New footage of never-before-seen (and scrapped) entry in the Call of Duty franchise hit the web this week, revealing what would have easily become the franchise’s biggest departure from the modern era. Sadly, it doesn’t sound like there’s much chance of a completed Call of Duty: Roman Wars ever seeing the light of day.
Details on the unreleased Call of Duty come courtesy of GamesRadar, which published an extensive piece on the cancelled game Tuesday morning. The outlet also released footage of the lost CoD, or at least a build of the game adapted to pitch Ubisoft, which gives us some idea of how Activision (or another publisher) might’ve taken the series’ traditional shooter mechanics and adapted them for a period when melee combat frequently decided the outcome of battles.
The changes would’ve included first-person sword combat -- an addition that comes as less of surprise when you remember Wii sales were still trending upward in 2008 -- and a campaign following a soldier from Julius Caesar’s Tenth Legion. Call of Duty: Roman Wars also would have shifted the series’ first-person camera to an over-the-shoulder, third-person view.
The original prototype was apparently built by Vicarious Visions , a studio best known for its work on the Guitar Hero and Skylanders franchises, and made it all the way to the desk of Activision CEO Bobby Kotick for final approval. Unfortunately, concerns about market saturation and brand identity ultimately shelved Call of Duty: Roman Wars. And attempts to pitch the game to other publishers (Ubisoft is specifically mentioned in the story) floundered, too.
To see gameplay from an adapted build of Call of Duty: Roman Wars, and/or learn more about the cancelled game, head over to GamesRadar . Otherwise, head down to the comments section and let us know what places/times you’d like to see the Call of Duty franchise visit in the future.
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