Have you ever read about an upcoming game that sounded exciting, but then you lost enthusiasm due to the lack of updates that followed? Maybe you didn't even recognize it at the time, because the game just faded from your consciousness. Like many gamers, I like to follow the progress of games I'm excited about from development to release. I enjoy watching all the informative developer interview videos along the way, but when all publicly released progress is nonexistent, you have to wonder what the heck is going on with these games. A lack of progress or information can also lead to games being canned as interest appears to wane.
With that said, I'd like to bring to light a number of games whose presence has simply fallen off the face of the earth since their initial announcement. Some of these may be more familiar, but we're avoiding the most noteworthy titles that "everyone" already knows about. (Yes, Duke, I'm talking about you!) As always, I am platform agnostic, so the following titles may be for PC, Xbox 360, PS3, or some combination of those.
Originally referred to as Project IM, Interstellar Marines wowed fans of first person shooters everywhere with an incredible looking trailer shown off at the Electronics Entertainment Expo (E3) in 2006. You can still see this trailer at the official site. Although there were a few updates that lead up to the release of this trailer, not one official word has been uttered since. Even though many game sites have the game listed with a release date of TBA 2008, it has been updated each passing year with TBA 2006 and TBA 2007. Needless to say, we know very little about this game other than its potential to be a huge hit. Here's to hoping that its developer, ZeroPointSoft, will be dropping some new info about the game really soon.
In 2005, Tarsier Studios announced a forthcoming fantasy-action-adventure game, titled simply Metronome. Updated to City of Metronome, the game stood out from the crowd with its unique art style and wildly imaginative characters. This game also suffers from a lack of public knowledge. However, things haven't been completely quiet. In 2006, an odd piece of information was released. It stated that the game's original concept, which consisted of your character capturing various sounds with a recording device and playing them back to manipulate your surroundings and entrance your enemies, was scrapped. This was reportedly due to the game's prospective yet unnamed publisher claiming that the concept was not marketable. What a shame - it sounded great to me. Still, beyond this announcement, no updates have been made public. In the smaller image above, you can see the original concept at work. Although the game's official site remains active, there are no hints of the game's progress or links to bring visitors beyond the main page.
Coded Arms: Assault is a PS3 exclusive that has flown under the radar since a playable demo of the game was showcased at the 2006 Tokyo Game Show. With only a target release date planned, the demo reportedly showed a lack of polish that resulted in a turn-off for many of the fans that experienced it. After the many rumors that the sci-fi first person shooter was cancelled, a representative of developer Konami recently stated that that there were "currently no plans" to release the game for the PlayStation 3. While many took this statement to mean the game had been cancelled, a more recent buzz has emerged stating that the game is simply on hiatus. Whatever the case, Coded Arms: Assault is definitely missing in action.
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EddieTurner - Thursday, June 26, 2008 - link
Hardware indeed. But why do we spend our cash for powerhouse components to add to our rigs? Why the need for ultra expensive GPU's? Games. AnandTech is very much a game site, it's just been lacking a focus on the real reason visitors come here in the first place. Sure, it's about the hardware. But let's face it, it's gaming hardware and I say we talk about both. More importantly, Anand says we talk about both. : )Natfly - Friday, June 27, 2008 - link
I'd have to agree with the original post. Game reviews are fine, but when Anandtech averages less than one article a day you really lack good tech articles. Yeah games are one of the reasons people buy hardware, but you don't need to review games for that, just benchmark them.The recent GPU articles were excellent: very in-depth, well written and are why I continue to come to this site. But lately it seems that good tech articles are being replaced with Camera reviews, the Penny Arcade game review, and blog posts about Steve Jobs.
Meanwhile, articles like the month with ubuntu and the 780G/8200 chipset articles haven't seen the light of day. Articles like this one wouldn't be a problem if there were more of the actual meaty in-depth articles that used to be the focus of this site.
TejTrescent - Thursday, June 26, 2008 - link
I don't see the problem--honestly, I'm just glad to see there are other people still hoping Alan Wake comes out.at80eighty - Thursday, June 26, 2008 - link
christ man, ive been visiting this site for years, just stopped posting for about a year or more, but youre freaking kidding me if you think there still isnt a hardware focus herei also like the fact they dont mod critical posts like other pussy sites.
JarredWalton - Thursday, June 26, 2008 - link
Ah yes... you're referring to the four major GPU articles of the past two weeks, I assume? The stuff that we've been doing for YEARS. I don't really see how adding a new person to write about games is such a terrible thing. Don't like the content? Don't read the article. I can say for sure that having Eddie write this article in no way impacted any other editor at AnandTech, other than the hour or so I spent to proof and post his article.Sunrise089 - Thursday, June 26, 2008 - link
The comment is even more off base considering how deeply technical the GPU articles have been. If any site on the web did a better job of explaining the technical nuts and bolts of this product launch I haven't seen it.Eri Hyva - Thursday, June 26, 2008 - link
Wassup, Anand?
Bill paying your bills?
Where is the article?
Last time you informed us was in April.
http://www.anandtech.com/weblog/showpost.aspx?i=43...">http://www.anandtech.com/weblog/showpost.aspx?i=43...
And originally:
http://www.anandtech.com/weblog/showpost.aspx?i=38...">http://www.anandtech.com/weblog/showpost.aspx?i=38...
Are you going to do it?
Be a man,
Do It or Cancel It.
(
some discussion 3 weeks ago, no reply from AT staff:
http://www.anandtech.com/weblog/showpost.aspx?i=45...">http://www.anandtech.com/weblog/showpost.aspx?i=45...
)
at80eighty - Thursday, June 26, 2008 - link
i'll have what he's smoking!JarredWalton - Thursday, June 26, 2008 - link
You might want to pay attention to the authors of the various articles. As one of them (plus the guy that does a lot of the proofing and posting of articles for other editors), I can attest to the fact that Anand gives us a LOT of wiggle room in terms of what we write about. If you want to find out what's happening in regards to Ubuntu, email Ryan Smith. Posting comments in a totally unrelated article is silly, not to mention completely ineffective in getting information. After all, you don't email Dell technical support for help with your Toyota car, do you?4wardtristan - Thursday, June 26, 2008 - link
hhmm, i dunno, but in the past experiences that i have had with Aust. dell tech support, emailing Toyota with help for my dell pc may just be a option you know!