From 2004 to 2007 DHGames were working on a GBA racing game similar to Excitebike, but sadly their publisher changed its mind later and the project was never released to the market, even if it was finished. The game was later reworked and it’s now coming out for the Nintendo DS (maybe? It seems that the official DHGames site is down, maybe they have closed down and the DS version is cancelled too). A rom of the original GBA version was shared online by the same developers, so it can be played and preserved by the community instead of being lost forever. Props to DHGames!
P.I.D. (Private Investigator Dollarally) was a top-down driving/adventure game created by Finnish developers Terramarque (now known as Housemarque), set for release on the PC in December 1994. It may also have been intended for release on the Amiga, considering the developer’s history of developing for the system. For unknown reasons, the game was cancelled.
The single screenshot of the game in its preview in Games World Issue 6 shows that the game used a similar visual style to the early Grand Theft Auto games, and the description suggests that the open-ended structure was similar too; players assumed the role of a private investigator trying to survive and make money while avoiding the police in the fictional land of Muhmulandia.
Thanks to the Nights Into Dreams website we are able to see an early video of the game, when the beta had different graphic details and different level layout in Spring Valley. A more recent beta was shown at E3 1996 with some different sound effects and item placement. In january 2009 the E3 beta version (that is the same build of the Japanese NiGHTS Special Sample disc) was somehow leaked online and you can donwload it from the X-Cult mirror! Thanks to MalanTp that has created some videos to compare the beta to the final game, we are able to check all those differences. You can download some hi-quality videos from the beta disc from Segagaga Domain.
Also, OKeijiDragon found some more beta videos from an episode of Sega Video Magazine and it features the initial unveiling of NiGHTS at the Japanese Tokyo Prince Hotel way back in March 26, 1996; followed by an old, rare interview with Yuji Naka, Naoto Oshima, and Takashi Iizuka:
Included in the segment are footage of the game’s early stages of development, including a different stage layout for Spring Valley. Many of the sound effects heard are also very different, and even the music sounds unrefined! Such elements are highlighted in the video though annotations. There has been no translation for the interview, yet.
Doomsday Rescue was an action / combat racing game that was in development at Beyond Games in 2002 and it was going to be published by Midway. The project was later cancelled as many other Beyond Games titles, probably because of the bankruptcy of the company.
[spoiler /Click here to read the original Midway press release/ /Hide the press release/] LOS ANGELES – May 22, 2002 (E3 Booth # 800, South Hall) – Midway Games Inc. (NYSE: MWY), a leading software industry publisher and developer, announced today that Doomsday Rescue, an all-new combat racing game, is in development and scheduled to ship in 2003 for next-generation systems.
When a deadly asteroid shower hurtles toward earth, the collective governments of the world band together to save the human race by resettling on Mars. In order to ensure the revitalization of human life, key scientists, doctors and politicians from around the globe have been selected for transportation and relocation to Mars. To further guarantee the success of the resettled civilization, a planet-wide relocation lottery was held and a number of lottery-winning civilians have been granted seats on ships to the new settlement. As a hotshot driver for the Doomsday Rescue Corp., you embark on a frantic adrenaline-rush mission to find and deliver these key humans to their waiting transport ships within 24 hours. Doing your job means saving your own life. If you complete your rescue missions, you can resettle on Mars.
“Doomsday Rescue is the only combat racing game set in apocalyptic urban environments where players battle with rioting civilians to save themselves and the human race,” said Helene Sheeler, vice president of marketing, Midway. “With an engaging mix of time-based combat racing and sheer wanton destruction, Doomsday Rescue brings a fast-paced, tension-filled experience to next-generation consoles.”
In your quest to resettle the human race, crash and bash your way through seven free-roaming urban environments and destroy anything and anyone between you and your goal – including hordes of rioting civilians who know they aren’t included in the resettlement. Players must be on high alert as meteorite showers pummel and obliterate urban buildings, cars and civilians, presenting new obstacles and opportunities as the environments dynamically evolve on-the-fly.
To complete your mission and guarantee your own relocation to Mars, you must also defeat the Back Yard Rocket Federation (BYRF), a group of terrorists whose plans to steal your colonists puts the survival of the human race in jeopardy. With a real-time physics engine tuned for pick-up-and-play driving action, players can jump right in the driver’s seat and unleash total carnage from their transport vehicle with an awesome arsenal of weapons including machine guns, lasers, missiles, chain guns, cannons and more. [/spoiler]
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