From a very unique take on bounty hunting to cool takes on espionage, several excellent ideas have been buried by their studios, with a variety of factors coming into play that didn’t let them see the light of day. We’re taking a look at a few that we would have loved to play, but sadly never got the chance to.

Let’s dive right in.

1. Crackdown 3

While its Wrecking Zone multiplayer mode drew heavily on Microsoft’s bold idea to bring cloud computing to the Xbox One, Crackdown 3 didn’t really catch on the way it should have, despite being a lot of fun. The final product was sadly nowhere close to the high bar that was set for it, with the result being a very destructible city that was largely devoid of the players it was meant to host.

The dream of entire city blocks collapsing in front of you with your console handling core tasks and the cloud rendering all of the destruction just didn’t materialize, and the game suffered for it as a result.

2. Project Milo

This was a tricky one for a long time, with a lot of back and forth about whether it was actually intended to be made into a game taking place between its creators and Microsoft. Still, it would have been cool to see a game with AI actively responding to you and acting on your voice commands.

This was a relationship sim that could have been quite innovative for its time, but it simply faded away into the background amid all the noise surrounding its “release”.

3. Star Wars 1313

We’d be lying if we said that this one didn’t sting a little. For starters, it was supposed to have Boba Fett as its frontman with a fast-paced gameplay loop that relied on gadgets and more traditional weapons in lieu of lightsabers and The Force. As if that wasn’t enough, it was purported to emulate Star Wars Bounty Hunter while bringing a gritty, darker tone to its story.

Sadly, LucasArts never got to make this one a reality, and we never got to explore District 1313 and see what the underbelly of Coruscant had to offer.

4. Silent Hills/PT

A Silent Hill title that was going to feature a collaboration between Hideo Kojima and filmmaker Guillermo del Toro (whose horror credentials are quite well known), with Norman Reedus playing its protagonist, sounds like a dream, right? That’s sadly all it was to most of the gaming world, with Konami pulling its playable demo from the PlayStation Store shortly after its cancellation.

All we can do is look back fondly at the supernatural time loop being brought to the table, and of course, shudder at the thought of Lisa constantly lurking out of sight just waiting to jump at us. A Playable Teaser was all this one was ever going to be in the aftermath of Kojima’s exit from Konami.

5. Prey 2

Aside from the obvious draw of an amnesiac protagonist affected by the presence of The Sphere from the first game, the chance to be a bounty hunter on an alien planet while uncovering the truth about his abduction sounded too good to be true. That was probably a valid insight when we look back at this one, with the game’s plans to make you embody a bounty hunter never coming to fruition.

We would have loved the chance to make use of all the agency this one gave us as we took on the role it wanted us to, but all we can do now is smile somberly at what could have been.

6. Scalebound

An action-RPG that gave fans of the Eragon novels a lot to be excited for, this one might have been a legendary title had it actually made its way to its audiences. Getting to command a literal dragon in the heat of battle, and even directly take control of it to unleash its fearsome abilities, is an idea that we’re yet to see even in the current generation of games. And that’s without even considering the co-op potential that the concept could bring to the table.

Its eventual cancellation after years of development is a showcase of how even the best of ideas may not translate to commercially viable titles in the long run.

7. Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Patriots

Although this one did make way for Rainbow Six Siege, the thought of being part of a unit led by a morally grey former Navy SEAL against a terrorist group that was willing to impose its own beliefs on New York’s residents had all the makings of a Tom Clancy story that was true to the author’s vision and tone.

However, the decision to cancel the title and scrap this unique concept is a choice that we continue to question to this day.

8. The Lord of the Rings: The White Council

An open-world RPG where you would work under the guidance of the White Council, with its story and themes drawing from both the films and books, sounds like a Lord of the Rings adventure that might have put even Frodo and Sam to shame.

But it seems that the idea was cast into the fires of Mount Doom, and while we do have Shadow of War to help us cope, we can’t help but wish for a Palantir to view what it might have turned out to be if its version of Middle-earth was allowed to take shape.

9. Agent

Set in the Cold War and rumored to place its players at the heart of all of the espionage, political assassinations, and counter-intelligence that the era brought along, Agent was a great idea. Even Sony seemed to think so, locking down its IP with the belief that it could “set the bar for the industry” as per Michael Shorrock, who headed SCEA’s third-party relations at the time.

A stealth-action game with Rockstar at the helm certainly fits that description, but like the agents it aimed to bring to life, this one quietly vanished, presumably sacrificed in order to focus more resources on the development of GTA V.

10. Project Titan

The World of Warcraft killer that spent seven years in development continues to have us wondering whether it might have been able to live up to its lofty ambitions.

Despite the best of Blizzard coming together to bring this sci-fi MMO to life, complete with cool mech suits and rumored superhero-esque powers for its characters, along with a unique twist where you play as a normal citizen of the world by day while battling it out at night, Project Titan was unable to get off the ground. This is a cancellation that still rankles, if we’re being honest.

11. The Last of Us Online

Among the many projects that were cancelled in the aftermath of Sony’s ill-fated live-service push, this one was the most disappointing to us. The concept definitely had its merits, with a massive world filled with The Infected being the perfect stage for a survival-horror gameplay loop, complete with a standalone story to keep things interesting.

Unfortunately for it, the concept was scrapped after concerns about its long-term viability began to rear their head. For our part, we would have played this one for hours on end if it had made its way into our hands.

12. Duke Nukem Forever

While Duke was a hero who was quite clear about where he stood on alien invasions, the creative team behind this one could have emulated his conviction. That wasn’t the case, and this title switched engines during its development so many times that it’s hard to think about the game it was meant to be versus the one that we got.

Its vision was ultimately diluted by a needless focus on technical relevance, and as one of the record holders for being the longest game in development, we can’t help but feel that this was a game that deserved to be greater than the sloppy experience it ultimately devolved into.

13. Final Fantasy Versus XIII

The darker, more gothic take on the franchise was quite appealing when it first came to light, and Prince Noctis was quite an intriguing character. But with Final Fantasy XIII and eventually Final Fantasy XIV constantly dividing the attention of its team, and engine issues caused by the PS3’s aging tech, this one was pulled back and repurposed into FFXV.

When the trailer for the game eventually came around, it felt like it had changed almost completely, ditching its darker tone for something better aligned with the franchise’s overall light-hearted trappings. It would then be a solid five years before XV came out, and Versus XIII quietly vanished from the hearts and minds of its potential players.

14. The Getaway 3

We were quite fond of the original Getaway’s unique way of presenting its world, with the sort of cinematic quality that comes along quite rarely. With its parallel storylines and lack of a HUD and other elements, it was quite immersive and also fun to play as a Sony-backed sandbox. The sequel carried on those traditions, and we were delighted to know that a third title was in the works.

But The Getaway 3 was lost to the annals of time, with its cancellation never actually being announced, but quite clearly understood by the gaming world at large.

15. Deep Down

A sci-fi fantasy co-op adventure that would have its players exploring time-hopping dungeons is something we’re still waiting to see. It doesn’t help that Deep Down had its gameplay drawing inspiration from Dark Souls, which was already among our favorites to begin with.

But its 2013 reveal, and the lack of any concrete evidence of its development over the years has essentially made this once unique concept nothing more than vaporware. We’re holding out hope that it eventually becomes a great game, but we’re not going to hold our breath.

BONUS: Wonder Woman

Monolith’s proprietary Nemesis System, a unique mechanic that worked so darn well in the Shadow franchise, was the perfect way to craft a Wonder Woman story that could really dig into the character’s lore who could defy challenges and come back stronger.

That’s probably why the cancellation of this one continues to be an annoyance to us, as the concept is probably not going to make it to any other titles in the near future.

And that’s a wrap on our picks for great gaming ideas that showed a lot of promise but did not ultimately make their way to their players. Here’s to hoping that we don’t have to make another one of these lists over the next few years, though!

A lot of you may have been looking forward to Final Fantasy Versus XIII. It was originally announced as an alternate take on the Final Fantasy XIII universe, different tonally, narratively, and even with its gameplay, back almost a decade ago. After a long, troubled development, it finally became Final Fantasy XV, the next numbered flagship entry. But to people who were looking forward to it, that didn’t matter, as the name was immaterial, what mattered was that they would get what they had been promised.

In today’s Active Time Report, Final Fantasy XV Director Hajime Tabata explained that the story has been changed from the original Final Fantasy Versus XIII. He explained that he realizes that many have been looking forward to Final Fantasy Versus XIII, and he can’t help but feel that Final Fantasy XV is becoming a different game, so he wanted to explain the difference before promotion starts at Gamescom.

For instance, he came clean that Stella is no longer in Final Fantasy XV, and a new heroine, Luna, will be starring instead. He also admitted that the much publicized attack on Insomnia and its castle, which sees protagonist Noctis leave the city, will no longer be in the game. There is still gameplay set in Insomnia, and Noctis still leaves the city, but there is no attack, and that gameplay section has been excised. He did promise, however, that the black haired dragoon who has been publicized before, will be in the final game and will have an important role to play in the story.

It’s good to see that he is being honest about what kind of product he will be delivering upfront. Thankfully, in spite of the changes (or maybe because of them?) Final Fantasy XV looks like it will be great. Stay tuned to GamingBolt for more coverage and information.

Think about it for a second. With Eidos Montreal’s new Thief game, there were delays, staff members leaving, name changes, stages of limbo where it wasn’t even sure whether the game would be released, severe changes to the gameplay made with only a few months until release and much more. The Last Guardian, despite being fairly bereft of information since its initial reveal, lost Fumito Ueda as its director and fell into development hell as well. We haven’t seen the game since though Sony maintains that it’s alive and well.

"It just felt like Square Enix was continuously hammering away on the game until the time was right to showcase it to the world."

By comparison, Final Fantasy 15 has only had rumours and rumblings dogging it. When Square Enix killed the Fabula Nova Crystallis project – which involved releasing Final Fantasy XIII, Final Fantasy Versus XIII and Final Fantasy Agito XIII within the same time frame – it did so with the express purpose of expanding on the Lightning Saga. Final Fantasy Agito XIII became Type-0 and Versus XIII quietly sauntered off, never to be heard from for years on end.

We heard whispers that Square Enix’s focus on ventures like the Lightning saga and Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn was costing the publisher lots of money but nothing that indicated that the development of Final Fantasy 15 was causing a problem. If anything, it was a victim of extenuating circumstances from a publisher that desperately wanted to cater to the Western market.

So while Final Fantasy 15 may have been in limbo for a long time, we never really heard about the changes going on. We never knew it would become Final Fantasy 15 until a clothing line-up designing costumes for the characters in-game leaked this news. We never knew the focus shifted to next-gen consoles until E3 2013 when the spotlight was on the Xbox One and PS4.

We never even knew that the publisher was aware of the abject lack of information it was presenting. It just felt like Square Enix was continuously hammering away on the game until the time was right to showcase it to the world. If anything, it was the Half Life 3 of Final Fantasy titles, except Final Fantasy 15 actually exists in video form while Half Life 3 remains in purgatory.

"Of course, we don't blame Final Fantasy 15 for wanting to impress us right off the bat with its explosions, destruction and giant monsters. Who has time for exposition when you're trying to make an impact at the biggest stage of the year..."

The question is: Are these facets representative of a game that might actually be good?

We were initially blown away by the very first trailer of Final Fantasy Versus XIII and Final Fantasy 15 didn’t fail to impress. Square Enix has emphasized on the game’s action adventure elements and party system along with the massive foes and summons. It hasn’t deigned to reveal how any of this actually works though. Yes, we know Noctis can warp from one place to another and that he can perform combination attacks with other party members.

Yes, we know his kingdom has been invaded and that he’s fighting as part of the resistance. But thus far, Square Enix has shown as nothing but vignettes. It’s in danger of simply making passing references to all the things going on in order to keep the story moving, while sticking the real meat of the game into the game’s encyclopedia, a la Final Fantasy XIII.

Of course, we don’t blame Final Fantasy 15 for wanting to impress us right off the bat with its explosions, destruction and giant monsters. Who has time for exposition when you’re trying to make an impact at the biggest stage of the year – a stage where your long-in-development title is being re-introduced to the world? While this all makes for great presentations, it seldom results in good story-telling, and that’s something the Final Fantasy franchise has been lacking for a long time now.

Coming back to the gameplay, Square Enix has an annoying habit of either telling and not showing or telling too much and showing even more. Lightning Returns was a victim of the latter and ended up far more superficial than it seemed. Meanwhile, with Final Fantasy 15, we have all this information about team-ups, hack and slash, using enemy weapons, executions, teleporting, multiple weapons floating around, and so on. Do we have any gameplay footage to show us how it works? For that matter, have we actually been told how it will work rather than just having it alluded to?

"It's a shame really, because there is such a rabid interest in the game. Square Enix should be expanding on the game's universe, releasing books, audio diaries, behind the scenes footage, manga and whatnot to fill in the blanks and get players invested."

Another way to look at it is that the developer isn’t really sure at this point and doesn’t want to confirm or show anything that might not make it into the final product. This seems to support the argument that what we saw at E3 2013 was either footage from an earlier build or even an incomplete build, or simply gameplay created in-engine to show players what they can expect (helpfully spliced together with cut scenes). Either way, if this is the case, Final Fantasy 15 won’t be out for a long time.

It’s a shame really, because there is such a rabid interest in the game. Square Enix should be expanding on the game’s universe, releasing books, audio diaries, behind the scenes footage, manga and whatnot to fill in the blanks and get players invested. It will arguably do this at some point closer to the game’s release but if the public is craving for information now, how hard would it be to just give it to them? You cannot convince me that a developer like, say, Bungie is making a mistake by providing new information for Destiny in its Weekly Updates.

And Destiny is by no means a small game – it’s just that Bungie has mastered the art of revealing significant information without saying too much. It’s started out slowly but surely to build interest in its new universe. You could again argue that Destiny is close to release, hence the deluge of information, but honestly, we were receiving references to the same since 2009. We didn’t receive any overt information about the game until 2012 when concept art had leaked. Bungie actually went a step further and added more information to the leaks. But then, Bungie had a plan for its game – a plan that wouldn’t be messed up, even if certain details had been leaked.

If only Square Enix could decide the plan for Final Fantasy 15. If nothing else, it could ensure that the company stays relevant in a console generation where it has no significant releases aside from the reboot of an MMO already available on PS3.

The games that are planned include Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster, Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII and Thief. Japanese releases include Call of Duty: Ghosts and Diablo 3. Check out a screenshot of the release schedule below.

It’s not like Square Enix didn’t say we’d have to wait. At the very least, we’re getting enough information on the combat systems and overall mechanics of both titles. And plans often change, but it doesn’t seem likely that Square Enix will release Kingdom Hearts III and Final Fantasy XV by early 2014, sad as it sounds.

Nonetheless, we have our needs and desires. And with all the time it’s taken to develop Final Fantasy XV, it would be great if at least a few of the following actually made it into the game. Here’s our top 10 most wanted features for Final Fantasy XV.

10. 1080p, 60 Frames Per Second

We’ve seen the game and it runs at what appears to be 30 frames per second. Would it be too much to ask for 60 frames per second at this stage? Most likely, but anything less than 1080p just feels wrong. This is a game that skipped the PlayStation 3 generation and went straight to the PS4 and Xbox One. With all the detail and amazing effects on display, it would be wonderful to have both 1080p resolution and a 60 FPS frame rate. But we’re willing to settle for just the former.

9. Mechs

Of all the things we’ve seen in Final Fantasy with giant floating cities, motorcycles, Sister Rays, W.E.A.P.O.N.s, airships and whatnot, well, why not? Even a mix of monster and technology would be cool, but give us something to pilot and punch friggin’ Leviathan in the face with. Again, it seems like more of a wish than expectation but it’s high time.

8. Co-op play

This is a toss-up. On one hand, we’re not sure how well it would work to take control of one of Noctis’s allies during the main game. On the other hand, we’re not sure Square Enix would invest the resources into creating a completely separate co-op campaign. File this under “Wouldn’t it be cool if…” rather than an actual expectation, but there’s still plenty of time to surprise us, Square.

7. A Release

We’ve been burned before, not including the time that gameplay footage leaked. All those rumours of cancellation and revamping only made us more skeptical that we’d ever see the game again. Now that more information is coming out, hopefully a solid release date (or year) will materialize as well.

6. Open World Gameplay (Sort of)

Give us towns to shop in, dungeons to explore, tombs to find secrets in or bases to defend with Horde Mode-like objectives. We don’t need to go everywhere – we just want places to explore when we’re not trying to save the world. Tie them in to the aspect of multiple endings and you’re on to something. With the number of different elements in the Final Fantasy universe such as Summons, magic and perhaps even vehicles this time around, this is a no-brainer.

5. Multiple Endings

We get it, we get it: We’re fighting to save the world. That’s the case in every Final Fantasy. Oddly enough, that’s not the case here…or not exactly. It will probably feature objectives such as rescuing Noctis’s father or even Stella, but we need a bit more traction than that.

4. Branching paths

Don’t just give us multiple directions to take the story in. Is all that chaotic fighting just for show or can you actually take different paths to your objective? We’re not asking for open world gameplay (yet), but levels that allow us multiple avenues to reach our objective. Kingdom Hearts 2 only slightly had that – and since this is a far more mature title with less confined environments to work in, then why not?

3. Summons

No, we don’t want two aqua-like beings that can change into different vehicles for the characters to ride (we’re looking at you, Final Fantasy XIII). Fighting summons in order to earn their trust? We can get behind that. A simplified Junction system for increasing your attributes with the more Summons you accrue? As long as it’s not as confusing as Final Fantasy VIII, then sure. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to have the Summon as a party member that takes the place of your other allies and which you have limited control over a la Final Fantasy XII either.

2. Limit Breaks/Drive Gauge Attacks

In Kingdom Hearts, you can team up with party members to outright batter groups of enemies with attacks. Final Fantasy’s Limit Breaks are different, but follow the same philosophy of striking with an overwhelming blow in an instant. Noctis’s warping and multi-weapon attacks may already come across as overblown, and we see team members help in a support role of sorts. But something to rely on in the heat of combat would be nice.

1. Materia combination

Similar to Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII for the PSP – which Nomura also worked on – it would be interesting if Materia and the combination thereof made a return. At least something that would allow us to harness dark energies and then combine them together into unexpected, highly rare results. While it’s more likely we’ll see something akin to the Job system, or at least the ability to change classes in between combat like Kingdom Hearts, one hopes for a combination system of some sort.

But is Square Enix really going to pull the trigger on more Final Fantasy XV games this soon? It seems so, as the company recently trademarked “A World of the VERSUS Epic”. Square Enix did mention earlier that it was interested in making more games based on the universe, and this trademark, which covers “computer game software; video game software” may seem to indicate a step in that direction.

Then again, it also covers cellphone accessories and “animated fictional stories” so it could just be a merchandising thing. For those who don’t know, Final Fantasy XV is the new name for Final Fantasy Versus XIII, and will be heading to PS4 and Xbox One in the near future.

However, has that move from being Final Fantasy Versus XIII to Final Fantasy XV affected director Tetsuya Nomura’s vision for the game? Speaking to Final Fantasy World, Nomura stated that, “Yes, I probably mentioned the old school Final Fantasy feeling [when talking about] FFXV. If you see the trailer you might actually think it’s very action based – especially compared to the previous FFs. We wanted to create like an action-based FF this time because we wanted to create a dynamic feeling between the story and the game itself.

“Of course, we are going to put many FF elements into it, because otherwise there is no point calling Final Fantasy XV. Naturally, we still think we should have some old school FF feeling to the game. Yeah, I would like to achieve that as much as I can. Our goal is to ensure that the player never actually stops playing. This is the reason behind it and it will be great if we can achieve that.” Naturally, the power of the new consoles will help make this a reality.”

Currently, Final Fantasy XV is slated to release on Xbox One and PlayStation 4 with a possible PC release.

Arguably the biggest megaton at Sony’s conference yesterday was Final Fantasy Versus XIII, renamed as Final Fantasy XV, coming to the Playstation 4. And while Sony and Square Enix both took great care to avoid the term ‘exclusive’ while announcing it, for many, it was a given that it would be a PS4 exclusive, because why wouldn’t it be?

As it turns out, it isn’t. Today, the title was announced for Microsoft’s Xbox One as well. When questioned as to why the formerly Playstation exclusive (when it was Versus XIII) title was announced for the Xbox as well, producer Shinji Hashimoto noted that the move was made to reach the highest number of fans possible.

As of right now, no Wii U or Playstation 3 (the platform the game was originally on) version of the title has been announced. No release date for the game has been announced. Stay tuned to GamingBolt for more coverage of the anticipated title.

Yes, that’s right. The game is now officially called Final Fantasy XV and will be releasing for the PlayStation 4. Whether the game is exclusive or not remains to be announced.

A new gameplay trailer starts off with the hero Noctis wistfully looking outside a window, before the scene cuts to a mansion where he is seen fighting some kind of creature that attacks with watery tendrils. One of Noctis’s abilities is showcased: he can teleport to wherever he tosses his sword, effectively great distances in seconds. The entire building is being shredded as Noctis continues to do battle.

Other than that, this is a huge announcement. Will Final Fantasy XV stay exclusive? Or will it be multiplatform? Then again, this is nothing compared to the other big announcement.

Now, this is no indication whatsoever as to which Final Fantasy will be announced. It would Versus XIII. It could be Final Fantasy XV. Hell, it could even be the recently registered Final Fantasy Agito. Nonetheless, it’ll be exciting to see just what Square Enix has to offer when it comes time to step up.

So far the rumours could go either way. Final Fantasy Versus XIII, directed by Kingdom Hearts and The World Ends With You stalwart Tetsua Nomura has been in development for as long as we care to remember, but still remains incredibly hyped. Final Fantasy Agito, on the other hand, could be related to Type-O, a PlayStation Portable title that was formerly known as Final Fantasy Agito XIII.

As for Final Fantasy XV, your guess is as good as ours. Stay tuned as we bring you more updates from E3 2013.