Guess The Game V2 - VirtuaIceMan's quiz final round - Unreleased racers!

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My final challenge is a bit more special; these are unreleased PC games that I've managed to acquire! But does anyone else know what they are? There's not many, as I don't have many!

Unreleased Easy: correctly guessed by @POOTERMAN - 4 Wheel Thunder - this game has an interesting past; Kalisto made Ultim@te Race Pro, then began development on a sequel, called Ultim@te Race Rally (or K-Rally). This evolved a fair degree, into a game called Xleration. When the Midway "Thunder" license became available, it evolved finally into 4 Wheel Thunder. This is the unreleased PC version, which I obtained from a former developer.
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Unreleased Medium: correctly guessed by @POOTERMAN - XLR8 - this futuristic racing game was advertised on little promo cards (along with Plane Crazy) in Europress' International Rally Championship box. However it was never officially released, instead evolving into an arcade game that apparently ran in London's Trocadero centre for a while. This is a screenshot from the beta PC version, which I obtained from a former developer.
UaHjKvk.jpg


Unreleased Hard 1: not guessed by anyone! Everglade Rush - this was a hovercraft racing game (off and on-water) which never released in the end. This screenshot comes from the PC tech demo, which is available to download online still. The game evolved into a multi-vehicle title called Fuel (unrelated to Codemasters eventual game of the same name) before being canned - if you read through The News section from their website (needs Flash), from 1998-2007 you can see how the game was developed, then never finished, then cancelled, and why!
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Unreleased Hard 2: correctly guessed by @POOTERMAN - FIA GT Racing game - Kalisto (who made Ultim@te Race Pro, amongst other things) were working in 2000 on an officially licensed FIA GT Racing game. This would have pre-dated the Simbin GTR series. It also was attempting to use real time data from the races, so gamers could play alongside live events. However the company went bankrupt in 2002, meaning the game was never finished. This screenshot comes from the work-in-progress beta, which includes plenty of car models, plus the Jarama and Anderstorp circuits. However the handling is rather twitchy and the AI races at unrealistic speeds, frequently driving through gravel traps. So it was clearly not quite finished!
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Time for some clues:

Easy: this was actually released on a console that wasn't by Sony or Microsoft (my picture is the unreleased PC version)

Medium: this was advertised on a card inside International Rally Championship. It was eventually reworked and released in an arcade in London's Trocadero centre.

Hard 1: this was renamed/reworked during development, as Atari/Midway didn't like them using the word "Rush" in the game name; but it still wasn't released, even under the new name/concept. The new name (not the one I'm looking for) was the same name as a Codemasters game which came out later.

Hard 2: this had the official FIA license, but didn't get anywhere. It's not related to the GTR games. They hoped to allow you to race against real life cars whilst the real-life race was on.
 
Hmmmmm I'm thinking SEGA, and therefore Dreamcast so I'm saying:

4 Wheel Thunder :)

You'll allready know that back in 1999 Kalisto developed this as the sequel to "Ultim@te Race Pro" and planned on calliing it "Ultim@te Race Rally". Then they decided it should be a new IP and renamed it "Xceleration". Then Midway came calling and wanted it for their "Thunder" series of games so it was once again renamed to "Offroad Thunder" and remarkably once again finally to the "4 Wheel Thunder" we know and loathe (too bloody difficult!). I think it's fair to conclude that the devs at Kalisto were a very indecisive bunch of people!

Hard 1: So was the game's 'new' name either 'Insane' or 'Fuel' but yet it still didn't come out??
 
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You got Easy 1! Yeah there was a PC version and I managed to get a copy! It's got everything unlocked mind you, so not really a challenge, more just an interesting piece. Amazingly my write-up (see above) is almost identical to yours (I wrote it before posting the competition!).

I sought for a long time to get a copy of Ultim@te Race Rally (as it appeared in magazines), but maybe only one person has a copy (maybe) and it's not really possible as he's high up at another huge games company now.

I can't say more about Hard 1 or it'll give it away, but you're on the right track!
 
Unreleased Medium: "It was on a card inside International Rally Championship" does that mean it was developed by 'Magnetic Fields' or was it a game that was due to be publshed by 'Interplay' or 'THQ'. I just know I've seen that screenshot before a very long time ago but wouldn't have a clue where to find some info out about it or any of the other games for that matter! I guess that's what your here for 'eh VIM :)
 
Medium: XLR8 by Simtex (1997). Simtex wound up in 1997 and owner Steve Barcia went on to produce 'Need For Speed: Undercover' for EA in 2008. (Beta Password: 'Athena'. Don't forget ;)
Hard 1: FUEL!
Hard 2: Is this an FIA GT racing game by Kalisto? Is this an early build of what they intended to release as 'Ultim@te Race Rally'?
 
Hehe, thought you'd find answers, maybe in BYOAC? ;)

You're right on Medium and Hard 2, I updated my original post now with my comments! Hard 1 is not Fuel (Codemasters) related...
 
Hard 1 has me beat VIM, I've absolutely no idea mate on where to start researching this one :( There aren't a lot of speedboat racing games on the PC so it's a shame this never made it out. I spent HOURS just the other night trying to get "Speedboat Attacks" working on my Windows 10 PC but sadly had to admit defeat in the end :( I know there was a VR Sports Power Boat Racing game and the excellent "Hydro Thunder" and some more recent "Riptide GP" games on Steam. I give up VIM, please enlighten us my friend :)
 
Will do, shortly. Speedboat Attack I think I had a try at and failed too, the whole in-game graphics vanish when a race starts, from memory!

VR Sports works, as does Hydro Thunder. There's a few more boat games: Aquatdelic/Speedboat GT is worth a look, Thames Racer (also known as other things worldwide; the US release is Miami Speedboat Racer with extra tracks) is okay (though the water went wrong recently!).

I hear good things about this http://store.steampowered.com/app/501090/Design_it_Drive_it__Speedboats/

I was going to do a speedboat racing competition, but I don't have THAT many boat racing games...
 
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