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Games that were changed.

post #1 of 25
6/6/09 at 12:49pm
Thread Starter 
Howdy!

I know it's a piece of crap, but I was really, really bored one day and popped in "Gauntlet: Seven Sorrows", which I'm sure most of you know is a hack'n slash game, nothing amazing. I was quite impressed by the character models and the backgrounds. It all had a very Conan:The Barbarian feel to the design, which wasn't as bad. Certainly not as bad as I had remembered upon buying the game years ago.

However.

I remember following the games production (having enjoyed several hours playing Gauntlet Legends with my siblings) and remembered what it could have been. I believe the story is that John Romero?, the head developer, had left the game about halfway into production. I'm not terribly sure, but I do remember seeing the concept art of the two extra characters, the Lancer and the Tragedian (Who had an unique concept, if nothing else) which were removed upon their leaving the game, as well as the statements about branching paths, moral choices and other such developments being completely taken out of the game. What could have been something interesting at the least, turned into a very one note game.

Thus I was quite disappointed. So let's talk about games that seemed to be on the right track, but just left you completely disappointed. Games that had the potential to be really good, but were cut and changed for whatever reason-developer scandal, internal drama...whatever. Games that tried and even though you wanted to admire and like them, at least for the effort...

I think Fable 1 and the Expansion could fall under this category, though that was more Peter Molyneux going "OMG This game is going to be revolutionary!" more than actual development issues and drama.

Thoughts, comments?
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post #2 of 25
6/6/09 at 12:58pm
I'm just hoping and praying I'm not checking back into this thread once Batman: Arkham Asylum's released.
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post #3 of 25
6/6/09 at 1:22pm
Metroid Prime 3: Corruption

Retro decided to cut what could have been a memorable online multiplayer b/c they fell behind making a forgettable single player game.
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post #4 of 25
6/6/09 at 1:45pm
Soul Reaver originally had a lot more levels, bosses, shit to do etc., but time constraints cut that down. Nothing too significant though. Still an awesome game.

I remember one of the early PS2 games RUN LIKE HELL was being tauted as just being pure survival, that your character didn't get any weapons, and the only thing he could do was literally run like hell. Unfortunately, they changed it to every other shoot 'dem aliens game.
Fear Effect: Inferno however, was changed in the sense that it never came to be. I still weep to this day.
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post #5 of 25
6/6/09 at 2:08pm
'Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 2: Sith Lords'

The first game is virtually flawless - the story is compelling and the gameplay is flat-out fun. For the sequel, an even more ambitious storyline was developed. See this thread for more information as to where they went wrong.
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post #6 of 25
6/6/09 at 2:16pm
Thread Starter 
Ah, I feel ashamed for not mentioning Sith Lords! I loved the game, and ate up all the information about the cut content. It's really a shame to see games like that which could have been great just neutered.
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post #7 of 25
6/6/09 at 2:17pm
How could I forget Indigo Prophecy? It's downright brilliant first half turned into retarded shit, simply because they ran out of time. And money.
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post #8 of 25
6/6/09 at 2:24pm
Speaking of Soul Reaver: I found its sequel less fun purely because you had to do everything with that damned magic sword.

In the first one, you could bash a vampire's head in with a rock, set them on fire, impale them on a drainpipe, ... In the second one you had to lightsaber 'em all.
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post #9 of 25
6/6/09 at 2:35pm
The most notorious offender would have to be Duke Nukem Forever. The game went through something like three graphics engine overhauls. They were about to release the game in 1999 when they decided to switch to using the newest version of the Unreal Engine. This would result in the avalanche of delays and overhauls that would ultimately kill the project.

Early DNF footage:
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3A2m2pTGem4&NR=1

"Newer" footage:
-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2VtID...eature=related

Too Human almost went through as much development hell as DNF. The game started out as a PS1 game, then was going to come out on GameCube before finally coming out on Xbox 360. There's a really interesting look at the whole rollercoaster development process over at IGN: http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/781/781430p1.html.

The Resident Evil games have changed a few times as well. What we got with the first Devil May Cry game originally started out as Resident Evil 3. But once the focus started becoming more and more on the action, Capcom decided to just do something completely new. And then Resident Evil 4 went through a couple different revisions as well before we got what we saw in the final product.

Early RE4 footage:
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ifGi...eature=related

- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGRZwypXMFg

Shadow of the Colossus would have been an almost completely different game if the developers had gone with their original idea for the game which involved four characters working to take down a colossus instead just the one.

- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LeBpRiWGdWg


And then there's Half-Life. It's hard to believe that this guy was actually how Gordon Freeman originally looked:

http://img180.imageshack.us/i/freemanud9.jpg/
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post #10 of 25
6/6/09 at 2:43pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Judas Booth View Post
'Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 2: Sith Lords'

The first game is virtually flawless - the story is compelling and the gameplay is flat-out fun. For the sequel, an even more ambitious storyline was developed. See this thread for more information as to where they went wrong.
I agree, I would not even finish the game.

Rushing to meet a release date pretty much ruins what could be an over all great game. Release dates are the devil, if a company puts out a solid product, then it should be ready when it's ready. Blizzard is pretty much the only company that I can think of when it comes to this train of thought.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr. Gittes View Post
The most notorious offender would have to be Duke Nukem Forever. The game went through something like three graphics engine overhauls. They were about to release the game in 1999 when they decided to switch to using the newest version of the Unreal Engine. This would result in the avalanche of delays and overhauls that would ultimately kill the project.

And then there's Half-Life. It's hard to believe that this guy was actually how Gordon Freeman originally looked:

http://img180.imageshack.us/i/freemanud9.jpg/
Damn, they should have just put out Duke Nukem back in 1991, how they hell was the company making a profit when it kept pushing back it's game..no income?!

Wow, I'm sure as hell happy we have the Freeman we all know and love today... that Orginal Gordon looks like you might as well be playing as Gimli
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post #11 of 25
6/6/09 at 5:41pm
"Apocalypse" for the PsOne comes to mind.
The game was supposed to have Bruce Willis as your virtual comrade in arms, but it ended up with Bruce as the player controlled protagonist.
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post #12 of 25
6/6/09 at 6:09pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by ryoken View Post
"Apocalypse" for the PsOne comes to mind.
The game was supposed to have Bruce Willis as your virtual comrade in arms, but it ended up with Bruce as the player controlled protagonist.
God, that brings back memories. That game was shit.
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post #13 of 25
6/6/09 at 6:22pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Luca S. View Post
Speaking of Soul Reaver: I found its sequel less fun purely because you had to do everything with that damned magic sword.

In the first one, you could bash a vampire's head in with a rock, set them on fire, impale them on a drainpipe, ... In the second one you had to lightsaber 'em all.
Jesus, I grew to HATE that fucking soul reaver! The problem with it was it would get ultra powerful and basically absorb the souls of your enemies, the very souls YOU would need to eat in order to stay healthy and alive! So the game became a constant struggle of "no, no soul reaver, MY soul, let me eat that soul, stop it, STOP IT!"

Just frustrating. Made up for it though by giving you that awesome reaver at the end...
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post #14 of 25
6/6/09 at 7:11pm
Xenogears. Nuff said.
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post #15 of 25
6/6/09 at 7:12pm
Conkers Quest: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEuFNl4s9yI
Looks like a fun game, eh? Unfortunately the damn thing was never released because Rare were being criticized for making games that were too cute.
So they redid the whole thing, turning it in to this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7o6whHaEmZ8
Bad Fur Day was quite fun, but I would much rather have played Conkers Quest.
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post #16 of 25
6/6/09 at 7:20pm
I think the Alien Resurrection rebuild was a change for the better.
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post #17 of 25
6/6/09 at 7:21pm
This is what Resident Evil 2 originally looked like: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXnymHTvHrE
That clip has a scene where Leon is fighting against a huge, fucking Baboon!
The Resident Evil franchise needs less zombies, and more huge, fucking baboons.
Damn you Capcom.
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post #18 of 25
6/6/09 at 8:01pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pompoussory Estoppel View Post
Xenogears. Nuff said.
Quoted for truth...I'll never forget the "Wait, the whole second disc is just a person in a chair narrating what happened? Did they run out of money or what?" thought when that second disc loaded.
Also, ont forget Xenosaga getting trimmed/changed/torn creative differences...im still amazed the third and final installment was good enough to have managed to make me forget the awfulness of the second episode.
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post #19 of 25
6/6/09 at 10:26pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by ryoken View Post
"Apocalypse" for the PsOne comes to mind.
The game was supposed to have Bruce Willis as your virtual comrade in arms, but it ended up with Bruce as the player controlled protagonist.
Hey, I remember that one. All of bruces lines in the game sounded like he was talking to someone. Who wasn't there. They ditched the original concept and development team and gave it to neversoft. Bruce didn't have the time to redo his lines. Fun shooter tho. Good memories.

Still remember when Thrill Kill, a fully completed game on the ps1, was canned.
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post #20 of 25
6/7/09 at 1:30am
Quote:
Originally Posted by ryoken View Post
Quoted for truth...I'll never forget the "Wait, the whole second disc is just a person in a chair narrating what happened? Did they run out of money or what?" thought when that second disc loaded.
Also, ont forget Xenosaga getting trimmed/changed/torn creative differences...im still amazed the third and final installment was good enough to have managed to make me forget the awfulness of the second episode.
I heard the real reason why that happened was because of Squaresoft's fear of the material. They were really hesitant with the direction that the game was going, so they cut the budget out of fear.

It really is a shame. The more and more I think about that game, I think it might be the greatest RPG ever. (The first disc, anyway). The characters are great, the story is compelling, the philosophical and psychological stuff is one of a kind for a game like that, and everything isn't heavy handed or cheesy like other games end up being.

To me, it's a part of the Holy Trinity of JRPG's with Final Fantasy VI and Chrono Trigger.
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post #21 of 25
6/7/09 at 7:23am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Luca S. View Post
Speaking of Soul Reaver: I found its sequel less fun purely because you had to do everything with that damned magic sword.

In the first one, you could bash a vampire's head in with a rock, set them on fire, impale them on a drainpipe, ... In the second one you had to lightsaber 'em all.
The boss fights in the first Soul Reaver were my favorite at the time. I was so pumped to see what they had in store for the sequel only to find out as I played through the story to find no boss fights. One of the biggest WTF!? moments I experienced at the time.
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post #22 of 25
6/7/09 at 7:27am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pompoussory Estoppel View Post
I heard the real reason why that happened was because of Squaresoft's fear of the material. They were really hesitant with the direction that the game was going, so they cut the budget out of fear.

It really is a shame. The more and more I think about that game, I think it might be the greatest RPG ever. (The first disc, anyway). The characters are great, the story is compelling, the philosophical and psychological stuff is one of a kind for a game like that, and everything isn't heavy handed or cheesy like other games end up being.
It would be great if they released a Director's Cut version of the game for the PSP or DS. Things aren't as taboo in the video game world like they used to be back then.
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post #23 of 25
6/7/09 at 9:56am
Quote:
Originally Posted by jmub View Post
Still remember when Thrill Kill, a fully completed game on the ps1, was canned.
Not exactly.
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post #24 of 25
6/7/09 at 12:59pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Justin Clark View Post
Yeah, it lived on!

The one time I got to go to E3, Thrill Kill was on display in a spectacular fashion. They had booth babes in, like, bondage gear and nurse uniforms and stuff. It was pretty awesome in my young eyes. I always wondered about that game until I read the saga some years later (and eventually obtained a copy of the Wu-game for PS1).

And, unrelated, I thought Apocalypse was a lot of fun.
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post #25 of 25
6/8/09 at 1:29am
Quote:
Originally Posted by David L. C. View Post
It would be great if they released a Director's Cut version of the game for the PSP or DS. Things aren't as taboo in the video game world like they used to be back then.
God dammit, I'd carpet bomb a field full of kittens for that to happen.
It would also spark a new chapter of the "Xenogears ripped off Evangelion!" war of old.
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