Before the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the DC Extended Universe kickstarted the popularity of the superhero genre, the landscape of licensed video games was extremely volatile. While titles like Injustice: Gods Among Us have since been very popular, a lot of games ended up being cancelled that could have been revolutionary to the industry.
One of these was based around DC’s The Flash, a game that saw a lot of speed bumps in production, although the idea behind it makes it a real missed opportunity. To understand just how much potential this game had, and just how far production had gotten, here are 10 facts fans need to know about it.
10 It Was An Open-World Feature With Two Major Cities
Open-world games can be a hit-and-miss, but the developers of this game realized that the sandbox genre was becoming all the rage. In order to really make The Flash’s superhero life come alive, the game was designed as being an open-world feature where players could freely roam.
It was divided into two main cities of Central City and Keystone City, with both places being distinct from one another to make players feel the difference when they arrived in a certain location.
9 Wally West Flash Was The Main Character
At the time of development it was the Wally West Flash who was prominent in the comics and the Justice League TV series, prompting the developers to make him The Flash who would be the playable character.
More interestingly, in keeping with the trend of hiring A-list actors for voice roles, Ryan Reynolds was being tapped into taking the reins as the lead character. The intention was to utilize Reynolds’ comedic talents, which were seen in 2009’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine.
8 The Flash’s Rogues’ Gallery Would Appear As Boss Fights
The entire storyline had been outlined for the game, with as many as eleven villains set to appear. Out of these characters, the main antagonists were supposed to be The Flash’s usual archenemies in Gorilla Grodd and Professor Zoom.
Along with them, frequent problems would arise from secondary antagonists including Weather Wizard, Captain Boomerang, Mirror Master, among others. Pretty much all of them would turn out to be boss fights, and each would be necessary to beat to progress in the story.
7 Both The Developer And Publisher Went Out Of Business
As was the case with the cancelled game featuring Batman, the developers of this one also saw their studios shut down due to failed production. The Flash’s game was being made by Bottlerocket Entertainment, with the game published and distributed by Brash Entertainment.
Unfortunately, Brash Entertainment’s lack of staff with gaming backgrounds - they were mainly Hollywood-based employees - meant they couldn’t sustain the deadline set for the game’s completion. With Bottlerocket’s employees eventually not even getting paid by Brash for work on the game, the company was shut down. Brash Entertainment would soon follow suit, with several games, such as Saw and Clash of the Titans being purchased and completed by other studios.
6 It Was Initially Set Across America With The Justice League As Supporting Characters
There have been a bunch of cancelled superhero-based games, and it appears their luck even as supporting characters wasn’t much better. In this one, not only were The Flash’s characters set to appear, but most of the Justice League were also supposed to feature as part of the supporting cast.
This was intended very early in development, where the initial plan was to set the game across all of America. The Justice League’s involvement would be when The Flash traveled to a certain member’s city to assist them in their missions. Characters such as Batman and Superman were well set to appear before the idea was scrapped for being far too ambitious.
5 Powers Were Meant To Be Unlocked
The similarly cancelled game based on the Justice League was earlier set to feature the ability to unlock and upgrade powers, which was also present in this game. Here, in order to avoid making The Flash too powerful, he would have started out without a majority of his skills.
The idea was to gradually introduce new abilities to the mix, that too through unlocking these powers. Combat abilities like The Flash creating a tornado or making multiple versions of himself would only be available through mission completion. Another important aspect were the Quick-Time Events, completing which would allow players to make combos.
4 Speed Was In Real Time
Rather than have the effect of slowing down time to illustrate a character’s speed, like every other game does, the developers tried to portray Flash’s speed in a realistic sense. To this end, players would be able to perceive everything around them as they would normally move, with only The Flash having that extra pace.
So as to make gamers accustomed to this, The Flash would start out with little more than an athlete’s speed. The longer the run would last, the faster The Flash would appear onscreen. This would have the effect of conveying what it would feel like to truly be fast.
3 The Morality System Had Impact On The Playthrough
Similar to games like inFamous, where the morality system of either being good or bad would affect the game’s consequences, The Flash would also give players the choice of carving out their playthrough.
The impact of this would be apparent, with good acts being rewarded with Flash receiving fans around the cities, having murals erected in his honor, and gaining more missions. Bad acts would result in people being hostile to The Flash, and fewer opportunities for upgrades.
2 There Was An Online Multiplayer Mode
While the game already sounds like a very ambitious project, it was supposed to go higher by including a multiplayer mode. This would have brought superheroes like Superman, the original Flash Barry Allen, and villains in Reverse Flash, among others.
The intriguing part here is that the multiplayer would be based around races, with up to four players being allowed to choose their characters to compete. Even more impressive is that it was meant to be an online feature, which would greatly increased the game’s scope.
1 The Game Can Be Found On The Internet
If all this sounds like it would have made for a really cool game, then you can check things out for yourself. That’s because the game’s extensive production meant footage and gameplay has been released in the last several years.
These include the level designs, The Flash engaging in combat and running around the cities, and the outlines of the villains that were set to appear. All of this material easily allows one to see how the full game would’ve been like.
NEXT: Marvel: 10 Things You Never Knew About THQ’s Cancelled Avengers Game
