third person shooter

Playstation 2 (PS2), Sony

Ikon / Scavenger [PS2 – Cancelled]

monokoma
21-05-2009
1 Comment

Ikon was a third person shooter / sandbox game that was in development for the Playstation 2 from 2002 to 2005 at Ratbag Games. In three years the project evolved and it was later know as Scavenger, as it was shown at E3 2005.

As we can read on the official press release: “Scavenger’s hero is a loner battling for his survival and searching for a sister sold into slavery. Scavenging, trading and raiding, he builds up his arsenal of weapons to wreak revenge on the men who took her. Centred around a huge desert wasteland, the game features convoy attacks (players pit their skills against escorted convoys to try and steal their cargo) and allows players to trade to increase their wealth, align themselves with different factions, and increase their attack power by modifying their vehicles and upgrading weapons.

As we can read from a former Ratbag developer:

Scavenger was a Free Roaming 3rd Person Action game with exciting vehicle combat and a unique economy simulation that the player could influence and exploit. The player could roam the waste lands hunting bandits and convoys shipping goods between settlements or escort the convoys for a fee. Each settlement produced something the others required, if the player intercepted the goods they could then sell them to the towns that needed them for a higher price. Money was used to buy new vehicles weapons and upgrades. Unfortunately Midway had no interest in taking the project into full production and moved the team on to The Wheelman before eventually closing the studio.

Even if they did find a couple of publishers interested in Ikon / Scavenger, the game was dropped by Rockstar after being dropped by Sony and sadly the development was stopped after E3 2005. Midway bough Ratbag Games and shut them  down with this promising game still unfinished.

Images:

Video:

 

Microsoft, Xbox

Brute Force [XBOX – Beta / Prototype]

monokoma
20-05-2009
2 Comments

Brute Force is a third person shooter released for the Xbox in 2003. It was developed by Digital Anvil, one of Microsoft’s internal developers. The team had previously worked on games such as Wing Commander, Strike Commander, and Starlancer. Brute Force was designed to be a first-party game for the Xbox and begun in 1999 / 2000, before the console had launched. However development had begun before the takeover of Digital Anvil by Microsoft, and the title was originally meant for PC. Microsoft promptly turned it into an Xbox exclusive title.  Only three months were spent on the concept stage of development, but would spend the next two years on the prototype cycle of development. Brute Force has the distinction of being the last game developed by Digital Anvil, as the studio was closed down officially on January 31, 2006. The staff was integrated in to Microsoft Games Studio in Redmond. [Infos from Wikipedia]

In the video below we can see a comparison between the final character design and some of the early prototypes.

Video:

 

Playstation 2 (PS2), Sony

The Executives [PS2 – Cancelled]

monokoma
17-05-2009
No Comments

The Executives was an action game in development in 2003 for the Playstation 2 by The Collective studios, that was going to be published by Midway. The game was never officially announced and it was cancelled during the early stages of development. Only some screenshots and concept arts remains from the project

It’s interesting to note that in some of these concepts, the title of the game was changed to “Career Criminal”. A title which was also used for an internally developed but also cancelled Midway game (see “Career Criminal”, a cancelled Xbox 360 / PS3 game). That project was started soon after the efforts of The Collective were cancelled.

Images: 

Microsoft, Xbox 360

Avalon [X360 – Prototype]

monokoma
14-05-2009
2 Comments

Avalon was an early prototype for a third person squad based shooter (that somehow reminds me of Outtrigger) that was in development in 2004 at Climax Studios for the (not yet released) Xbox 360. The project was probably being worked on the original Xbox development kit (or some early X360 ones) but it was soon cancelled for unknow reasons.

Thanks to Hey Hey for the contribution!

Images:

 

GameCube, Microsoft, Nintendo, Playstation 2 (PS2), Sony, Xbox

Doomsday Rescue [GC/XBOX/PS2 – Cancelled]

monokoma
01-05-2009
1 Comment

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]

Images:

Video: