New footage of a cancelled game meant to tie in with Marvel’s The Avengers movie has surfaced. The game was originally developed by THQ, but was cancelled when THQ Australia, the studio directly responsible for its production, was closed. Uploaded by user Unseen 64, the video contains both footage of gameplay and information about the game’s assets and development details.
The game was originally supposed to feature different villains and characters than the movie. Gameplay wise, the title was first meant to be a third-persona action game. The video shows prototype footage of Captain America dashing around enemies and throwing his shield. However, the studio didn’t want to add to a history of third-person Hero action games, and instead shifted the game towards a first-person experience. From what is seen in the video, this looks somewhat like Mirror’s Edge.
The title then shifted in focus towards cooperative play, with users taking on the first-person roles of each hero. The playable heroes included Iron Man, Hulk, Captain America, Black Widow, Hawkeye, and Thor. The studio even hired The Secret Invasion Avengers comic storyline writer, Brian Michael Bendis, to pen the game’s narrative.
Originally titled The Avengers: The Movie, the game was meant to release for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in 2012, to coincide with the release of The Avengers movie. It was unfortunately scrapped due to a large budget and THQ’s eventual financial demise. Another Avengers game was later released by Ubisoft for Xbox 360 and Wii U.
“New Footage of Canceled First-Person Avengers Game Surfaces” by IGN.