28 Games that you'll never get to play... wow!

There are games we like, and there are games we hate. But what we all forget is, there are games that we will never, ever have a chance to play. This feature will cover 28 games you'll most likely never get your hands on, but hey, we can all dream, right? GamerHelp proudly presents, 28 Games You'll Never Get To Play!

28. Drac's Night Out (NES)

Seemingly a promotion for the ultra cool Reebok Pumps, the game put you in control of a cutesy re-imagining of Dracula as you guided him with his slick shoes on his way to his girlfriends house... to drink her blood. Though the game was reviewed by several publications, it was unfortunately never released.

27. Primal Rage 2 (Arcade)
This prehistoric fighter was to feature a new system which would allow the player to switch between a character's human form and their prehistoric form. Although this game had quite a lot of hype behind it, Atari canceled it when the original game's popularity began to die down. Although never released, test builds can still be found on some emulation sites.

26. New Kids On The Block *Working Title* (NES)
Though not much is known about this little title, it was definitely in development before it was dropped. This could've been due to the Kids' waning popularity, and the fact that a Nirvana game would've been a million times more popular for the time.

25. Starfox 2 (SNES)
One of the most disappointing game cancellations, Starfox 2 was to one-up the first release in many ways, and was completely finished before it was canned. Some of the gameplay features translated to Starfox 64, but many a gamer is left wondering what could have been.

24. Aeon Flux (PlayStation)
Viacom New Media was set to publish Cryo Interactive's take on the deranged MTV cartoon, but as a result of a merger the title was canned. Now all we're left with is a craptacular video game based on the recent craptacular film. Dammit.

23. Seiken Densetsu: The Emergence of Excalibur (NES)
What was to be the first "Mana" game for the NES, Square denies ever having released The Emergence of Excalibur, though there are some who claim the game was actually released in 1987. Unforunately, the rumor was just that... a rumor.

22. Attack of the Mutant Zombie Flesh Eating Chickens from Mars (ZX Spectrum)
Besides being one of the most hilariously titled games of all time, this title actually had ads in magazines (which the image was taken from) for its release, only it was later canceled and creator Matthew Smith moved on to other projects. The game was to be based around a canine main character who zipped around Roadrunner-style, avoiding chickens and trucks to reach the end goal. Yes, it was going to be very, very strange.

21. Sonic Crackers (Sega Genesis)
Some believe that Sonic Crackers eventually turned into Knuckles Chaotix for the 32X, but when looking at early screens of the game, there are many recognizable differences. The sprites shown in early tests were taken from Sonic 2, and the two-player system (each character was bound to the other by a bungie-type cord with a ring on either end) allowed players to volley the other at high speeds to reach certain locations. In the end Sonic Crackers would've been a nice addition to the Sonic oeuvre, save for the awkward title.

20. Socks the Cat Rocks the Hill (SNES and Sega Genesis)
Oh why did this game never come out. This 16-bit title put you in control of Billy's favorite feline, on a quest to stomp all over Republican big wigs like Bush and Nixon on a quest to the White House to warn about a planned nuclear assault. If the overtly political theme of this game doesn't give you a hint as to why this game was canned, then this article is useless.

19. Tattoo Assassins (Arcade)

An exercise in bad timing, Tattoo Assassins was to be Mortal Kombat's fighting rival. Early shots show similar digitally pseudo-realistic character models, and it was also planned to have over 200 fatalities. Aside from the internal strife that riddled the development of the game, the market at the time was so saturated with new fighters like Killer Instinct and Primal Rage that Tattoo Assassins wouldn't have had a fighting chance, really.

18. Tyrannosaurus Tex (Game Boy Color)
Hyped as the first (and only) full color FPS on the Game Boy Color, Tyrannosaurus Tex had some cool things going for it. The premise however, was a little funky: the gamer took on the role of Tex, an alien and dinosaur hunting cowboy. Although the idea of an FPS on the GBA was ambitious, the game was canceled fairly far into development due to lack of publisher interest.

17. Super Mario's Wacky Worlds (Phillips CD-i)

As if Mario games weren't strange enough, there was a time when Phillips was set to release a Mario game where you would lead the mustachioed plumber through many different areas of the world (Egypt, Greece, etc.) and was developed by NovaLogic, using many of the same sprites created for Super Mario World. Unfortunately the CD-i didn't have the same graphical prowess of the SNES, and the idea was eventually canned. Images and even videos of gameplay can still be found online.

16. Air NiGHTS (Sega Saturn)
What was to become a blueprint for NiGHTS: Journey Into Dreams for the Wii was first envisioned as a sequel to the well-received Saturn title. While in development it was overheard that it would take advantage of the analog Saturn controller's tilt sensor, though the game was scrapped before it was too far into development. But hey, at least we have to Wii title to look forward to!

15. Leisure Suit Larry 8: Lust In Space (also Explores Uranus) (PC)

Who doesn't get a little excited about new Leisure Suit Larry games? Ok, so they aren't the best games, but they're still funny as all hell. The game was planned to sport full 3D graphics... that is until Sierra's adventure game department closed down and funding was completely cut for the title. Rest in peace, Larry...

14. Ultima X: Odyssey (PC)
Following an avalanche of MMORPG cancellations, Ultima X: Odyssey was set to be a pretty slick game. Development hinted that the story would be a continuation of sorts to Ultima IX, and feature a Virtue System similar to really early Ultima titles like Ultima IV. Lead producer David Yee wrote a letter to supporters in 2004 stating that they would be giving up on Ultima X: Odyssey to bring the focus back to Ultima Online. Oh well.

13. The Shadow (SNES)

The Shadow was set to be a beat-em-up similar to Streets of Rage and coincide with the release of the movie. The game also boasted sweet Shadow special moves like invisibility and speed running... sorry Shadow-philes, you'll never play it.

12. Super Nintendo CD-Rom Add On

Ok, it's not a game, but in reality a whole slew of games were never released due to this add-on's cancellation. First developed by Sony, the idea was canned by Nintendo and what was left eventually turned into the PlayStation. Many view this a mistake in hindsight by Nintendo, after Sony ruled the market with the PlayStation for many years to come. The image is an early vision of the technology planned for the CD add on.

11. Pinky and The Brain (PlayStation, Sega Saturn)
Yes, there was a time when the crazy mice almost had their own video game on the PlayStation and Saturn back in the 90s. Though not much is really known about the game, chances are it would've been much better than the resulting PC and GBA games made much later on.

10. Dirty Harry (Xbox 360, PS3)

Oh man, this game could've been amazing. The game was planned to take place in a sandbox-style San Francisco, and the storyline was to fit between the first and second films. Warner Bros. even released a trailer for the game that ended with the famous line, "you've got to ask yourself a question: Do I feel lucky?" Unfortunately there were some problems between Warner and developer The Collective. There are rumors that Warner may have another developer work on it, but so far the plans seem doubtful.

9. Earthworm Jim (PSP)
Everyone's favorite invertebrate will not be making its way onto the PSP system, though the initial screens looked extremely promising. The game was supposed to be a reworking of the original game, and the first screens showed off some really crisp graphics. Atari put the game on hold indefinitely, so we're left with some cool screens but nothing else.

8. Sonic X-treme (Saturn)
Sonic X-treme was to be the first fully 3D Sonic game, but after the idea fumbled its way through three different systems (Genesis, 32X and Saturn) and causing a whole lot of development problems, the game was finally canned many years after the initial gameplay concepts were built. A test build has apparently been auctioned off, and is rumored to actually play fairly well. Surprising for a 3D Sonic game, eh?

7. Project H.A.M.M.E.R. (Wii)

For a game with such a great premise it's a shame this title was canceled. The gamer would take on the role of a half-human, half-cyborg killing machine armed with a gigantic hammer with which you would wreak destruction against an army of robots who invaded the planet. The idea of swinging a hammer with the Wii remote, crushing robot skulls, is just too cool of an idea to give up on. Come on Nintendo, get with the program and finish this game!

6. The Phantom (game system)
Another system that slipped through the holes, The Phantom had some serious potential. Again, not a game, but the capabilities for this system are pretty amazing. The system would download games directly to the hard-drive, and offered a platform that made designing games for it a piece of cake for developers. However, Phantom Entertainment, the group responsible for the system, underwent numerous set-backs and a few supposed financial scandals that left them with a net loss of $62 million. After a long stint where PE couldn't gain funding for their product, they canceled the system and are now opting to start a content delivery service a la Valve's Steam to deliver games to gamers.

5. True Fantasy Live Online (Xbox)
A huge disappointment, TFLO was set to be one of the big contenders in the MMORPG world. The game was fully playable at the time of its cancellation, over two years after development had begun on the project. Many problems arose, such as developer Level-5's relationship with Microsoft, difficulty implementing voice chat, problems with online coding along with a slew of others. Unfortunately for both parties, the game caused a rift between the two companies that will likely never be fully repaired, and we're left without an awesome-looking MMORPG.

4. Engalus (PC)
Ever heard of Far Cry? I thought so. Well thank Crytek for Engalus, or else Far Cry may never have come to be. What little is known about Engalus is that it was developed as a sci-fi shooter where the gamer took on the role of a government assassin investigating the goings on of a rebel group known as The Invisibles. Crytek was also quoted saying that they wanted each scene in the game to feel like it was straight out of a movie. Fortunately they eventually released Far Cry, but part of me still wonders what could've been with Engalus.

3. Halo DS (DS)
Oh, so so promising. Much speculation had been tossed around regarding whether or not there existed a Halo title for the DS, and it wasn't until editor-in-chief Matt Casamassina of IGN showed the demo being played that the unfinished game was shoved into the limelight. The controls seem to be similar to Metroid Prime: Hunters, with the stylus controlling the direction of fire. It's too bad though, Bungie has no plans on continuing development for the DS version. Photo courtesy of IGN.

2. Thrill Kill (PlayStation)
Arguably one of the most anticipated fighters for the PlayStation ended up as one of the most disappointing game cancellations of all time. Though bootleg copies can be found out there (and in all honesty the game doesn't play terribly well), it's still unfortunate that the game was never released. EA acquired the original publisher, Virgin Interactive, and due to extremely high levels of violence, EA refused to release the game, leaving it forever shelved. The game used an innovative system where the character had no life bar, and instead implemented a "kill meter" which when full would allow the player to activate a "thrill kill". The game allowed for up to four players at once, and the engine was used in a few games later on before vanishing into the long list of vaporware games.

1. Resident Evil 1.5 (PlayStation)
The number one game on this list deserves the spot not just based on the fact that the entire game (which looked potentially better than the final product) was scrapped and redone as Resident Evil 2, but also for the fact that it has gained such a cult status in the world of vaporware that it has spawned multiple websites, image dumps and even videos of the original game, one of which is included below. Capcom canned the original game because they weren't happy with the end result, even though the game was extremely close to its scheduled release. If you've played Resident Evil 2, you will see the differences right away.