News on Cancelled Video Games & Lost Media

House of the Dead III in cell Shading?!? It seems impossible, but let’s take a step back in time … It was 2003 and House of the Dead III, the famous Sega shooter, raged in the arcades, like previous episodes of the series.

Sega decided to port it to a home console, and since it was based on the Sega Chihiro hardware, they decided on the Xbox. So, SEGA announced the development of a port for Xbox was under way and showed some screens to the public. The early screens had a special feature, using the technique of Cell Shading which made the game look like a color cartoon, with characters drawn with a black marker.

However, the idea was soon abandoned. The causes of abandonment are still unknown, but it is thought that the idea of a graphic “cartoon” in a game as violent as HOTD III would not satisfy the fans, who would definitely prefer “normal” graphics.

Thanks to UK Boogie for the english translation!

[spoiler /Clicca qui per la versione in Italiano/ /Nascondi la versione in Italiano/]House of the Dead III in cell Shading?!? Sembra impossibile, ma facciamo un salto indietro nel tempo… Era il 2003 e il gioco House of The Dead III, il famoso titolo sparatutto SEGA, imperversava nelle sale giochi; come per i precedenti episodi della serie, si era deciso di realizzare un porting per una console casalinga, e dato che il Sega Chihiro, la scheda su cui girava HOTD III, era basata sull’ Xbox, si decise per quest’ultima. Così, SEGA annunciò al pubblico che lo sviluppo di un porting per Xbox di HOTD III era stato iniziato e mostrò al pubblico alcuni screen. Quest’ultimi, avevano una particolarità, utilizzavano la tecnica del Cell Shading, un particolare sistema che faceva assomigliare il gioco a un cartone animato, grazie a colori un po’ più carichi e al contorno dei personaggi, che era tracciato con un pennarello nero, proprio come un disegno di un cartone.

Tuttavia, l’idea fu presto abbandonata. Le cause dell’abbandono sono ancora sconosciute, ma si pensa che l’idea di una grafica “cartoonesca” in un gioco violento come HOTD III non abbia soddisfatto i fan, che preferivano senz’altro una grafica “normale”.[/spoiler]

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Microsoft, Others, PC / MAC, Xbox

Shining Lore [XBOX/PC – Cancelled]

U64 Staff & Contributors

16-04-2008

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Shining Lore is to the very majority of people a cancelled MMORPG originally to be released early 2003, before it fell into development limbo. However, what most people are unaware of is that Shining Lore Online, as it was to be called, was originally a dating RPG called, simply, Shining Lore. This was, obviously, a -very- different game from Shining Lore Online, which shared some elements, but in many ways it was very different. (A dark plot instead of a lighthearted one, for example.) (Supposed to be released in 1999 or 2000) Many of the characters you were to meet in Shining Lore Online were based on designs of the girls you could date in Shining Lore, although obviously, some of them had seen slight redesigns, or in some cases even sex changes […]

The original game sound track was composed by Noriyuki Iwadare of Lunar and Grandia fame, so it’s really quite good. You can download it from here!

For more infos: Shining Lore Project Analisys

Thanks to Saga Darvulia for all these informations!

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Videos:

Microsoft, Xbox

Oddworld: The Brutal Ballad of Fangus Klot [XBOX – Cancelled]

monokoma

16-04-2008

2 Comments

The Brutal Ballad of Fangus Klot is a cancelled action adventure game that was meant to be the last chapter in the Oddworld series. An April 2005 issue of Game Informer revealed a character named Fangus, a buff-looking character who serves as a type of shepherd on Oddworld, watching over a flock of particularly demonic-looking sheep. While OWI did not confirm the game (many suspected it as an April Fool’s joke), the article briefly outlined the plot: Fangus is a shepherd who dutifully wards off predators, until one day, invaders arrive. Fangus is then forced to rise to the occasion, assuming the role of savior of all Oddworldian nations.

Meanwhile, rabies slowly begins to turn him mad, and he must make haste in thwarting the invaders’ plans before his mind is completely lost. A Mature rating (by the ESRB) was expected due to dark tones and themes throughout the game, and Majesco was expected to publish the game for the Xbox. – [info from Wikipedia]

As we can read at the Oddworld Library:

The July edition of Game Informer is out, containing an interview with Lorne Lanning talking about the cancelled game The Brutal Ballad of Fangus Klot. The article includes several images of concept art by Silvio Aebischer and Raymond Swanland, only some of which have been available on TOGG.

You can find more info about the project at the Oddworld Library!

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Microsoft, PC / MAC, Xbox

The Y-Project [PC,XBOX – Cancelled]

IGOR

15-04-2008

1 Comment

The Y-Project (announced in summer 2000) is a cancelled FPS that was in development for the original Xbox by Westka Interactive (later known as Joy Labs), conceived as something like a german version of Deus Ex. It would mix shooting action with role-playing elements and many different devices, from guided missiles to magnet boots for walking on ceilings. The game used the Unreal 2 engine, so the graphics looked pretty good at the time:

“Players assume the role of a hero who must keep a genetically altered race of insects from destroying the human population. The game is set in and around a huge city infested with dozens of different kinds of insect enemies. Players can join a military faction and blast their way through the game using 16 different types of upgradeable weapons, or they can join a scientific faction and reason their way through the game by solving puzzles. Players can also freely switch factions at any point during the game.”

Unfortunately VIVA Media Germany (owners of Westka Interactive) refused to give more money to complete the game: in spring 2003 the team had to be closed and Y-Project was officially cancelled. Former Westka Interactive developers then opened another company called “Joy Labs” and started a new game titled “Das Reich 2005” (announced in early 2004). It was set in an alternative history in which the Nazis not only won World War II, but also seized power over the entire world. The only hope of all mankind was a small group of those who clandestinely resisted the Nazis (among them was the game’s protagonist). Like in The Y-Project, the graphic in Das Reich 2005 was quite impressive for its time.

Unfortunately no publisher was found for Das Reich 2005: Joy Labs could not finance development and their new project was also abandoned.

Thanks to Josef for the contribution! Details from «Игромания» magazine, 02 (113) 2007

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Video

Playstation 2 (PS2), Sony

Gremlins [PS2 – Unreleased]

yota

15-04-2008

3 Comments

“Set 20 years after the movies, Gremlins allows you to play as either Gizmo or Stripe. The plot is centred around the idea that the town of Kingston Falls has gathered to pay belated respect to Gizmo and his owner Billy for saving the town over two decades ago. That night however, Gizmo gets splashed with water that causes him to spew out hoards of Gremlins. Which, obviously, you must track down and kill so the party can continue. Just pray that somebody doesn’t use this plot for a Gremlins 3 movie.Rather than creating a standard platform game, developers LSP have included a team-management element – similar to the one found in last year’s Conflict Desert Storm. You can control your troops using the trigger buttons, and also give them orders. There are eleven areas to explore including a bank and a school, each of which is filled with Gremlins dressed up as policemen, mafia types and so on.” [Cancelled]

Contribute by Matt Gander from www.gamesasylum.com

Thanks to http://gremlins.wordpress.com for the video!

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