FPS

The Dark (Condemned) [X360 – Beta]

Condemned: Criminal Origins was originally known as The Dark, quite far into production. Under this name, the game was largely similar but differed in several key areas. The player character was known as Agent Cross, and the game appeared to follow him on a Government-sanctioned investigation, or investigations, rather than acting as a rogue on the run from the law. Although Cross possessed the supernatural leanings of Thomas from the final game, he could actually use various magical spells. For example, a spell could be uttered to pull a gun from an enemy’s hands and bring it to you through the air, and another spell saw doors and other obstacles break in front of you, seemingly negating the need for a fire axe.

The forensic tools used by Cross also differed, as the detection and collection tools were typically one individual item – the UV light, for instance, could illuminate clues and then be used to physically swipe across them, to take samples.

While playing the game, various bonus contents are unlocked, which can then be accessed from a special menu. Content includes concept and production sketches and paintings, work-in-progress animation, video from motion capture sessions, and a rather lengthy video showcasing a complete level from an early version of the game. [Infos from Wikipedia]

Thanks to Neodiffer for the contribution!

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Sphear [Wii – Cancelled]

Sphear was an action-adventure set in the Phillipines which was in development at n-Space in 2006/2007. Started after their GameCube title Geist, the studio worked together with Nintendo once again. However, Nintendo cancelled the game when they decided to focus on games with a broader appeal (for example Wii Fit). Other victims were Kuju London’s/Headstrong Games’ Knight Wars, a spin-off from the Advance Wars series, as well as Project Hammer, developed by NST.

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Shadowrun: the Awakening [X360 – Cancelled]

Shadowrun: the Awakening is a cancelled game in the Shadowrun series of RPGs, that was in development by FASA Studios for the Xbox 360 and PC, before the released Shadowrun 2007. This unreleased version had a full single player mode and FASA worked on their own 3D engine for the project. Sometime later, the art director was changed for unknown reasons and they scrapped “The Awakening” project to work on the new Shadowrun, that became a multiplayer only title. It’s currently unknown why this version was completely canned with the change of director or why the single player mode was removed from Shadowrun 2007. We can speculate that some problems in the development and management of the original Shadowrun: The Awakening project lead to the decision to create a “simpler” FPS, based around the online multiplayer.

It’s interesting to notice that initial gameplay prototyping of the new multiplayer-only Shadowrun was done using the HALO engine. Check the Shadowrun-Halo prototype page for some screens.

Thanks to Robert Seddon for the contribution!

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