Playstation 3 (PS3)

Turrican: Cyclone (Factor 5) [PS3 – Cancelled]

After finishing Lair, Factor 5 was working on a new Turrican game for the PS3, but as the partnership with SONY was later terminated when Lair was a critical as well as a commercial failure, the development of this new game was stopped. We dont have an official name for this game, and it’s labeled simply as “Turrican” or  “Project Cyclone” just because of the name of its artworks. Project Cyclone was put on hold still in early development and probably we’ll never see it again.

From the few artworks that remain, we can notice a character that looks a bit like an evolution of the one in Turrican and we can only wonder if this project was going to be a resurrection of the unreleased Thornado for the GameCube.

Thanks to Gone is Gone and Hey Hey for the contributions!

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Bayonetta [Beta – Xbox 360 / PS3]

Bayonetta is an action game for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, developed by Platinum Games in cooperation with Sega, who will publish the title. In April 2009, the official Platinum Games Youtube Channel released an interesting video in which we can see an early prototype version of the game, a build created in about a month of work.

Also, at Platinum Games’ blog we can find various concept arts with early designs of Bayonett’as characters and weapons. In Japanese TV special on the game we can seen even more concept arts, with a blondie and readhead protagonist. At 1UP we can read an interview with Kamiya, in which the talks about the design of the game:

“I had Mari Shimazaki, one of the designers, draw her for me,” the designer said. “She gave me a woman in a full-body black suit with her hair running through her hands. I thought that having black hair and a black outfit would make it hard for the player to see what the character was doing. But I loved that long hair; I could see it flowing in the air as she fought and I wanted to depict that. So we went through lots of minor changes; at one point she had red hair. But at the end of it, we went back to a style that had her hair around her arms, making her look really witch-like — and from there we said ‘Well, why don’t we just have her hair cover her all the way?’ That was how the current Bayonetta was born.”

More beta videos were upload to the Sega Youtube Channel. As we can read at The Silent Chief:

A lot of what’s seen in the videos never made it’s way into the final game, including the ability to ride Bayonetta’s motorcycle throughout a level and use it as a weapon. You’ll also notice that Bayonetta is a bit younger in the prototype footage.

Also, Mystie noticed that:

The models of Bayonetta and the Affinities that were used in the beta/prototype are left within the files in the final release.

In the TGS 2008 trailer, the crumbling clock tower scene takes place in modern times rather than old times, and Bayonetta has a slightly different model. Her eyes are pure blue instead of blueish-gray, the Umbran Watch looks slightly different, and the chains (as well as the belt buckles on her sleeve flaps) are silver instead of gold.

Thanks to Celine & Mystie for the contribution!

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Resident Evil 5 [X360/PS3 – Beta]

Resident Evil 5 was officially announced on June 2005, but it was shown to the public for the first time only two months later in a CG trailer. Capcom created another trailer for the game in 2007. Even in the last year of the development Capcom was still moving things around. For example, the crash site of the helicopter was originally a fully playable section, not a series of QTE.

For more informations, check the Resident Evil 5 Beta Analysis

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Ascendant (Big Huge RPG) [X360/PS3/PC – Beta]

Ascendant is a third person action RPG with a fantasy theme. The game was announced by THQ in 2007 for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC. Developed by Big Huge Games and led by Oblivion designer Ken Rolston, Ascendant (also known as ‘Big Huge RPG’ and ‘Crucible’) was originally intended for a release in 2009.

When THQ decided to cut workforce for cost reduction in early 2009, Ascendant failed to gain the support of the publisher.  THQ would no longer fund the ambitous RPG, still they were seeking a new investor for Big Huge Games. In late May 2009, Curt Schilling’s 38 Studious bought the studio. The corresponding press release makes the impression that  Ascendant is back on track:

“Big Huge Games is currently developing an unnamed RPG title for the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system, PLAYSTATION 3 computer entertainment system, and Windows PC.”

Thanks to Robert Seddon and Celine for the contribution!

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Hero (Midway Prototype) [Xbox 360 PS3 – Cancelled]

In 2008 Midway were working on various prototypes for the Xbox 360 and PS3: this one was a proto for a third person shooter / hack ‘n’ slash (that somehow reminds me of Phantom Dust), based on Unreal Engine 3 and inspired by Gears of War style cover system, that at the time was known as “Hero“. With the bankruptcy of the company, this project was cancelled but you can find a lot of info in the video below.

Thanks to Hey Hey for the contribution!

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