third person shooter

ResQ [MD/G – Cancelled]

ResQ is a cancelled 2D shooter / action game that was in development by Tempest Software for the Genesis / Mega Drive. The project was almost finished when the publisher, Psygnosis, decided to pulled it out: even if ResQ was never officially released, a rom of the game was leaked online and can be easily found through Google.

The look and feel of the game seem taken from an Amiga project, probably because the team was inspired by the Bitmap Brothers graphic style back then. Other inspirations were games such as R-Type (for the ship) C64 version of Turrican, Super Ghosts and Goblins (for the centurion) Starwing/Starfox (for the 3D bonus game).

As a former graphic designer of Tempest Software wrote:

The Game was programmed on 486 PC’s by Bill Pullan and Pete, while  Jason used Deluxe Paint II and III on an Amiga 1200 with RAM upgrade for Graphics and Animation. Bill actually worked on an Amiga title before RESQ, “Bill’s Tomato Game“.

Thanks to Jason and Celine for the contributions!

Images:

Videos:

 

Aftershock [Sega 32X – Cancelled]

Aftershock is a cancelled shoot ’em up that was in development by Sega Midwest for the 32X. A short video (just a couple of seconds) of the game was seen in the episode #70 of the ROX TV Show, when they visited the SM studio. As we can read from a GDRI interview with Jim Reichert, former Sega Midwest designer, the project was canned because of economic problems:

JR: Aftershock got beyond the proof of concept stage, and we were developing the game when I left. I remember that Aftershock got rave reviews as a product pitch at SOA, but by that time, Sega Midwest had pissed away so much money (with little ROI [return on investment]) that nobody trusted them with SOA cash — and Sega itself was totally floundering (32X?!?). It was too bad because that game actually had some legs, and the whole studio was excited about it — and I was the lead designer. I still have all the videos and game assets associated with it — I even have a cartridge with the prototype on it. We had a professional cartooner design all the characters for the game, and the images were completely awesome.

[…]

JR: Essentially, it was Jungle Strike set in a post-apocalyptic world where you could fly, drive, and cycle around.

Images: 

Ratchet and Clank [PS2 – Beta]

Ratchet and Clank was the first game in a series that would become a cash cow for Insomniac Games. The main goal of the game, is to blow up anything that moves, while exploring large levels for hidden items. The series is also known for it’s comical approach, with weapons such as the Morph -o- Ray, which turns enemies into chickens. There were some changes made to the final game however, one of which, involves the farm friendly foul.

In this video, can be seen what appears to be a mashup of different betas. To start with, at 0:22, it’s rather fast, but pause it and you’ll see the beta bolt meter, but in the top left part of the screen. In all Ratchet games, it’s in the top RIGHT. It can be seen there in another part of the video, but also in it’s proper place as well. At 0:49 can be seen a strange weapon icon, a no chickens sign. The HUD is still beta here, and the no chicken sign is too.  

Red Dead Revolver [Beta – PS2, XBOX]

Red Dead Revolver is a western third-person shooter published by Rockstar Games and developed by Angel Studios, a team that is now known as Rockstar San Diego. The game was released in May 2004, for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox, but its development begun 3 years before (2001 / 2002) and the project was originally meant to be published by Capcom.

In 2002, Angel Studios were acquired by Take Two Interactive and Rockstar Games purchased the rights of the title and expanded on it. The original version of Red Dead Revolver had a more arcadish and fast gameplay, while the final one had a more “open world realistic” approach. The “Angel Studios Version” was played more like an “on rails” shooter (but with free movements), instead the “Rockastar San Diego Version” is more like an action adventure.

Chek the trailers below for a comparison. If you played the game and can help us to notice more differences, it would be appreciated!

Thanks to BemaniAK for the contribution!

Images:

Beta Videos:

Here’s the final version of the game for comparison:

 

Nuclear Strike [PSX/PC – Beta]

Nuclear Strike is a multi-directional shooter developed by Electronic Arts and released in 1997 for the PlayStation and PC. DCodes7 has noticed that there are some data files named “E3*” in the game’s disk, that are probably releated to a beta demo that could have been used in a past E3 to show Nuclear Strike to the press. Luckyly this beta demo can be freely played by typing the code “LIGHTNING” in.

The beta level is unfinished, the mission and its terrain is based off the second level of Nuclear Strike, but with lots of incomplete edits. More than half of  the area is empty and has no live action FMV’s of its own. When completing all objectives you will hear a message saying “Thank you for flying strike air, we know that you have a choice of many games to play and we appreciate your time to play us.

Also note that the “LIGHTNING” code for the beta level never appears in Nuclear Strikes campaign and the only way to know of its existence is to look up the code on the net. You can see this unfinished level in the videos below.

Thanks to DCodes7 for the contribution!

Images:

Videos: