Acclaimsports Soccer, also know as Ultra Soccer, was a sport game that was in development at Probe Entertainment (the same team behind Xtreme-G) in 1997 / 1998 and was going to be published by Acclaim. The game was later cancelled, probably because of quality standards or because of problems with the Quagmire Engine.
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F-1 World Grand Prix is a Formula One racing game / simulation that was released in 1998 for the N64. In these beta screens we can see an early version of the game, with a graphic that was still not finished.
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Despite the high quality of strategy games released for the Nintendo 64 (Ogre Battle 64, Star Craft), not many games in that genre were released for the system. It’s probably for this reason that many fans were happy to hear about the development of this managerial simulator for the Nintendo 64: Airport Inc.
As can easily be determined from the title, this Telstar game was going to simulate an airport over all fields, from internal structures to air traffic coordination. The ultimate goal for the player would have been to avoid displeasing the customers and keeping their expenses balanced in order to maintain an optimal financial situation.
The graphics engine would have taken full advantage of the Nintendo 64’s capabilities, offering, as in Sim City 2000, a perfect 3D representation of the airport’s life. The game (i)was(/i) ultimately released for the PC in 2001, but the N64 version of Airport Inc. was ultimately destined to oblivion. Doubts still subsist as to the effectiveness of even the primary development on Nintendo’s little black console.
Please note: It is our understanding that these screenshots are from the N64 version, but as even the initial development is uncertain, it is possible that these images are actually from a beta of the PC version, as both would have look similar to the point of being exactly the same.
[spoiler /Clicca qui per la versione in Italiano/ /Nascondi la versione in Italiano/]
Nonostante la qualità dei giochi strategici su N64 sia piuttosto alta (Ogre Battle, Star Craft), il genere non è certo fra più rappresentativi della console Nintendo. E’ molto probabile quindi che gli appassionati abbiano seguito con grande attenzione l’annuncio per 64 di questo simulatore gestionale, Airport Inc.
Come si può facilmente intuire dal titolo, il gioco Telstar era incentrato sullo sviluppo di un aeroporto in tutti i suoi settori, dall’organizzazione interna della struttura alla coordinazione del traffico aereo. I giocatori avrebbero dovuto fare attenzione a non scontentare (o non farli perire in un disastro aereo) i propri clienti, equilibrando le spese per mantenere una situazione finanziaria ottimale.
Il motore grafico avrebbe dovuto sfruttare le capacità del Nintendo 64, offrendo, come in Sim City 2000, una perfetta rappresentazione tridimensionale del nostro piccolo dominio. Il gioco è uscito per PC nel 2001, ma purtroppo la versione di Airport Inc. per 64 era destinata all’oblio e non vide mai la luce. Addirittura sussistono dubbi sull’effettivo inizio dello sviluppo sulla console nera di Nintendo.
Forse gli screenshots di questa pagina si riferiscono ad una versione preliminare per computer, ma è probabile che l’aspetto della versione console sarebbe stato identico a questo, senza nemmeno l’aggiunta di features esclusive. [/spoiler]
[Original description in Italian by Yota, Translation by Take It Slow]
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Top Gun: Fire At Will was released by Spectrum Holobyte in 1996 for the PC and Sony Playstation, but it was originally a cancelled title for the Nintendo 64. The title features any actors from the film, with James Tolkan reprising his role as Stinger. The game’s overall plot focuses on the player-character, Maverick, going to combat in Cuba, North Korea, and Libya against a secret group of mercenary pilots called the “Cadre.”
The N64 version was probably canned because it was seen as an economic risk, and they decided to move the project on other platforms that were more cheap to develop on. Probably the game released for PSX and PC was not the exact same one as the original N64 concept and for more informations you can download the original pitch for Top Gun 64 in here: Top Gun Ultra 64 Pitch (PDF)
Update: as wrote to us by Ross Sillifant, here are some more info on the cancellation of Top Gun 64:
Microprose CANNED N64 version of Top Gun, despite being one of the 1st Non-Japanese firms to be granted a publishing licence for the N64, because they’d lost faith in Nintendo. Tim Christian, European Md of Microprose told EDGE magazine that Nintendo were coming in last and the public is going to see them as the 3rd Next generation platformin every sense and by the time the N64 arrived in Europe, the average software price for PS1+saturn could have dropped considerably and you’d be able to buy top quality games on Playstation and Saturn for under £30. How could a mass-market develop around a machine with games selling for £70? Tim thought the N64 would be ‘sunk before it gets out the harbour’ as far as Europe was concerned.
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After completing one of the launch titles for the N64 in 1996, Pilotwings (the other being Super Mario 64), Paradigm was tasked with creating three new games: Pilotwings 2, a “racing” game (Which later became Beetle Adventure Racing!), and a more serious flight simulator, which was to be called “Flights of the U.N.” This title was later changed to Harrier 2000, and again to Harrier 2001 due to delays. The game was supposed to be released in 1999, but when it was delayed they “updated” the title to go along with the new release date.
It is unsurprising, with the habit of many unseen Nintendo 64 games, that Pilotwings 2 and Harrier 2001 were canceled. Fortunately we managed to scrounge up some images and information on the latter. The main mode was composed of 20 missions, for which you could choose between a combination of 50 crews, the correct choice being essential to the mission. Paradigm’s objective in creating this game seems not to have been to create a completely realistic simulator with great physics, but rather continue the old tradition à la many arcade games of the time, with cartoon physics and simplified controls. In addition, the player could choose between four different camera modes, a first person view and three other varying views from the exterior of the plane, depending on their taste. The game would have featured nine types of ground-to-air missile, seventeen types of bomb and three types of rocket launcher. The cart size was 64 megabits, and N64 Magazine reported that it would support up to four players.
The story of Harrier holds the same appeal as that of Top Gun with Tom Cruise; the player guides an ex-marine, Jake Cross, on a mission to thwart the terrorist organization The Brotherhood. The Brotherhood had, apparently, nothing better to do than than kill the protagonist’s best friend and attempt to take possession of a new chemical element, Podium, in order to construct the most dangerous bombs ever.
The game had an awesome graphic for its time, but regardless of the potential they still had their fair share of problems. Harrier was initially delayed to late 1999, then 2000 and subsequently canceled permanently, for legal reasons. Video System, the would-be publisher of Harrier, has stopped all financing for the development of Harrier, so Paradigm was ultimately left with no option other than to abandon Harrier altogether.
[Original intro in italian by Yota, english translation by Take_It_Slow]
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