Beta + Cancelled Others Video Games - Page 24 of 173

Hinter Wars: The Aterian Invasion is a cancelled online RPG that was in development around 2005 / 2006 by Activate Interactive, planned to be published by Nokia for N-Gage and PC. As in other MMORPG players would choose between different characters, each one with their own skills and appearances, then log online to explore the game world, fight enemies and chat with their friends.

A playable beta was available for free on their official website, and people could help the team testing their server for online multiplayer. Players could then play on their PC while at home, then continue their adventure outside using the same profile on N-Gage. Some more details on Hinter Wars’ settings and gameplay were also shared at the time:

“HinterWars: The Aterian Invasion’ was derived from an original storyline that revolves around a group of space-faring races that face the possibility of being invaded by the Aterians. The game features four broad character types – the Humans, Firans, Brucians and Taikuus – whose costumes, appearances and armour can be customized according to each player’s specifications. The game also allows interaction between players such as broadcast and private chat, trading of items and teaming up for conquests. Successes are rewarded by new downloads, rare items, additional power and experience, virtual cash rewards – and ultimately, fame within the HinterWars gaming community.”

Possibly because of the N-Gage failure on the market, Nokia and Activate canned the project and Hinter Wars was never completed.

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Others, PC / MAC

Sabotage (Insane Logics) [PC – Cancelled]

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05-02-2022

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Sabotage (not to be confused with “Sabotage 1943” by Replay Studios, which later became Velvet Assassin) is a cancelled stealth FPS that was in development by Insane Logics between 2001 and 2003, planned to be released on PC. The game was set in a sci-fi world dominated by large corporations and players would be hired to sabotage these groups by infiltrating their buildings. It seems the Lead Game Designer for this lost game was Marc-André De Blois, who later worked as Lead Game Designer for Prince of Persia – The Sands of Time.

A playable demo was released online in 2003 and you can still download it on FilePlanet:

“This Demo version of Sabotage by Insane Logics contains 2 playable levels (level 1 & 5). Level 1 is at 80% of completion (lighting and textures are not complete). This first level takes place in the old sewers system of a gigantic complex owned by a bio-genetic corporation. This is the only way to infiltrate the complex. Level 5 is at 50% of completion (game play balance, lighting & textures are not complete). This level gives you a better vision of what the game will look like, a modern setting of a multinational bio-genetic corporation.”

We don’t know why Sabotage was never completed, but as it often happens with these projects we speculate the team was not able to find a publisher interested in supporting their project. As far as we know Replay Studios never released any other game and vanished after the cancellation of Sabotage.

Some screenshots saved from Old-Games and FactorNews.

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Others, PC / MAC

Cheeky Monkey (Rage Games) [PC – Cancelled]

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21-01-2022

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Cheeky Monkey is a cancelled action adventure that was in development by Rage Games around 2000 / 2001, planned to be released on PC by Epic Games. From the remaining concept art and 3D model it looks like the game was set in some kind of “Asian dark fantasy” world, with japanese / chinese buildings, demon monkeys and flying islands.

As far as we know Cheeky Monkey was never officially announced by Rage nor Epic and we were not able to gather any more details about the project. If you know someone who worked on this lost game, please let us know!

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Arcade, Others

Punky Doodle (Sunsoft) [Cancelled – Arcade]

monokoma

20-01-2022

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Punky Doodle is a cancelled action / tower defense game that was in development by Hudson around 1993, planned to be available on coin-op arcades to “lead the industry back to the era of PacMan”. Players would have to protect pumpkins against monsters in “31 levels with more than 150 rounds”, possibly with the help of a friend in coop-mode. Its main gameplay mechanic was to draw doodles on the screen (probably with the joystick), then link a pumpkin to the line so it could move and attack enemies.

A preview of the game was published in Electronic Gaming Monthly magazine (issue 55, February 1994):

“If you’re tired of blood, shooting, fighting and all that other gore, give Punky Doodle by Sunsoft a couple of quarters. Odds are you’ll be instantly hooked by this brain teaser! Punky uses his magic crayons to stop the different meanies who attack him. Help Punky save the world’s pumpkin patches from the bad guys of the night. No shooting? No fighting? No fatalities? What kind of game is this?
It’s Punky Doodle by Sunsoft and it is as addictive as any game out there! Punky and her pal Curly are in charge of protecting Farmer Jones’ pumpkin patch. The pumpkins are under attack by the creatures of the night, and it’s up to Punky and Curly to save the pumpkin patch and the rest of the world’s pumpkin crops.
Our awesome twosome uses the Doodle Defense System by leaving a trail of doodles with their magical crayons. When a pumpkin is attached to a trail, it searches out an enemy along the trail and clobbers the enemy with a Pumpkin Power Punch! Kabam!
Even though Punky Doodle is easy to learn, it is not easy to master. There are 31 levels with more than 150 rounds. Whew, that’s a lot of playing time! Punky Doodle will definitely appeal to a broad range of age groups. The graphics, while not too complex, are clean and colorful. The sounds are also above average. All of the playing elements, including the 50 or so enemy characters, come together. Punky Doodle may look easy, but it requires a good deal of skill to play. With over 30 levels, Punky Doodle should keep you busy for a long time!

As wrote by the Los Angeles Time in 1993, a playable demo of Punky Doodle could have been featured at the Amusement and Music Operators Expo ’93:

“SunSoft of America Inc., which left the competitive arcade business to focus on home video games, is making another stab at arcades with a new game aimed at leading the industry back to the “era of PacMan.”
Though the arcade game, called “Punky Doodle,” isn’t totally nonviolent, SunSoft has high hopes that simple, back-to-basics action will make the game successful in arcades. In “Punky Doodle,” the heroes guard a pumpkin patch from alien invaders intent on destroying crops. The heroes zap the invaders into oblivion, but not in a graphically violent way, Siller said.
The game will be featured at the Amusement and Music Operators Expo ’93 at the Anaheim Convention Center later this month and is scheduled for release in December.”

In the end the game was never released in arcades, but a prototype could still be somewhere out there.

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Microsoft, Others, PC / MAC, Xbox 360

Strike Force: Red Cell (Vision Studios) [Cancelled – Xbox 360, PC]

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15-01-2022

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Strike Force: Red Cell is a cancelled tactical FPS that was in development by Vision Studios around 2005, planned to be published by Graffiti Entertainment on PC and Xbox 360. The team previously worked on a popular Unreal Tournament mod with the same name, but Red Cell would have been a full stand alone game with single player missions and online multiplayer.

Players would have been able to explore 8 levels from all around the world, completing them in a non-linear way. Each level would offer a series of missions conceived with the help of Navy Seals and USA military Officers. Some details were shared by the team in old interviews with FiringSquad and WebCloud:

Gamecloud – On your web site you have a little info about Strike Force Red Cell, the upcoming commercial version of Strike Force. What can you tell us about this game and the differences between it and the mod version?
Michael Hamlett – The Strike Force Red Cell game will have a full single player based campaign with new maps, AI coding, animations, character models, weapons, etc. The single player campaign is also being designed by Red Cell Associates. This is a group of X military Navy Seals and Officers who advised the Joint Chiefs of Staff under the President and the Department of Defense on counter terrorist activities. So we actually have a huge anti terrorist team working on the scenarios and game types. The full commercial game will also have new multiplayer game types to go along with the SP campaigns.
Gamecloud – What can you tell us at this time about the single player campaigns in Red Cell?
Michael Hamlett – The single player scenarios in Red Cell will work with you and a squad. Except your squad will actually be hidden during these missions. Meaning your character may be into a heavy battle to get out of a certain area and you can’t seem to bypass this area without any help. Your squad will radio in that one of your team mates are located on a upper hill or roof of a building with heavy guns. Then you will get a count down message and heavy fire will take out the enemy. So you will have your team helping in certain ways for the entire mission. Another scenario example may be where one of your team members is trying to cut power and you’ll have to hold at a certain point until this is done. So the interaction will play out somewhat like that.

Gamecloud – What are some of the more unique features in Red Cell that make it different than your typical first person shooter?
Michael Hamlett – One of the main things is what I explained above with the actions of your team helping you through but not actually being a direct part where you have to guide each one behind or beside you the entire way. Instead the team will be there to support in certain parts when needed. Also the amount of detail we are putting into maps, characters and weapons will really stand out from other shooters out there. Finally we have actually partnered with a huge X military team to help us write out and produce the single player campaign.
FiringSquad: What sort of locations and settings will the game have?
Michael Hamlett: The locations will be set world wide. As I’m sure your aware terrorist activities today happen all around the world. Sticking true to the Strike Force theme we will have map locations all over… from USA, Russia, Egypt, China, Korea, Sweden, Canada, etc.

We don’t know what happened to Vision Studios and their game, but they both quietly vanished and were never seen again.

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