In 2005 TKO Software were working on a sequel to Ms. Pacman: Maze Madness, a platform game that was originally released for the Nintendo 64, Playstation and Dreamcast. Ms. Pacman: Maze Madness 2 was going to be published for the Xbox, Playstation 2 and GameCube, but the project was cancelled in mid development because of saturated market for the genre.
Thanks to Hey Hey for the contribution!
Video:
A remake of GoldenEye 007 (codenamed “Project Bean”) for Xbox Live Arcade was in development at Rare Ltd. during 2007 and 2008. Goldeneye 007 was a critically acclaimed FPS for the Nintendo 64, originally published by Nintendo in 1997 and still loved by many fans. Although Microsoft, Activision (current owners of the game rights to the James Bond franchise)and Nintendo were said to have agreed upon a licensing deal for the title initially, Nintendo Japan allegedly refused to grant their permission at last minute. Therefore the remake had to be canned only months before completion.
Much like the original Goldeneye for the N64, the developers who were involved in the making of this XBLA remake had their faces scanned and implemented into the game (as enemies / civilians / scientists / naval officers). In the game we would have been able to change the HD converted graphics to N64 graphics, an online multiplayer mode was planned, along with the traditional split screen mode. Goldeneye XBLA would had over 200 point’s worth of achievements and a time trial leader boards.
Some more info can be found at Mundo Rare:
[…] the game was developed in just one year by just 8 people; Dam, Depot and Frigate levels are selectable as multiplayer arenas (even the fabled Citadel was considered just “for the fan reaction”) and the N64 version isn’t technically a port, but a rather smart graphic filter use that makes the new game look the old-fashioned way.
It’s possible that the engine used for this Goldeneye remake was later reused for the Perfect Dark XBLA Remake. Some images in the gallery below are from XBOX Magazine. In August 2016 Rare Thief uploaded on Youtube more than 30 minutes of footage from this lost game, you can see the video below! Some more details were also shared on their website:
Throughout the video the player uses the rumored feature of switching the game’s graphics between the original Nintendo 64 textures and the remake textures on the fly. The switch between the two appears to take zero effort or time, and can be done whenever without having to pause the game.[…] After the tour of some select missions, the video presents a few of the multiplayer options. On top of the expected multiplayer levels are three news ones including Dam, Frigate and Depot. Something even more interesting than that is the option to set all character heights to be equal, meaning Jaws and Oddjob would no longer have their advantages.
Thanks to DCodes7 for the contribution!
Images:
Videos:
Dealer: Chronic, Pills & Coke is a cancelled action game / third person shooter that was in development by Nagual Games in 2004, for Playstation 2, Xbox and PC. As we can read in the original press release, the game was set in a huge metropolis, with a lot of driving and shooting, a gameplay similar to GTA, in which the player was able to take part in the bloody and amusing adventures of a drug dealer.
The main object of Dealer was to build up a prosperous, illegal distribution network with one of the four characters available: the player had to expand the business by buying a drug lab, a cellar to grow mushrooms or even a marijuana plantation. The extra money were used to buy extraordinary cars, weapons , whore houses and luxurious properties.
Some of the unseen features:
- Drugs, weapons, and sex – unpredictable and explicit story + free game course;
- Prevention – the game demonstrates the effects, traps and dangers of various drugs;
- Adult content – Night clubs, junkie prostitutes and sexy women;
- Completely lifelike, enormous and elaborate city (Ghetto, Harbor, Downtown, Beach, Suburbs, Hills, Luxury seashore etc.)
- Different drugs – different effects (Depending on the type of drug and consumption and use: morphed tracks, +/- health, speeding up/slowing down time, +/- susceptibility to injuries, freshness/tiredness, bent walking, falling asleep, addiction etc. – even lethal overdose).
- 60 different NPCs;
- 40 different controllable vehicles, controlled by AI;
- 20 complex missions from the storyline +10 hidden or optional missions;
- Multi-play
- 40+ hours game play
The game was developed on the BioGraphic Inc. Gamebryo engine, a 3d-game engine used for other titles as “Morrowind”, “Dark Age of Camelot” “Axis & Allies”, but sadly there are no in-game screenshots from Dealer: Chronic, Pills & Coke preserved yet, only few artworks in the gallery below.
The game was cancelled for unknown reasons, but we could speculate that Nagual never found a publisher interested in the project.
Thanks to Userdante for the contribution!
Images:
Black is a FPS developed by Criterion Games and published in 2006 by Electronic Arts for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox. Thanks to a playable demo released before the game was completed, DCodes7 noticed various beta differences, listed in the gallery below. Also, as wrote by Satrialeson the NeoGaf Forum, originally Black had a “challenge mode” where you would run around the levels shooting targets within a set time, but this was removed in the final version.
Images:
Video:
Starsky & Hutch 2 is a cancelled mission-based driving game based on the TV series with the same name, that was in development by Mind’s Eye for the original Xbox and Playstation 2. The project was announced in 2003 when Empire Interactive signed an exclusive licensing agreement with Sony Pictures to publish a sequel to their first Starsky & Hutch game.
As wrote by IGN, Starsky & Hutch 2 was shown behind closed doors at Empire Interactive’s booth during E3 2004, featuring the same drive and shoot gameplay as the original, and an on-rails Virtua Cop-esque mode up to 2 players. In 2005 Mind’s Eye Productions was acquired by Disney Interactive and their Starsky & Hutch 2 project was canned. The few images preserved in the gallery below are probably from a target render and not in-game.
Thanks to Cyrax151 for the contribution!
Images: