Others

Batman: Arkham Asylum [X360/PS3/PC – Beta]

Batman: Arkham Asylum is an action-adventure stealth video game based on DC Comics’ Batman for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows. It was developed by Rocksteady Studios and published by Eidos Interactive in conjunction with Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and DC Comics and was released in 2009. [Info from Wikipedia]

Throughout Batman: Arkham Asylums development the developers were shooting for a hard T rating. Based on early screens it seems that they intended for the game to have blood, but it appears that they had to tone it down to get the rating that they wanted.

Also, as we can read at Game Informer, it seems that the combat system in the game was changed at least 3 times before chosing the final one:

Combat went through three distinct revisions – the first one being a full rhythm action game! The second one was prototyped in 2D, which popped up whenever you got into a fight, and involved colored circles bashing into each other. This actually formed the basis of the final system.

FMMC noticed that Batman’s gliding was impaired when his cape was torn in the beta.

Thanks to Robert Seddon for the contribution!

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Darkside / Dark Ride [Saturn 3DO – Cancelled]

Darkside (sometimes written as Dark Ride or Darkride) was one of many titles being devloped by Rocket Science Games before being cancelled. It was to be a psychodellic tunnel-based game with bizarre graphics, and was briefly previewed in the December 1994 issue of Games World: The Magazine, which stated that ‘the team behind the game are perfecting the smooth scrolling of the ride… before the gameplay’.


Rocket Science Games themselves are probably more interesting than the games they made- funded by Sega Enterprises and promising more than they could deliver on, they mostly made Sega-CD and PC-based FMV based titles such as Cadillacs & Dinosaurs: The Second Cataclysm and Obsidian. However, their titles never sold well, and Sega themselves cancelled half of the company’s titles around 1994/95 to keep costs down- it seems Dark Side / Dark Ride was one of the victims of this. They eventually went out of business in 1997.

The preview in Games world: The Magazine states that the game was being developed for the 3DO, although almost all other RSG games were being developed for either the Sega CD or the PC- whether this is a mistake on the magazine’s part is unknown.

In a short article published in French magazine CD Consoles issue #4 we can read that “Darkside” was in development for the Saturn and the game would have took the player into an imaginary world, to explore it aboard a cart on rails (as in a rollercoaster). Could this have been an on-rails shooter? We are not sure.

As written in an article in Wired 2.11 (page 108), Rocket Science decided to cancel this project because it was too similar to other games of its time:

The trend toward more literate games means that some projects well along the Rocket Science pipeline have had to be scrapped. “We saw some things at the Consumer Electronics Show very similar to our Rocket Boy and DarkRide, so we’ve put those on hold,” says Caldwell. “But we still have Wing Nuts, a World War I dogfight game, in the works.”

If you have some more info on this game, please let us know!

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

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Lone Wolf: Flight From The Dark [PS3/X360/PC – Cancelled]

Lone Wollf is a cancelled First Person RPG in the vein of TES: Oblivion, that was in development by Ksatria Gameworks, a studio from Singapore. The project was meant to be published for the Playstation 3, Xbox 360 and PC, but sadly the studio closed down after the investor failed to secure additional funding.

Lone Wolf was based on the series of adventure books with the same name, created by Joe Dever and initially illustrated (books 1-8) by Gary Chalk. The series began publishing in July 1984 and of the most popular game books ever published, selling more than 10 million copies worldwide. The story focuses on the fictional world of Magnamund, where the forces of good and evil fight for control of this planet in a final showdown. The protagonist is Lone Wolf, last of his caste of warrior monks known as Kai lords.

As we can read from the official Ksatria website, in the game:

The player assumes the part of a young cadet who returns to find the the Kai Lords have all been massacred at the Kai monastery by a surprise attack during the feastday of Fehmarn, by the Darklords. You then assume the identity of LoneWolf and set out to the capital to inform the King of the loss of the Kai. This is the start of the adventure, a classic tale of good versus evil.

Even if Lone Wolf is canned, the kjAPI 3D engine  

Dead Space [X360/PS3/PC – Beta]

Dead Space is a third-person survival horror / action game, developed by Visceral Games (formerly known as EA Redwood Shores) for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC. As we know the game was started with a Dead Space prototype for the original Xbox, but even the “next gen” version had some slightly differences in its beta build, as the models for the enemies and the main character (especially the armor). Also, the graphic / atmosphere of the game looks different: the final version is gloomier and less bright than some of the beta screens.

Thanks to CerealAndMilk for the contribution!

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Dyno Blaze [G/MD/3DO – Cancelled]

Dyno Blaze is a cancelled beat ’em up that was in development by Bonsai Entertainment for the Genesis / Mega Drive, Mega CD and 3DO in 1994 and it would have been published by Virgin. A playable prototype of the game was somehow leaked online in 2008, in which you can try a series of (almost empty) levels where to move your rollerblade-dinosaur to fight enemies with an hockey stick. The levels are incomplete and bugged but it’s possible to go trought them waiting for a bit at the end of the area and pressing the jump button.

The original press release for the game:

Today, Virgin Interactive Entertainment and Bonsai Entertainment Corporation signed a multi-SKU development contract for DYNOBLAZE®, an original game for SEGA CD and SEGA GENESIS.

Bonsai Entertainment will develop the original game based upon designs previously developed. “It’s a game about ‘Teenage Mutant Ninga Dinosaurs’, that play street hockey on the streets of New York”, said Joseph Moses, President of Bonsai Entertainment. He added, “Teaming up with Virgin, already a key player in this industry, is a major step for Bonsai. We intend to make them very proud.”

“DynoBlaze” is scheduled for Christmas 1995 release across multiple platforms.

A weird Dyno Blaze proto was seen at the Video Game History 2008 expo in Monza (Italy), organized by our friends at Games Collection. In the VGH2K8 proto you can just see a rolling demo of the game’s menu (without any gameplay) and a strange graph for a medicine know as “Lotensin” by CibaGeneva pharmaceuticals. We dont have any clue about what this all means, so if you have a good explanation feel free to share it!

The 3DO version was in development by Alexandria Inc but sadly after some months of work the lead background artist died from an illness and the game was soon canceled not long after. The 3DO port had better graphic (as you can see from the scans below, found by Celine in Game Fan #95 and Cd Consoles magazines) and animations, almost like a cartoon.

Thanks to Jean-François Thébé and Scott Rogers for the contributions!

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