Let's take a moment to remember games that nearly happened- then didn't. And maybe why we should be glad!
Command and Conquer (2013). Announced back in 2011 as a second Generals, this alpha title was re-purposed as a franchise reboot, presumably to help people forget that one with drop-in play and battlemech bases.
Why it would have been great:
I love Generals unconditionally, but a game that takes the core concepts of Generals and remixes them with the over-the-top lunacy of the rest of the C&C universe? You'd never need another RTS again. And the alpha videos on youtube looked quite promising, what with early-20th century flavored general art and sharp graphics and neat cluttered environments.
Why it may be good that it died:
Well, EA still owns C&C, and EA is all about microtransactions now. And I don't relish buying a new tank type for 3 dollars, or a new general for 10. That comes CLOSE to spoiling COH2 and in a game like C&C, more or less a whole toychest of violent micro-machines to play with, putting the little toy tanks behind a pay wall would just be insufferable.
Freelancer 2 (2006). Teased online with video showing the player exploring a huge city by spaceship, Freelancer 2 taunted us with sharp graphics and slick menus, then died a fiery doom along with its developer Digital Anvil.
Why it would have been great:
Freelancer was basically an unfinished MMO with tons of virtual space to explore. Almost pornographically beautiful, we could overlook its middling combat and paucity of challenge because exploring space with our friends was sooooo fun. A second game presumably would have turned the pretty up to 11 while improving controls, economics, and all the other stuff. Maybe.
Why it may be good that it died:
Freelancer's campaign: it was garbage. Sure multiplayer was rad, but if you didn't have a dedicated server and three extra computers in your living room for it (like I did) then you were just alone, exploring a big empty universe full of identical, boring NPCs with unchallenging missions. Given the current "multiplayer is king" model of game design, it's likely a second game would have accentuated the first's positives but not addressed its weaksauce SP at all. We'll see how the unofficial successor, Star Citizen, does, if they ever make enough money to actually release.
Blast Corps 2 (sometime in the early 2000s). Spoken of in hushed tones on Rare's website, BC2 would have been a followup to the insane demolition-themed N64 launch title. Instead, Rare made a bunch of games about farting cartoon animals, Goldeneye, and Lady Goldeneye. Then all their good developers retired and sold the studio to Microsoft to slowly die SOUND FAMILIAR?
Why it would have been great:
The most carnage-filled game to ever be totally child-friendly, Blast Corps managed to turn "drive a bulldozer through houses" into about a million hours of challenging fun. AND, it looked quite a treat as well. Given Rare's flair for pulling the best performance out of the N64, a second game presumably would have been an explosive, disco-tracked feast for the senses.
Why it might be good that it died:
How do you top Go to the Moon and DEMOLISH MOON HOUSES? BC2 would have had one hell of a standard to hit in order to stay as crazy as 1. Even if it did, games like vigilante 8 had already taken the "blow everything up" baton and taken it further gameplay wise. 1 Blast Corps might have been enough.
Wait, no. No it totally wasn't.
Command and Conquer (2013). Announced back in 2011 as a second Generals, this alpha title was re-purposed as a franchise reboot, presumably to help people forget that one with drop-in play and battlemech bases.
Why it would have been great:
I love Generals unconditionally, but a game that takes the core concepts of Generals and remixes them with the over-the-top lunacy of the rest of the C&C universe? You'd never need another RTS again. And the alpha videos on youtube looked quite promising, what with early-20th century flavored general art and sharp graphics and neat cluttered environments.
Why it may be good that it died:
Well, EA still owns C&C, and EA is all about microtransactions now. And I don't relish buying a new tank type for 3 dollars, or a new general for 10. That comes CLOSE to spoiling COH2 and in a game like C&C, more or less a whole toychest of violent micro-machines to play with, putting the little toy tanks behind a pay wall would just be insufferable.
Freelancer 2 (2006). Teased online with video showing the player exploring a huge city by spaceship, Freelancer 2 taunted us with sharp graphics and slick menus, then died a fiery doom along with its developer Digital Anvil.
Why it would have been great:
Freelancer was basically an unfinished MMO with tons of virtual space to explore. Almost pornographically beautiful, we could overlook its middling combat and paucity of challenge because exploring space with our friends was sooooo fun. A second game presumably would have turned the pretty up to 11 while improving controls, economics, and all the other stuff. Maybe.
Why it may be good that it died:
Freelancer's campaign: it was garbage. Sure multiplayer was rad, but if you didn't have a dedicated server and three extra computers in your living room for it (like I did) then you were just alone, exploring a big empty universe full of identical, boring NPCs with unchallenging missions. Given the current "multiplayer is king" model of game design, it's likely a second game would have accentuated the first's positives but not addressed its weaksauce SP at all. We'll see how the unofficial successor, Star Citizen, does, if they ever make enough money to actually release.
Blast Corps 2 (sometime in the early 2000s). Spoken of in hushed tones on Rare's website, BC2 would have been a followup to the insane demolition-themed N64 launch title. Instead, Rare made a bunch of games about farting cartoon animals, Goldeneye, and Lady Goldeneye. Then all their good developers retired and sold the studio to Microsoft to slowly die SOUND FAMILIAR?
Why it would have been great:
The most carnage-filled game to ever be totally child-friendly, Blast Corps managed to turn "drive a bulldozer through houses" into about a million hours of challenging fun. AND, it looked quite a treat as well. Given Rare's flair for pulling the best performance out of the N64, a second game presumably would have been an explosive, disco-tracked feast for the senses.
Why it might be good that it died:
How do you top Go to the Moon and DEMOLISH MOON HOUSES? BC2 would have had one hell of a standard to hit in order to stay as crazy as 1. Even if it did, games like vigilante 8 had already taken the "blow everything up" baton and taken it further gameplay wise. 1 Blast Corps might have been enough.
Wait, no. No it totally wasn't.