Under Pressure is a cancelled underwater shooter adventure that was in development by Rage Software Newcastle around 1997, planned to be released on PC and the original Playstation. By looking at the few screenshots available it seems you would have been able to play in first and third person, exploring a 3D sea filled with fishes and robotic enemies.
As it happens for many other cancelled games, today not much can still be found online about Under Pressure. Screenshots were published on Edge magazine in February 1997 and a former developer mentioned the title in an interview with Arcade Attack:
“Have you ever worked on any games that were never released, and if so, which unreleased games do you feel would have been the most successful?
After Power Drive Rally, I designed and helped create ‘Under Pressure’ running on PC for Rage Newcastle, an underwater submersible/action adventure game in 3D. EA were funding the game development at the time, but unfortunately they pulled the plug mere months away from release. The next game we made was the co-op space shooter Expendable, also known as Millennium Soldier on the Dreamcast/PC.”
Reprisal is a cancelled first person shooter / RPG that was in development from 2001 to 2004 by Power Infused Productions for PC and the original Xbox. The team conceived it as a hybrid between Quake, Thief and Deus Ex, featuring 3 different playable races, each one with their own gameplay mechanics, weapons and abilities. For example you would use stealth to play as humans, direct assaults to play as a cyborg, and manage resources to play as an Alien.
In august 2004 the team was searching for more developers on the CGSociety forum:
“Reprisal is the story of conflict between three races over a space station (Joshua 20) at the edge of our solar system Humans have kept their CAT battle machines stationed there in case of conflict for centuries. The invading alien army, guided by a Prince who seeks to prove himself, struck the station first, seeking to turn these weapons against their masters. The plan goes awry, causing the CATs to turn against both human and alien, and trapping all three races together in a desperate struggle for survival.”
As the game progresses, players would have taken control of the three sides and learn to use their unique powers. These races were:
Cyborg Assault Tanks (CATs) – Vicious and overwhelmingly powerful, these killing machines were once used to fight wars for humans. In Reprisal, they have turned against their masters and gone into a killing frenzy.
Humans – Weak and devoid of natural armaments, humans are the most adaptable of the three races. They are also able to squeeze into areas of the space station the others can’t access.
Aliens – Masters of genetic engineering, aliens are capable of altering their own bodies to suit their needs. While not as overwhelming in force as the CATs, aliens have the distinct advantage of being able to retreat from battle only to return more powerful than before.
“Playing each race requires a different skill set. For example, while CATs can charge into battle, wildly firing at everything, Humans need to sneak around conflicts, searching for a safe place to attack from.
While the game is set entirely on a space station, it has been designed to contain a large enough variety of environments to satisfy even the most hard-core gamer. During the course of the game, the player will venture through enormous mechanical devices, simulations of alien worlds, zoos filled with genetically engineered monsters, infested hallways that come alive, and even venture out onto the hull of the station itself.”
Reprisal would have offered some interesting features for its time:
Adaptive characters – The player will be able to adapt the look and abilities of the characters they play. In some cases, these changes will be minor and other cases will be major (replacing the lower torso with wheels).
Destructible weaponry and environments – Certain weapons will become available that allow the player to knock holes in some walls and destroy some weaponry (to keep it out of the “wrong hands”).
Body specific targeting and damage – over forty different spots on the body where the player can cause damage to the opponents.
Overlapping storylines – Players will encounter themselves in previous and future incarnations as they play through the scenario.
Delta Force: Angel Falls is a cancelled strategy-focused FPS in the “Delta Force” series that was in development for PC by Novalogic between 2007 and 2012. Missions would have been set in Colombia and Venezuela, with the US military trying to take down drug cartels and totalitarian regimes. As in previous DF titles, players would have been able to explore huge outdoor environments, eliminating enemies, assassinating political targets and destroying military equipment.
“In the near future, set in the north-west region of Central America and spanning both Colombia and Venezuela, “Delta Force: Angel Falls” presents the rural, sparsely populated areas of this exotic locale. The South American environment provides a premise which is naturally beautiful and full of new millennium conflicts.
Marginal governments, involved in local expansionism, continually scuffle with one another and with major global powers. Complicating matters, drug cartels have evolved beyond money to political forces rivaling established governments. Influenced by current events, the game is both topical and novel.
The sometimes local philosophy of “your enemy is my friend and your friend is my enemy” gives rise to a multitude of ever-changing alliances and conflicts which drive the game’s rapid action. The culmination of the conflict takes place in the Angel Falls area of Venezuela providing both a spectacular setting and a surprise ending.”
Exciting single player missions spread over several campaigns.
Challenging multiplayer maps supporting multiple game types.
Scenarios, tactics and equipment inspired by extensive consultations with former Delta Force personnel.
Large, open environments with operating land, air and sea vehicles.
Gratifying gunplay, well-balanced weapons, and tactically interesting dynamic environments.
Support for huge numbers of combatants per game with co-operative play against all new AI.
Sometime in 2011 the team opened an Alpha Phase for the game, accepting applications from fans. Unfortunately in the end the game was never completed and we don’t know how much was done before its cancellation.
As far as we know, Angel Falls was a different project from The Unit: Operation Acid Gambit, another cancelled game by Novalogic (but they may have shared the same 3D engine). In October 2016 the team vanished, their assets and IP (including Delta Force) were bought out by THQ Nordic.
Peacebreakers is a cancelled war-themed parody FPS that was in development around 2006 by L’Art and would have been published on PC by JoWooD Productions. The team planned to offer a crazy, funny take on the genre: for example in the trailer you can see soldiers riding cows and driving a tractor. Peacebreakers would have been published in “Episodic Chapters”, with each one continuing the story as in a TV series featuring “TV-style intro videos and cut-scenes”. It seems the game was announced at the 2006 Leipzig Games Convention, but it soon vanished and today no one remembers about it.
On Gamepressure we can read the original press release (?):
“Unlike many contemporary FP shooters, where all matters are treated with deadly seriousness, this title contains a whole range of humorous elements. This can be seen, for example, in the missions we play, or prepared by the authors of crazy team members. During the game we take control over one of the several available tenants.
The actual gameplay was mainly directed at unrestricted violence. It is also worth noting that the action of the game was set in the near future. So we can use various (often futuristic) gadgets. Various vehicles play a very important role here, which we can of course use. These can be military jeeps, hummer vehicles, tanks or even tractors and flying machines (such as helicopters and biplanes). Each of the unlocked vehicles can be subjected to additional modifications. These are primarily better weapons, however, there were also quite crazy objects, such as spoilers that were pleasing to the eye.
Peacebreakers has of course a fully fledged multiplayer. You can choose between several standard play modes such as Deathmatch, Capture the Flag, or Assault.”
The Wall is a cancelled immersive sim that was in development between 2005 and 2008 by Burut Creative Team and Play Ten, planned to be released on Playstation 3 and PC. Gameplay would have been similar to Deus Ex, with players helping one of three major factions in a dystopian future: The Government, The Environmentalists, and The Church. NPCs would react dynamically to your actions in sand-box levels you could freely explore to choose how to resolve missions, using customizable weapons, vehicles and special powers.
We can read some details about the game in interviews published at the time by PS3Land and FiringSquad:
“I believe the concept of “The Wall” world is a grotesque reflection of the modern world. We want to show all the avarice and ambition of transnational corporations, who pursue their business targets regardless of the consequences. In their quest for profit often the great treasures of the past, the cultural heritage of Humanity is sacrificed. Trying to improve the world, some greedy corporate giants are destroying it in fact, without paying any attention to this sad truth and firmly believing in the righteousness of their ways. They continue to push the deadly balance wheel, which is poised to crush them in the end. Also we want to show religious fanaticism with it’s terrible bigotry and superstition. Often the fundamentalist zealots are ready to devastate the existing world, just to create an ideal one they imagine in its place.”
“The game’s concept went through many iterations. Our efforts finally bore fruit, and we’ve invented around a dozen of features that are unique to the genre, and should be very interesting to the gamers. Among them are the totally destructible environment, intense development of the character’s relations with the outside world, the team and rankings which change during the course of events.”
The Wall was previewed by some gaming websites, such as CheatCC, Ixbt, and IGN:
“Various super-human abilities will be revealed throughout the course of the game, no doubt proving useful for overcoming certain obstacles and defeating enemies. Developers claim that personality points and actions will affect the plot and how characters react to the player, ala Deus Ex. Which side you choose also affects the game content, including weapons. For example the Government rifles are very industrial, while the Environmentalist firearms are handcrafted with leather and groovy characters etched into them. Weapons are customizable and there are vehicles to drive”
“Players will become Adam – a young man genetically modified by the scientists of the Church. Waking up after suspended animation, Adam must go to fulfill the mission entrusted to him, but the deep freeze slightly affected his brain. As a result of amnesia, Adam remains on his own, and is free to choose his own destiny.”
“The Wall will offer non-linear gameplay and it is up to you to choose whether to strengthen the power of the Government by eradicating the dissatisfied, help an environmentalist or become the God of a New religion. Not only the style of the game depends on the choices you make, but also its endings.”
“About 25 missions are planned, taking place in a wide variety of places – from the skyscrapers of the Government to the underwater levels of poor neighborhoods.”
“One of the more noticeable elements includes highly-destructible environments with numerous break points. Objects, parts of buildings, entire buildings, and other sections of the play area can be gradually and fully destroyed. The amount of destruction is entirely dependent on the type of weapon being used to create it too. An example that Play Ten uses to illustrate this is that a tree won’t be seriously damaged by a pistol, but a rocket launcher will take care of it quite nicely. This sort of destruction isn’t just for looks, though — use can do things like destroy catwalk supports to knock enemies down from snipe points as well. “
“The addition of squad members with specific personalities is one such inclusion, as its RPG-like ranking system affects how people react to the hero. Missions are nonlinear too and like other open-ended games before it, The Wall will give users the option to take on primary and bonus missions that affect the ultimate outcome of the story.”
As far as we know the game was last seen at the Leipzig Convention 2008, then quietly vanished, forgotten by everyone. Play Ten was bought by Bestway Group in October 2008 and merged alongside two other big Russian publishers: Russobit-M and Game Factory Interactive. We assume the new company was not interested in publishing the game, and without a publisher Burut switched their resources to other projects (such as Cannon Fodder 3).
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