And not a Duke in sight…
The games industry has been good to us. Over the years a plethora of great titles have been released to critical acclaim and hearty fan reception. When Halo 3 was released back in 2007 for example it broke sales records, caused the biggest Xbox LIVE gaming day in history and(apparently at least) caused movie ticket sales to decline by 27% from the year before. It also caused me to lose about five days. Some games weren’t as fortunate however and every year countless new potential best-sellers are left lying in gaming purgatory. Today we’re going to run down a few of what I feel are the best games never made. What’s that? Why would I tease you with games you’ll probably never get to play? That’s simple really, I’m an arse. So here we go, in no particular order the games are:

The games map screen

1. Star Fox 2 – SNES
Star Fox 2 is the would-be sequel to 1993s well received space shooter confusingly called Starwing in Europe and Australia. Star Fox 2 would have done away with the linear gameplay and on-rails action of the original instead allowing players full control over two ships, which could then be flown around a map representing the Lylat system. Nintendo never officially gave a reason as to why this game wasn’t released but insiders who worked on the game blamed it on the impending release of the company’s first 64-bit console, the N64. By all accounts the game was 100% complete when Nintendo canned it. As a result of this pirate copies of the ROM files became available on the internet. While I don’t condone piracy I’m here to help, you can find the pirate copy here.

2. Star Wars Galaxies – PS2 and Xbox
Released in 2003 Star Wars Galaxies is an MMORPG set in the Star Wars universe. The game allowed players to choose between 10 different species and 9 different professions for their character. Originally the game launched with 10 different planets to explore but since then more have been added. Gameplay is much the same as any MMORPG with players being able to join guilds, embark on quests and battle for cyberspace supremacy in designated PVP areas. Despite a few criticisms Star Wars’ first outing into MMO territory was generally well received by PC gamers but it seems originally a PS2 and Xbox version of the game were planned but these were cancelled without any real explanation, a blow to console loving Star Wars nerds everywhere.

3. Halo DS – Erm… DS…
Yes you read that right. Many a year ago talks went on between an anonymous corporate body known only to the world as “major publisher” and Microsoft. These talks were about the possibility of creating a DS version of Bungie Studio’s much loved FPS franchise. A demo was produced and was, according to the blessed few who played it, pretty damn good. Everything seemed to be moving forward until suddenly(as is often the case in the rough-and-tumble world of business) the sky came crashing down. Due to disputes regarding licensing the game was never finished or released. Just to add insult to injury IGN added videos of some of their guys playing it. You can find one here.

One of the very few existing screens of the remake

4. GoldenEye 007 – XBLA remake
When GoldenEye 007 was released in 1997 it was the subject of near universal levels of praise and adoration. Game critics held the stealth elements and 4 player split-screen deathmatch mode in particularly high regard. The game sold eight million copies and quickly found it self swimming for it’s life against a tidal wave of awards. The game also landed developer Rare the award for “Best UK Developer” at the 1998 BAFTA Interactive Entertainment Awards. So people were understandably excited when it was announced that an Xbox LIVE Arcade version was in development and even more so when it was revealed that the games original developers Rare were at the helm. Predictably though production of the game hit a snag when Microsoft and Nintendo couldn’t agree on the financial side of things. You see folks a lot has changed since the game was first released. The GoldenEye situation has become so complex it would take a super spy with all the genius, savvy and global plot diffusing prowess of James Bond himself to unravel it. At the time of the games 1998 release Rare were owned by Nintendo, now they are owned by Microsoft. The original game was published by Nintendo, now all the rights to the video game franchise of James Bond are owned by Activision. However there is a ray of hope you MI6 addicts(say it aloud). A while back Nintendo expressed an interest in releasing the original game on the Wii’s virtual console. Hmm… they want to release the game but would need Rare’s permission and Microsoft want a remake but would need Nintendo’s permission. Just goes to show there is no such word as ‘compromise’ in the business lexicon.

Gordon doesn't say much, he talks with his crowbar

5. Half Life 2: Episode 3 – ???(but presumably Xbox 360, PS3 and PC/Mac)
Half Life was Valve Corporation’s first ever game. Released in November 1998 the game put players in the shoes of the now iconic silent protagonist Dr. Gordon Freeman, a theoretical physicist at the Black Mesa Research Facility. As is inevitable though when your working for giant shady corporations everything quickly goes to hell in a Bonham Carter and Gordon finds himself fighting for his life against government agents and beings from another dimension. Half Life did fantastically well, with critics praising it’s presentation and it’s use of scripted sequences, something not commonly done at the time. Since then the Half Life series has expanded to two full length games, two episodic games and three third-party expansions which combined have sold over 20 million units. The last Half Life game to be produced was Half Life 2: Episode 2 which ended on an emotional cliffhanger leaving fans crying out for more. So just when is Episode 3 coming? Well your guess is as good as the developers. Although not the end of the Half Life franchise Episode 3 is planned to be the final episodic expansion and the end of the current story arc but no further details have been revealed and a release date still isn’t set.

6. Star Wars Battlefront 3 – ???(but once again probably PS3, Xbox 360 and PC)
The fate of SWB3 is a confusing one indeed. The original Star Wars Battlefront was a first/third person shooter released in 2005 for the PC, PS2 and Xbox. Allowing players to fight their way through some of the sci-fi series’ most famous battles, the game was a smash hit and spawned a sequel which was, funnily enough, sequentially titled Star Wars Battlefront 2. SWB2 featured many improvements over its predecessor including a stronger, more story driven campaign, space battles and the ability to play as a Jedi or Sith. With the success of the first two games a third was inevitable and SWB3 looked set to improve even further on the series’ winning formula. Built with next gen consoles in mind SWB3 would apparently have featured the ability for players to fly from the ground to space and enter orbital space craft, all without loading screens. The game was rumoured to have been in development at Free Radical Design, which went into administration in 2008. This rumour was seemingly confirmed when an ex-employee of the company released what appeared to be screenshots of the game bearing an SWB3 watermark. After that rumours once again began to fly, this time that the game had been taken over by Pandemic Studios, something the company vehemently denied. Had there been any truth to these rumours however the point would now be moot as Pandemic Studios was also closed down in 2009. The year is now 2010 and rumours about SWB3 continue to shoot around as it seems some observant battlefront fan noticed that GameSpy had set up lobbies for the game earlier this year, leading many to speculate that the game may be a secret announcement at this years E3. Well we don’t have long left to wait to find out.

7. Timesplitters 4 – PS3, Xbox 360 and Wii
Originally exclusive to the PS2, Timesplitters is a successful FPS franchise that spanned 3 games and the second game in the franchise Timesplitters 2 eventually became the highest ranking first-person shooter on the console. Developed by Free Radical Design the games drew comparison to GoldenEye 007 and were described as being a more cartoon like version of the Perfect Dark series, fitting when you consider that Free Radical was founded by ex-members of the developer of both those games, Rare. As is always going to be the case when a franchise does well rumours abounded that a forth game was on the way, rumours that seemed to be confirmed by teaser pictures released by Free Radical. The pictures were parodies of already existing FPS franchises, for example one picture showed a picture of Halo’s Master Chief with a monkey’s head(monkeys are a common theme in the TS games) and another showed the Gears of War logo with a monkey’s face replacing the skull. Humour seemed assured and the world, myself included waited with bated breath for news of a release. With the eventual demise of Free Radical however the future of TS4 became uncertain. TS fans take heart though as all is not lost. When Free Radical went into administration it was brought up by Crytek, the German developers behind the Crysis series and became Crytek UK. While Crytek UK have said that they would be willing to produce the game the project currently remains on hold and will stay that way until there is(and I quote) a “high industry demand” for it. So get demanding. Write letters(nice ones mind), fill out petitions, write MAKE TS4 in giant letters with weed killer on every football pitch and farmers field you can. I don’t usually condone vandalism but hey if it helps.

So that’s it. The 7 best games you may or may not ever get to play.