Sandbox

Nero Zero [Hasbro VR – Cancelled]

Nero Zero is a cancelled first person virtual reality game that was in development by 3D Creations and KATrix for the unreleased Hasbro VR console. The Hasbro VR was meant to be a “Home Virtual Reality System” for which the company invested $40 million, but because of the increased competition in the home-gaming market, Hasbro decided to terminate work on their new console.

There is not much info about the Hasbro VR or Nero Zero beyond an over-ambitious description of the game from an old press release, found at The Strange (and Rare) Videogame Pics Page:

(Nero Zero) It takes place in the far future on a distant planet ruled by an evil tyrant named Nero. It offers a combination of several areas of gameplay, including a first-person perspective, a labyrinthine 3D world to explore, high-speed racing with hover-chariots through twisting tunnels, and an advanced fighting engine for one-on-one swordplay. Using sophisticated neural net technology, the computer controlled opponents in the game actually learn from the player’s fighting style, and require progressively more involved strategies to defeat.

Thanks to Celine for the contribution! Thanks to Jason for the english corrections!

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The Fallen [PSX PC – Cancelled]

The Fallen is a cancelled action adventure game that was in development in 1995 / 1996 by Sensory Deception and it would have been published by Psygnosis for the original Playstation and PC. Sadly just few screenshots were found by Celine in CD Consoles magazine issue #19 and Edge magazine issue #33.

Below you can read the story / setting of the game, as announced at E3 1996:

The Lords are the law enforcers of the future, maintaining their own brand of vicious law and order in cities across the U.S. The Fallen are their prey, the drop-outs from society who fall foul of The System and want to find their own way without rules. When the two meet, only chaos can follow.

Play Lord or Fallen in this huge and minutely detailed strategic adventure which takes you from coast to coast across America and offers so many real-life options, you’ll think you’re there. And with bribery, corruption, gambling and violence all on the agenda, there might not be the place you want to be.

Some of the promised features:

  • Unique characterisation system introduces realistic characters capable of complex interaction.
  • Fully textured real-time 3D graphics.
  • Non-linear structure allows the player to dictate the action strategy.
  • Huge array of fully interactive vehicles, weapons and special objects.
  • Combat includes hand-to-hand fighting, vehicle ramming and use of futuristic weapons.
  • Multi-player options (PC version)

Even if we don’t know much about the project, from this description it seems that the gameplay could have been somehow similar to a futuristic Grand Theft Auto. The Fallen was cancelled for unknown reasons, maybe because it was too ambitious for 1996.

If you know someone who worked on this game and can share some more info or media, please let us know!

Thanks to Celine for the contribution! Thanks to Jason for the english corrections!

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Total Overdose 2: Tequila Gunrise [Cancelled – Xbox 360 PS3]

Total Overdose 2: Tequila Gunrise is a cancelled open world action adventure that was in development by Deadline Games in 2006 for the PS2 and PC, but soon moved to next-gen consoles (Playstation 3 and Xbox 360) before being canned. The project was a sequel to the original Total Overdose, a combo-focused action game with over-the-top gunfights that was published by Sci Entertainment / Eidos in 2005 for the PlayStation 2 and XBOX.

Deadline Games started to work on an updated Total Overdose graphic engine to use it in this next gen sequel, but the game was never finished. It seems that their publishers were not interested in a sequel, so the team moved their resources on new original projects. As we can read from an old Gamespot interview with Deadline Games’s former CEO Chris Mottes:

GS: And can we assume that your next game is going to be a quality action title?

CM: I would almost guarantee it.

GS: Tell us what little you can about the project.

CM: It’s a game that is set in an environment similar to Total Overdose, although the project is very different. We’re actually, I have to say, not doing Total Overdose 2, which a lot of people seem to still assume, because unfortunately Eidos pulled out of that, and you know, once bitten, twice shy. So, the next project is an action game, and it’s going to be based on some really cool things that happened in the real world.

On May 2009, Deadline Games filed for bankruptcy, only a few months after releasing Watchmen: The End Is Nigh. The company has previously been reported to have been struggling to find new projects and publishers for their games. Shadow Hunter, Faith and a .45, Killing Pablo Escobar and Total Overdose 2: Tequila Gunrise, vanished with the closure of the studio.

Thanks a lot to Jonas Springborg and Adam Rishede for the help in preserving their artworks created for this project! Some more images are from Carsten Brandt’s website. All images are copyrighted Deadline Games.

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Killing Pablo Escobar [X360 PS3 – Prototype]

Pablo Escobar was a real Colombian drug lord that gained world infamy from the drug trade:  two major feature films on his life, Escobar and Killing Pablo, were announced in 2007 and in the same year Deadline Games started to work on a prototype to create a licence game based on the films, with the title “Killing Pablo Escobar”. The project was planned to be released on Playstation 3 and Xbox 360.

Killing Pablo Escobar was going to follow the true story of how Pablo Escobar was killed and his Medellín cocaine cartel dismantled by US special forces and intelligence, the Colombian military, and a vigilante gang called Los Pepes, controlled by the Cali cartel.

The gameplay could have been similar to other Deadline Games’ titles as Total Overdose (an open world / sandbox action game) but with a more realistic feel and team squad cooperation. After some time and a playable prototype, Killing Pablo Escobar’s development had to be halted because of lack of resources.

On May 2009, Deadline Games filed for bankruptcy, only a few months after releasing Watchmen: The End Is Nigh. The company has previously been reported to have been struggling to find new projects and publishers for their games. Shadow Hunter, Faith and a .45, Killing Pablo Escobar and Total Overdose 2: Tequila Gunrise vanished with the closure of the studio.

Thanks a lot to Jan Ditlev for the help in preserving his artworks created for this project! Some more images are from Carsten Brandt‘s website. All illustrations are copyrighted Deadline Games.

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Shadow Hunter [X360 PS3 – Concept]

Shadow Hunter was a pitch project created by Deadline Games in 2009, probably planned to be developed for the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3. We dont have much details on its gameplay, but from the look of the concept arts, we can speculate that it was going to be a sandbox action game, in which the player had to hunt down huge shadow demons in a post-apocalyptic city, using psychic powers and an energy sword + shield. From the sound of it, Shadow Hunter could have been played somehow like a mix of Shadow of the Colossus and Prototype.

Sadly On May 2009, Deadline Games filed for bankruptcy and had to close down, only a few months after releasing Watchmen: The End Is Nigh. The company has previously been reported to have been struggling to find new projects and publishers for their games. Shadow Hunter, Faith and a .45,  Killing Pablo Escobar and Total Overdose 2: Tequila Gunrise vanished with the closure of the studio.

Thanks a lot to Jonas Springborg and Jan Ditlev for the help in preserving their artworks created for this project! All illustrations are copyrighted Deadline Games.

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