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Sega Saturn
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HyperBlade
Platform: Saturn
Publisher: Activision
Developer: Studio Wizbang
The Basics
Activision's HyperBlade was to be one part extreme sports and two parts action/fighting title. The result would have been a not-so-kind-hearted combination of hockey, soccer, and aggro in-line skating. A word to the wise: The "blade" had less to do with the skates than with the huge cleaver attached to your wrist.
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The futuristic, 3D animated athletic tournament would have taken place in impossibly huge, ovoid half-pipes fixed within the walls of even larger stadiums. The objective of the game was to either hack the other team(s) to death or to score more goals than the competition - or both. The teams would have consisted of three players: two in the field and one guarding the goal. You selected one of 14 predetermined teams or handpicked a gang of three from a rogue's gallery of 42 different contestants. Besides avoiding a melange of obstacles (including ramps, laser hurdles, and turnstiles), you would have learned to use the battle tools supplied, such as the "jak," a throwing device and the projectile identified as the "rok."
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Dropping in and taking on a rival team might have intensified the varied perspectives - courtesy of computer animation combined with more than 200 motion captures taken of actual professional aggro skaters. Thanks to the game's 3D features, you could navigate the entirety of the arena, glide along the lip, climb the verts to escape the opposing teammates, sneak up to the goal, or just grandstand for the crowd. Notably, the movement of the players was similar to hockey-style skating (as opposed to street or aggro), making it more a sports title than an extreme game. The sound was to surround each of the 14 arenas. The topnotch aural presentation was to buoy the gameplay.
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Don't be mistaken, HyperBlade was not just a single-arena, one-mode game. The bouts would have taken place in one of three game modes: league, exhibition, or tournament. Each mode differed was to differ in its pre-selected or chosen team's preferences and the number of teams that actually fight before the title match.
HyperBlade for the Saturn and PlayStation was to bring all new meaning to the phrase, "Skate or Die," but unfortunately met with the latter.
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WHAT HAPPENED?
Activision didn't feel as if the title would hold its own on the console system (it was released on the PC) and ultimately felt it would be better off laid to rest.
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