Cancelled first person shooters on the Dreamcast

Looking back, Sega's console was nothing but an impressive piece of hardware back then. Sega's hardware was the only console that had the intention  to port any first person shooter that looked cooler and fun to play. Some of these games were well-known classics, cherished by classic fans, while other games were simply obscure. But fear not, because we are here to let you know about these games, and who knows, you might instantly start looking for them after reading this article about '' Cancelled first person shooters on the Dreamcast ''.

 

 Turok 2: Seeds of Evil (Source: Segaretro )

Back in 1998, an article titled ”Turok 2 coming to Dreamcast ” was published where it mentioned Acclaim’s willingness to develop games on the Sega hardware. Their first project was meant to be Turok 2: Seeds of Evil

As you already know, there is an N64 version which is, in fact, still impressive for its time. But Sega’s console wasn't made just to make games, it was meant to top the N64 console in almost every aspect. The graphics, the details, the controls, everything you can think of. After all, Sega was competing with Japan's Juggernaut Nintendo at the time

Unfortunately, after waiting for an announcement from Acclaim, nothing further was heard from the publisher. And Eventually, it was cancelled due to unknown reasons. Rumors indicate that the main reason behind the game’s cancellation was Acclaim’s financial state at the time the game was being considered.

 

Aliens vs Predator (Source: TheDreamcastjunkyard.co.uk )

The Aliens vs Predator franchise’s quest began with the Atari Jaguar back in 1994 and went ahead to spawn several games that received universal critical acclaim across the globe. Yet, it is the original Aliens vs Predator on the PC that carved a new path for this franchise and brought new innovative changes, improved graphics, and mind-blowing details, as well as, giving the player the complete freedom to play as either a Xenomorph or a Predator. Frankly, It was a mind-blowing thing back then.

Still, did you know that this masterpiece was supposed to make its way to Sega’s platform? Seeing how brutal the console competition was back then, the Sega Dreamcast was patiently waiting for a title like this to bolster its sales and heat up the competition with PlayStation and Nintendo at the time

French Magazine Console+ went far ahead and made a preview of the game in its August 1999 issue.  But unfortunately, the game had never seen the light of the day, and the franchise was put to sleep for a long period of time until it was revived by the PSP game and the 2010 reboot.

 

Kingpin: Life of Crime ( Source: Thedreamcastjunkyard.co.uk )

Shortly After its release on PC back in 1999, rumors were circulating about a possible DC port, but that remained a possibility and nothing more. It would’ve been great to see some of the bloodiest video games ever made marching  to Sega’s platform. Luckily, Soldier of Fortune is there to console you with the pain in case if you were ever expecting this one.

For those of you who don't know this one, Kingpin: Life of Crime follows the hunger for revenge after the main character was betrayed by the associates of the crime boss. Players will walk across the deadliest districts in the city where enemies are waiting around the corner to thwart any hope for revenge.

Similar to Soldier of Fortune, players could dismember enemies with well-placed bullets, cutting their limbs using a knife, and other deadly executions. In brief, the game is similar to the aforementioned game in a lot of ways.

 

Half-Life (Source: Combineoverwiki ) 

The Dreamcast was anticipating a port of the first Half-Life back in the day. The port was in development by Gearbox Software (classic) and Captivation Digital Laboratories with the assistance of Sierra Entertainment and Valve. The game was almost finished and there were many magazine issues including The Official Dreamcast Magazine that showcased the game's poster in one of their issues. At the last minute in 2000, near its intended release date, Valve pulled the trigger by cancelling the Half-Life release. Luckily, for anyone trying to scrape out the remains, the demo of the port is present somewhere on the internet where you can experience it.

  

System Shock 2 (Source: Unseen64) 

One of the best PC games ever crafted was making its way to the Dreamcast back in 2001. System Shocks 2’s port was in the initial development phases by Marina Games and was supposed to be published by Vatical Entertainment. The aforementioned had missed the intended release date, but they assured fans that the game was still in development.

This situation had lead to numerous delays and this time there was no concrete release date. In the end, Marina Games had to shut its door with neither a port nor a fully developed game.

The port suffered from framerate problems, ever lasting loading times, and the inability to open doors. Rumors state that the reason behind the game’s cancellation was Sega’s financial issues back then, as well as the original developers’ difficulty to make the dream come true because of the Dreamcast's hardware incapability.

There is a short gameplay of the build which you can check (here)

 

Blood II: The Chosen (Polish Neo Magazine)

Blood is one of those classic brutal FPS games on PC and Blood II: The Chosen was sure to up the carnage. Who would have thought that this one was actually mentioned by Neo Magazine back in 1998 along with the unreleased, original version of the game of Duke Nukem Forever? Blew your mind, right? Mine too. This just shows how ambitious Sega was with their console. Sadly, like all the games on this list, this remained a mere possibility and nothing more.

For those of you who are not aware of this one, Blood II: The Chosen puts you in the shoes of Caleb who is searching for a way to resurrect his dead comrades. The story is pretty similar to Doom if you ask me, but that's my own opinion.

According to what I have gathered from the internet, Blood II: The Chosen was meant to run smoothly on the console. The idea was to emulate the same performance and gameplay compared to the original PC release with few visual changes here and there.

Would you have played this if it came out to the Dreamcast or you would you have skipped the pain of hurting your fingers and just play it on PC using the glorious mouse and keyboard?

Amen the Awakening ( Wikipedia )

Amen The Awakening was an ambitious project by the now defunct Cavedog Entertainment. This was their first project and it was 60% completed, but sadly was cancelled for a variety of reasons, one of which being the reason that its overall scrope and game engine was far too ahead of its time compared to computer hardware of the time.

The story was to center around a disease called '' The Awakening'' where it infected over 4 billion humans to go on a murderous rampage. Amidst the chaos, planes are crashing, forests getting burned, civilians being slaughtered one after another by those infected by the disease. In order to stop that, Europe will form a resistance organization that will create a safe-zone for those who are uninfected, and terminate those who have no hope of recovery.

When reading the issue that pointed at Blood II: The Chosen and Duke Nukem Forever, we notice that Neo Magazine has already mentioned this one. And according to what I gathered online. The publisher, GT Interactive, had plans to port this game to the Dreamcast once it was released. As you may have realized, none of that happened.

Time Crisis II (Source: Wikipedia )

Finishing the list with one of Namco's best games ever made, and that is, Time Crisis II. As you already know, Time Crisis II was a critical hit and a commercial success as well, given how arcade light gun shooters were renowned at the time.

After the release of Time Crisis 2 on the Arcade, Namco began developing ports for the Sega Dreamcast and the original PlayStation. But seeing how the PS2 was superior in terms of hardware capabilities and the visuals, this led Namco to cancel the project and end up porting the game to PlayStation 2 instead.

We will be doing a second list soon, let us know what cancelled game interested you in the comments below, thank you for reading!