES game:
“I do remember the game very well. The game was practically finished. We just kind of lost communication with the Japanese publisher and it got shelved. It was based on a Terry Jones book. I have a ROM of it. I’ll have to see if I can twist some arms and get the game ROM released like Hero Quest. The unreleased game [is] actually pretty good. I seriously would love it to get out into the community; if only to put the music into context. It’s a role player, similar to the old Zeldas. It was one of those rare occasions when I actually paid attention to what was in the game. “
You can check the full interview at TCTD. It’s nice to know that he’s interested to share the game with the community and we can only hope that he could be able to release it soon!
Update: on Neil Baldwin’s Website there are some more info on the game and some “unheard” music tracks to download! The book on which the game was based is “Erik The Viking”
We were producing the game for the now-defunct Japanese publisher, Video Systems and had pretty much completed the whole game. However, geographical and language problems made the testing and bug-finding phase frustratingly difficult. We were almost solely reliant on the publisher finding bugs/issues simply because there was only 4 of us trying to deliver this fairly large and complicated game and as we didn’t speak Japanese and they didn’t speak much English, it made for an interesting process.
Even I had to get involved in map building and putting together trigger/behaviour scripts for the game’s events as well as writing all the music. It was all good fun though and the last version of the game that we submitted to the publisher was in great shape and actually good fun to play!
However, things ground to a halt as the shared frustration of trying to communicate bugs and issues led to a breakdown of the relationship with the publisher and we parted ways with the game destined for the scrap-heap.
Ikon / Scavenger [PS2 – Cancelled]
Ikon was a third person shooter / sandbox game that was in development for the Playstation 2 from 2002 to 2005 at Ratbag Games. In three years the project evolved and it was later know as Scavenger, as it was shown at E3 2005.
As we can read on the official press release: “Scavenger’s hero is a loner battling for his survival and searching for a sister sold into slavery. Scavenging, trading and raiding, he builds up his arsenal of weapons to wreak revenge on the men who took her. Centred around a huge desert wasteland, the game features convoy attacks (players pit their skills against escorted convoys to try and steal their cargo) and allows players to trade to increase their wealth, align themselves with different factions, and increase their attack power by modifying their vehicles and upgrading weapons.
As we can read from a former Ratbag developer:
Scavenger was a Free Roaming 3rd Person Action game with exciting vehicle combat and a unique economy simulation that the player could influence and exploit. The player could roam the waste lands hunting bandits and convoys shipping goods between settlements or escort the convoys for a fee. Each settlement produced something the others required, if the player intercepted the goods they could then sell them to the towns that needed them for a higher price. Money was used to buy new vehicles weapons and upgrades. Unfortunately Midway had no interest in taking the project into full production and moved the team on to The Wheelman before eventually closing the studio.
Even if they did find a couple of publishers interested in Ikon / Scavenger, the game was dropped by Rockstar after being dropped by Sony and sadly the development was stopped after E3 2005. Midway bough Ratbag Games and shut them down with this promising game still unfinished.
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