Cancelled games - H

Cancelled video games project

This project concerns cancelled games in the range of 1995-2005.

Section: H

 

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Hab-12

Hab-12 is a cancelled PC game by Ratloop.
It was to be a 3D action adventure game.

Expected release date: Q2 1999, August 1999

PC Zone 71 (Xmas 1998)

You play as lowly employee Miray on the giant space ship Sentient studying foreign life.
A disaster kills most of the crew and unleashes detained creatures.
Your goal is to escape the ship alive.

There was to be twelve levels, each a special habitat.
Each is filled with strange aliens. Luckily there are plenty of weapons around to fight then.
The final boss SPEC level-3 awaits you in the twelve habitat.

This game was ambitious.
It was powered by the 3DGE engine from Twilight3D with ingame cutscenes.
It had real-time vector-based shadow casting and reflections.

The Games Machine issue 113 (November 1998)

Level issue 21 (June 1999)

Hab-12 was cancelled in 1998 when it failed to find a publisher.
Twenty years later a documentary is was about the game.

Trailer

The documentary. A good watch.

https://web.archive.org/web/19981203033029/http://www.ratloop.com/hab12.html
https://web.archive.org/web/19990203032556/http://avault.com/previews/hab12.asp
http://www.ratloop.com/?games/hab-12

https://www.gamesthatwerent.com/2020/09/hab-12/


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Hannibal: The Game

Hannibal is a cancelled PC game by Arxel Tribe.
It was to be based on the film of the same name.

Expected release date: late 2001, then November 2002, then October 2003, then Q1 2004

PC Zone issue 101 (April 2001)

You would play as FBI Clarice Starling.
Your job is to track down Hannibal Lecter and and detain him.
Along the way you'll learn what became of Dr. Chilton and Will Graham.

The game was to be a action horror game.
The scenes get pretty grisly and can cause stress and anxiety to Starling.
When the sanity meter dips too low, you will experience audiovisual hallucinations.

There was to be six levels, all based on key scenes in the movie.
As a detective you will need to collect forensic evidence and arrest baddies for information.
Apparently the action scenes were to be in scripted first-person scenes. Hmm.

Computer Gaming World issue 222 (April 2003)

Hannibal seemed to have been cancelled when Arxel Tribe went defunct in 2003.
The game was postponed to early 2004 to find a publisher but no one took it up.

more info: https://twitter.com/FPS_DB/status/1274057007557939201

https://web.archive.org/web/20030623033518/http://hannibal.arxeltribe.com/about/
https://web.archive.org/web/20011120221304/http://www.fgnonline.com/pc/news/19113.html
https://web.archive.org/web/20021203001719/http://www.gamespydaily.com/news/fullstory.asp?id=4363
https://web.archive.org/web/20021222101857/http://www.homelanfed.com/index.php?id=10885
https://www.gamespot.com/articles/hannibal-lecter-to-appear-in-his-own-game/1100-2782089/


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Hard Corps

Hard Corps aka Hardcorps is a cancelled PS1 and PC game by Graftgold and Pure Entertainment.
It was to be a military tank simulator.

Expected release date: November 1998

PlayStation Plus issue 34 (July 1998)

The game was set in a televised sports game.
The goal is to kill your opponents in the most fancy way possible.
There was to be six missions spread over five locations.

PC Zone issue 67 (September 1998)

Hard Corps was cancelled when Graftgold went defunct in early 1998.
Pure Entertainment stopped paying them.
Graftgold, perpetually broke, closed up shop.

Intro video: https://www.facebook.com/TWGPerfectEntertainment/videos/412448645458173/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graftgold#The_Warner/Perfect_era
https://spong.com/company/582/Graftgold-Ltd?cc=t

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Harrier 2000/2001

Harrier 2000 is a cancelled Nintendo 64 game by Video System and Pararigm.
It was to jump on the bandwagon of the flight games craze that Pilotwings created.

Expected release date: December 1998, then August 1999, then Fall 1999, then Q4 1999

Next Generation issue 43 (July 1998)

Harrier 2000 started off as Flights of the UN.
The title was changed in early 1998 to be more marketable.

A terrorist group called The Brotherhood have stockpiled high-tech weapons.
They are selling them to the highest bidder.

To prove the authenticity of the weapons, The Brotherhood has invaded the island of Vahita.
The island population is essentially taken hostage. Your job is to take out The Brotherhood.

There are around 50 missions to complete.
You would have dogfights in locations like Iran and the Falklands.
(Why fight in all these different locations in the goal is to liberate Vahita?)
Choosing the correct payload for the jet is key to success.

To aid you are weapons: three gauges of guns, five types of air-to-air missiles, nine types of air-to-ground missiles, six types of rockets, seventeen types of bombs, laser weapons...
You will need to use them strategically. 

Strategy is of the utmost importance to succeeding the missions.
Knowing what payload to use; knowing what weapons to use and when...
This is a thinking man's game.

GamePro issue 111 (October 1998)

N64 Gamer issue 15 (May 1999)

Development took so long that the name of the game was changed.
Harrier 2000 became Harrier 2001.

The plot was changed: 
The Brotherhood is mining a new chemical element called Prodinium on their secret island.
You are now given an identity this time: Jake Cross, former US Marine Corps pilot.

Your backstory is that The Brotherhood killed your US Marine Corps partner, Morgan Reynolds
Apparently he declined to join them.

Edge issue 73 (July 1998)

Harrier Strike Force seemed to be a side-project of Video System.
Either that or the game changed its name AGAIN.

Harrier Strike Force was to be a flight simulator using Harrier jets.
It was to be the Crimson Skies of its day.
It was not to be, however...

In May 1998, Paradigm Entertainment filed a lawsuit against Video System.
Paradigm claimed that Video System had breached the contract for failing to make the game.
Video System was also not paying full development costs, despite smooth progress.

Paradigm sought $900,000 for royalties and court costs. Youch.
Needless to say, the Harrier project was put on indefinite hold in April 1999.
Video System told its staff to cease production. They were 85% or 98% complete too.

They soon after disbanded. Video System officially became defunct in 2001.

http://www.nesworld.com/n64-unr-harrier2000.php
http://web.archive.org/web/19991115194427/www.nintendo.com/n64/harrier/index.html
http://au.ign.com/articles/1997/06/19/e3-paradigm-confirms-new-games-and-64dd-development
http://au.ign.com/articles/1999/06/18/harrier-2001
http://au.ign.com/articles/1999/07/28/harrier-2000
http://au.ign.com/articles/1999/11/18/harrier-2001-future-in-limbo
http://au.ign.com/articles/1999/12/09/harrier-goes-to-court
https://www.unseen64.net/2008/04/03/harrier-2000-2001-n64-cancelled/


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Hellracer

Hellracer is a cancelled PlayStation, Nintendo 64, and PC game from Intersection Limited.
It was to be a futuristic racing game with attitude.

Expected release date: Q1 1997, then October 1997, then 1998

Official UK PlayStation Magazine issue 14 (December 1996)

Hellracer was to be a free-environment 3D racing game.
In other words, no track to limit you.

There would be five planets with 23 race circuits.
Courses include a lava world, a rocky mountain, a desert canyon, and more.

There would be 16 ships racing at the same time.
The ships were mainly police vehicles re-purposed for racing.

Winning a race lets the winner upgrade their ship.
Upgrades include engine power-ups, better weapons, and unlocking bonus arenas.

Hellracer was shown at E3 1996 but got flack for looking too much like Wipeout.
Well, Intersection Limited does have some ex-Psygnosis people in it.

Virgin Interactive closed down Intersection Limited in early 1998.
From what I gather, they released no games.

Hellracer was remade for the Xbox 360 but only existed in prototype form.
It was probably just a tech demo, to test the hardware and game engines.

http://au.ign.com/articles/1997/04/17/racing-to-e3-with-virgin
https://www.atarimax.com/freenet/freenet_material/6.16and32-BitComputersSupportArea/8.OnlineMagazines/showarticle.php?636
http://www.mikewaterworth.com/resume.htm


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Hirelings

Hirelings is a cancelled PS2, PC, and Macintosh game by Cinematix.
The game was to be a colourful humorous physics-based romp full of goblins.

Expected release date: Summer 2002

In the land of Lamuria, the land is being threatened by the goblin king Grond.
The only heroes left to step up to help are the Hirelings.
These three timid would-be heroes are their last help.

All that was made was a demo.
Cinematix let the copyright expire in June 2002.
Cinematix folded around this time. Maybe that's why.

https://web.archive.org/web/20020604072215/http://cinematix.com/hirelings.html
https://trademarks.justia.com/761/28/hirelings-76128706.html

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HMS Dreadnought

HMS Dreadnought is a cancelled PlayStation, Saturn, and PC game from Tribe/ocean.
It is also called Dreadnought and HMS Carnage.

Expected release date: Winter 1996, September 1997

Play issue 11 (September 1996)

GamesMaster issue 47 (October 1996)

Dreadnought was to be a Steampunk form of sci-fi combat.
Victoria Britain has conquered Mars. Steampunk Germany wants Mars.
Control planes, warships, and other vehicles to ward off the aggressors.

The game was to hark back to the times of old war films, HG Wells, and Jules Verne.
The game was too ambitious for the small team.

Why is the game called HMS Dreadnought if you control more than just a warship?

Mean Machines issue 52 (February 1997)

Three years into development, Ocean was bought out by Infogrames.
Dreadnought needed another year of development.
Infogrammes saw the project as not worth it, so the game was cancelled.

There is a playable PC demo released on a magazine CD.
Maybe this disc, or the demo itself, is out there for download.

Trailer from E3 1996

http://www.gamesthatwerent.com/2014/12/an-interview-with-nigel-kershaw/
https://www.unseen64.net/2008/07/09/dreadnaughts-psxsaturn-cancelled/


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Hollow

Hollow is a cancelled Xbox and PC game by Zootfly.
It was to be a dystopian FPS in an alternate world where disco lives. Oh no!

Expected release date: Q4 2004

 PC Zone issue 138 (February 2004)

In a world where WWII never happened, the state of Centrope is a disco-loving police state.
You play as Tyler Kilmore, who is arrested for the disappearance of his fiancee, Aiko Bronte.
You break free but must fight to save her, even going so far as to go to Hell.

Rather than the typical settings of war-torn cities and marshes, this FPS is quite unique.
It is a mixture of 70s chic aesthetic and totalitarian dictatorship.

The game doesn't take itself too seriously.
You can get a weapon called a DeBoner gun. It kills the boner of the enemy and then they die.
There is also various visors to eliminate threats and even stop and rewind time.

There was going to be multiplayer; up to 64 players at once!
Around fifteen maps, various vehicles to ride in...
This could have been a winner.

PC PowerPlay issue 99 (May 2004)

Gameplay footage

Hollow would be cancelled in late 2004.
This was Zootfly's first project and it may have been too ambitious to fufill.
The rest of Zootfly's games were not FPS games.

https://web.archive.org/web/20050121014105/http://www.zootfly.com/games/
https://web.archive.org/web/20040813074055/http://games.zootfly.com/hollow/
https://www.gamespot.com/articles/first-look-hollow/1100-6075093
https://worthplaying.com/article/2004/2/19/news/15356/
https://worthplaying.com/article/2004/8/9/news/18525/
https://www.unseen64.net/2008/04/15/hollow-xbox-unreleased/ 


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