Mithis Entertainment

NEXUS 2 / WARP [PC – Cancelled]

Nexus: The Jupiter Incident was a sci-fi RTS game developed by Hungarian-based Mithis Entertainment, published by HD Interactive on PC in 2004 (you can still buy it with the latest updates on Steam). While the game did not sell well at the time, it still gathered a cult following of fans, thanks to its different approach to strategy space battles. Soon after releasing Nexus, Mithis started the development of a sequel, but due to the descending market of strategy titles, it was conceived as an action oriented space combat game, with the ability of traveling in a vast galaxy from planet to planet. Seeing the differences from the original Nexus, HD Interactive decided that it would have been better to use a different name and the team reused the title of one of the test prototypes from their first game: WARP. The old W.A.R.P. prototype was a failed proposal for a fighter-pilot based version of the original Nexus, designed when the project was in development limbo and they tought to change its gameplay. In 2005 Mithis developed an early demo for Nexus 2 / WARP, but unfortunately the original Nexus was not selling enough and the market seemed to be too small not only for space-strategy games but for space games in general. So eventually HD decided not to risk it further and they cancelled the Nexus 2 / WARP reboot project. This was the end of the original Nexus saga by Mithis.

On August 2011 Most Wanted Entertainment (a team founded by former Mithis developers) tried to pitch another, different sequel to Nexus on the crowdfunding website GamesPlant, but without luck. In september 2012 they tried again with a campaign on Kickstarter, under the title of “Nexus 2: The Gods Awaken”, failing again to reach their goal. Everything seemed lost, but in September 2015 Nordic Games acquired the intellectual property of Nexus so we can speculate that they could resurrect this series in the future, as it already happened with the lost chapter in the Aquanox series.

Super thanks to Nordic Games for the contribution!

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Creature Conflict [XBOX – Cancelled]

Creature Conflict: The Clan Wars was a comedic turn-based strategy game created by Mithis Entertainment (now Eidos Studios Hungary), the developers of Nexus: The Jupiter Incident. Creature Conflict was released for the PC in 2005, but was only available for purchase in Europe. The game was recently added to digital download sites such as GamersGate.

The gameplay of Creature Conflict consisted of small groups of cartoon-styled animals (rodents, primates, canines, and pigs) fighting on a series of different planets, with weapons like grenades, machines guns, bombs, dynamite, bazookas, and poison gas at their disposal.

Creature Conflict’s graphics were cel-shaded, adding to the game’s cartoon-like feel. The game’s sound effects and voice-acting had a comedic tone to them as well.

All of the maps in Creature Conflict were miniature planets that allowed for full movement anywhere; since the levels were fully spherical, there were no “corners” to hide in. Certain weapons could be fired around the globe, making it possible for someone standing on the South pole to hit an enemy out of sight over the planet’s horizon, provided they figured out the proper trajectory and took into account wind and the planet’s gravity before firing their weapon.

Maps were littered with comical power-ups and gold, which could be spent in between missions on new weapons and items, and characters would also level up and become more versatile as the game progressed.

Information on the Xbox port of Creature Conflict: The Clan Wars is practically non-existent, which seems to indicate that the project was scrapped at a very early point in its development cycle.

Thanks to Matt Gander (from www.gamesasylum.com) and Gary McLean for the contributions!

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