The saddest game cancellations of this generation

Road Rash

Who doesn't like Road Rash? Only a lamb could not enjoy the thrill of riding motorcycles in the desert while smashing other bikers in the face with a variety of blunt objects. The game is in dire need of a sequel, and it would appear that Electronic Arts intended to give us that sequel. That is, until the game was canceled before it had even been announced.

All we know about Road Rash is that EA had someone working on something, somewhere in the world at some time. A bunch of videos showing very early test footage can be found on Youtube, but outside of that and a few examples of possible concept art, nothing else is known. All we know is that it's not happening, and that's a crime against nature.

Metroid: Dread

Metroid: Dread is one of those annoying games that was neither officially announced nor officially canceled. Many games like it exist, but given this particular title's history, it's safe to assume that it was definitely scrapped rather than indefinitely postponed or otherwise kept on life support.

Nintendo categorically denied the game's existence, but eventually admitted that it had once been a thing during E3 2009. IGN's Craig Harris also claims to have clapped eyes on it in person, and that Nintendo "could" revive it whenever it likes. However, it seems Nintendo has no interest in doing so, especially with Metroid: Other M in the works. It seems that fans will have a long wait for their desired 2D Metroid game, because Dread's dead, baby. Dread's dead.

Project H.A.M.M.E.R

A beat 'em up that was, like Sadness, pegged for launch during the Wii's formative years, Project HAMMER is easily among the most famous cancellations of this generation. In fact, the game’s demise was used by anti-Wii propagandists as physical, undeniable proof of the Wii's inability to sustain so-called "hardcore" games. Those who had seen the game, however, claimed the cancellation was physical, undeniable proof that Project HAMMER sucked, so who can say for sure?

Either way, it's a shame. A game starring a big dude with a ludicrously oversized hammer had to have been worth a punt, but the poor little mite never made it out of the starting gate. Nintendo's team had been called away to work on other titles that were true to the company's "focus." In other words, HAMMER wasn't chirpy and colorful enough.

Cry On

When it comes to tragic cancellations, there can be no tale more melancholy than the story of Cry On. The game itself was about tears, already marking it as a sad title, but the fact that the cancellation was announced on Christmas Eve just makes it all the more depressing. Cry On was an RPG in development by the very talented chaps at Mistwalker and Cavia, starring a "giant sand creature" that players would team up with. It was a joining of two proven Japanese developers, plus character designs from Kimihiko Fujisaka and music by Nobuo Uematsu. That's like Jesus pissing gold into a cup made out of sex while riding a six-legged horse that can punch the Moon with a giant Hulk Hogan arm growing out of its face. Basically, it was a dream come true.

Unfortunately, dreams very rarely do come true, and Cry On was as its name portended, bringing tears to the faces of all good boys and girls just in time for the Christmas of 2008. Publisher AQ Interactive said the game had been canned due to concerns for the future of the game market. We think it was cancelled because of Satan. There can be no other explanation.

Jul 28, 2010

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