Last week, Volition unleashed a fully playable prototype of Saint’s Row: Undercover, a former PSP game that was cancelled some time ago. That got me thinking, since there’s been a butt ton of games that have been cancelled in the past, could there be other titles released in a similar fashion?
So imagine, if you will, the games we never got the chance to play can now be played, in some way or form. In this alternate reality, let us explore the possibilities as formerly long dead games return from the grave of hard drives and unleash themselves upon an unsuspecting public.
And before you ask, no, Silent Hills isn’t on this list. Let’s be honest, it probably wasn’t going to be as good as P.T.[divider] [/divider]
Ahead of the newest reboot attempt, let’s look back at the Starfox that was. The supposedly completed SNES sequel to the original was officially scrapped because of the impending Nintendo 64. Though some of its ideas and mechanics have since been reused in subsequent releases, that hasn’t stopped almost a constant flow of requests from fans for Nintendo to release the game on virtual console.
Safe to say, that probably won’t happen in the real world … but in this glorious alternate reality, Nintendo decides to release the game in full as a bonus addition on the Starfox Wii U disc, acting both as an apology for the lengthy delay and as a thank you for supporting the Wii U until its dying breath. It would be a fitting end to the console before the NX appears around the corner, grinning like a madman.[divider] [/divider]
The Dice/EA collaborated Star Wars: Battlefront did its best with the Star Wars license last year, though many argue they played safe. Free Radical’s Star Wars: Battlefront 3, however, could have been a more ambitious third attempt in the series before its cancellation in 2008.
Alpha footage revealed back in 2013 showed space battles (yes, space battles, remember those Dice?) that allowed players to take off from land and join a battle in progress well beyond a planet’s atmosphere. Led on by the constant cries from fans who are up at arms about the lack of said space battles in Dice’s edition, LucasArts and EA decide to listen to their audience and release the alpha of the game as a free download on PC.
Soon, thousands of players are playing the very thing they always dreamed of … before logging off just as quickly when they realise it was based on the prequel trilogy. Ah well, can’t have everything.[divider] [/divider]
Way back when, Sega called upon RPG specialists Obsidian to develop a title based within the Aliens franchise. Having had success with Fallout: New Vegas, it seemed like a match made in heaven … until Sega called time.
The reason, which to this day could be considered one of the biggest mistakes in gaming history (and remember, this is Sega we’re talking about) was due to the companies interest in carefully considering what titles to create using the license. Hence, they gave it over to Gearbox instead, and we all know what happened then don’t we? Yup, Colonial fricking Marines.
To Sega’s credit, they did rectify their mistake a little with Alien: Isolation by Creative Assembly, an example of how to do the license justice. To follow that up, Sega decides to get back in touch with Obsidian, following their own success with Pillars of Eternity, and decide to release Aliens: Crucible after all. Their reasons? They carefully considered how stupid they were. If only they did that with Sonic …[divider] [/divider]
This is an interesting one. Before Rocksteady got their hands on the Batman franchise, Day 1 Studios (now part of Wargaming) had plans to create a victorian-era Batman title based on the one shot comic, Gotham by Gaslight. That comic had Batman taking on Jack the Ripper, or at least DC’s take on the iconic villain, in 1889. The game itself had a prototype built as a pitch to THQ, which had the Bat moving through a foggy overworld not unlike London itself, though in this case it was to be a new take on Gotham. THQ eventually pulled out, the game was canned, and Rocksteady picked up the license a few years later.
Enter today, where the Arkham franchise has ‘officially’ come to a close. WB, knowing they are on to a good thing with the franchise, insists that Rocksteady carry on making Batman games for the next fifty years because God knows if the movie franchise will ever be profitable again. Rocksteady eventually agrees, and Gotham by Gaslight is reborn as a new franchise thanks to a successful alpha launch. Every subsequent year has a new Batman in a different era of Gotham … because you can never have enough
Assassin’s Creed, I mean, Batman.[divider] [/divider]
Just like Sega, Capcom likes to screw up fan favourite characters. No, not Resident Evil. Mega Man Legends 3 had a lot of hype surrounding it when announced, specifically because it was to be a launch title for the Nintendo 3DS, also because it was a frickin new Mega Man game!
Alas, it wasn’t to be. Series creator Kenji Inafune left the company to pursue other projects, Capcom shut the game down despite attempts to continue working on it, and the franchise has been somewhat dormant ever since. Well, almost, but re-releasing old games isn’t exactly the same thing.
You know what, I’m just going to throw this imaginary scenario out there anyway, as outlandish as it may seem. With Mighty No 9 constantly getting delayed, Capcom sees a small window of opportunity to cease the spotlight away from its former star employee and announces a Mega Man Legends 3 demo at E3 … for the NX! The response is overwhelming, Mega Man proudly returns to the spotlight and Mighty No 9 hits the bargain bin two weeks after launch in 2017.[divider] [/divider]
See? Outlandish. But given how out of the blue Volition’s Saints Row prototype was, the possibilities are still somewhat endless. So, dear reader, I ask you what formerly dead game would you like to see return to the spotlight? The only rule, a demo or prototype must have existed previously in order for it to considered. Throw us a few names in the comments below and dream along with us.
