Action Adventure

Project Offset [X360 PS3 PC – Cancelled]

Project Offset is a cancelled fantasy action adventure that was in development by Offset Software, initially planned for the Xbox 360, Playstation 3 and PC. As we can read on Wikipedia, in February 2008, Intel acquired Offset Software and the game became a PC exclusive. After a couple of yers, Intel officially canceled the game in July 2010, citing “recent changes in our product roadmap” as the cause for the decision. The founders of Offset Software have moved to a new game development studio named Fractive LLC.

As we can read at Super Download, it seems that the changes in Intel’s product roadmap in the statement most likely refer to the company’s decision to cancel the high-end graphics chip product code name “Larabee” that was shut down as a commercial hardware product last December.

Some more info about Project Offset can still be found in the official website:

Q: Has the game gone back to the drawing board since you last saw it?

A: In some ways…Yes. We have a had a design scrub post Intel acquisition. The gameplay footage you have seen in the past was from a prototype. However we did not throw away all work or assets from that effort. We will share all we can as soon as possible and when ready. […]

Yes it has been a while, and yes this project and team started small and was then acquired by Intel. The tech and engine have been in development for some time, and post the acquisition did need some re-work to target Intel Architectures in the best way possible. We also took some time after completing the prototype of the game, which was created before acquisition, to look at the size of the team, our resources, the games out on shelf currently and our target hardware architectures, and did some re-working on design and gameplay mechanics. […]

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I:5 (Insomniac) [PS2 – Cancelled]

Codename I:5 (aka “Girl with a stick”) is a cancelled game that was in development by Insomniac Games, between Spyro: Year of the Dragon (2000) and Ratchet & Clank (2002). As the name of the project suggests, it was going to be the 5th game from Insomniac studio, but after some time they decided to stop the works on it, as it was not much fun to play. I:5 was never officially announced, but  they talked about it in one of their “The Full Moon Show” video podcasts, in which they even shown some footage of the prototype. The game was meant to be an action adventure / RPG, inspired by Zelda / Tomb Raider, in wich the main character was a girl with a stick as a weapon and magic powers, exploring a fantasy /prehistoric world. Huge props to Insomniac for sharing some info on their lost game!

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God of War 2 [PS2 – Beta]

God of War 2 is an action adventure developed by SCE Studios Santa Monica and published in 2007 by Sony for the PlayStation 2. In the final game it’s possible to unlock a bonus video in which to take a look at some removed levels, as the Colosseum, an Aquaduct, the Rhode’s Marketplace, Atlantis and The Tomb, plus some test / debug levels as the one in the river. An unused move was also found in the game’s code.

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Sword of Sia: Lady Sia 2 [GBA – Cancelled]

Sword of Sia: Lady Sia 2 (aka Lady Sia II) is a cancelled action adventure / platform game that was in development in 2002 / 2003 for the Gameboy Advance by RFX Interactive and it would have been published by TDK Mediactive (as was the first game). It seems that Lady Sia 2 was almost complete (it was even rated by ESRB), but in 2003 RFX had to close down and TDK Mediactive was acquired by Take-Two Interactive. Lady Sia 2 vanished with the closure of its development studio and publisher.

The original Lady Sia was released in 2001 and it was one of the first titles published for the new at the time Game Boy Advance. The game was received well by the press and gamers; this cancelled sequel could have improved the formula its predecessor established and it’s a shame that we’ll never be able to enjoy it. We can only hope that a playable prototype will be leaked in the future.

A Lady Sia 3D prototype was also in development for the Playstation 2 and GameCube, but it was canned too.

Thanks to ReyVGM and Celine for the scan (from an old Nintendo Power magazine)! Thanks to Jason for the english corrections!

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Lady Sia 3D [GC PS2 – Prototype]

Lady Sia 3D is a prototype for an action adventure game that was in development by RFX Interactive in 2002 / 2003, for the GameCube and Playstation 2. The game was meant to be a tridimensional sequel to the original Lady Sia, created by RFX and published in 2001 by TDK Mediactive for the GameBoy Advance.

This Lady Sia 3D prototype never evolved into a full game and it’s possible that the team found it too difficult to translate the fun gameplay of the original GBA version into a 3D world (before this proto they only worked on 2D games for the GBC and GBA). In 2003 RFX closed and TDK Mediactive was acquired by Take-Two Interactive.

Thanks to Holly for the contribution! Thanks to Jason for the english corrections!

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