In 2007, Californian-based developer Heavy Iron Studios was working on a pitch for a new Toy Story game. Planned for PS3, Xbox 360 as well as Wii, the demo did not materialize into a full-fledged game. Instead, Heavy Iron Studios worked on Wall-E which was released in 2008.
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Snake Plissken Chronicles (also know as Snake Plissken’s Escape), is a cancelled action game that was in development at Namco Hometek in 2003, for the original Xbox and Playstation 2. The game was based on Snake Plissken, the protagonist (portrayed by Kurt Russell) in John Carpenter’s films Escape from L.A. and Escape from New York. A playable demo was created, but the project was never finished for unknown reasons.
S0me videos from the game were shared online by Neurobellum:
This video shows a functional SNAKE PLISSKEN game built in 2004 by the remaining Dead to Rights 2 staff. Campaign design was complete, storyline was approved by Carpenter, Russell, and Hill, and concept was well underway. The game would have included full particpation by all three, including a completed cyber-scanned version of Kurt. This game was going to rock. Video produced and edited by Mike Kennedy. Music by KMFDM and John Carpenter, remixed by DJSkavenger.
A sequence of key events storyboarded for the campaign mode of the unproduced Snake Plissken’s Escape video game, by Namco. These boards were illustrated by Comic Book legend Chris Warner.
A compilation of Environmental concept art developed for the campaign of Snake Plissken’s Escape, developed for Namco in 2004 before cancellation. Contributing artists included Francisco Ruiz Velasco (Hellboy 2, Pacific Rim) and Tim Tao (Dead to Rights).
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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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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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I-Ninja is a fun and underrated action game that was developed by Argonaut Games and published in 2003 by Namco (in USA) and Sony (in Europe) for the GameCube, Xbox and Playstation 2. A Game Boy Advance version of the game was announced too, but later cancelled.
As it happened with Orchid (another Argonaut game that was later cancelled), originally I-Ninja had a much more colorful and stylized graphic, but the publisher was worried that it looked too childish, and wanted an edgier, grittier look. As we can see from the early mockup / target renders, the original style of I-Ninja looked a bit like Zelda: The Wind Waker (especially for the islands, the pigs and the scene in which Ninja is sailing a ship) but the 2 games were in development almost at the same time so it was just a coincidence.