Video of an early Xbox build of StarCraft: Ghost leaked online, the game was abandoned by the developer in 2014. StarCraft: Ghost was a strange move for Blizzard. While its games had appeared on consoles previously, they were always lackluster ports of the PC games. Ghost was intended for release exclusively on the Xbox and PlayStation 2 systems, which was great for fans at the time who didn’t have a PC on which to enjoy Blizzard games.
StarCraft: Ghost suffered from numerous production delays prior to its cancellation. The gameplay was pretty standard: a shooter/stealth combo with minor puzzles throughout. The player takes control of Nova (yes, the lady from the Overwatch skin), a ghost agent who must sneak around assassinating enemies with her sniper rifle, AGR-14, psyblade, or a good old-fashioned grenade shoved in a foe’s helmet. The game also featured numerous multiplayer modes like Deathmatch, King of the Hill, and Capture the Base. There would have also been a mode in which players competed for resource nodes, which allowed additional and more powerful ally units to spawn as they moved toward the enemy base.
Unfortunately, while all of this sounds good, StarCraft: Ghost gameplay looks clunky and uninspired, as seen in a 13-minute YouTube video posted by Leerz Meneses. The footage doesn’t reveal anything particularly mindblowing about the game or its execution. Another user, named Delso Bezerra, posted 7:12 seconds of additional gameplay to their YouTube account, but aside from the footage being a bit clearer, it doesn’t make the game itself any more appealing. The gameplay shows early footage, with an incomplete soundtrack. Animations are choppy, though graphics are suitable for a game from Ghost’s era. But ultimately, it was just another shooter in an ocean of shooters.
StarCraft: Ghost was initially developed for Blizzard by Nihilistic Software, but Blizzard handed it off to newly-purchased Swingin’ Ape Studios. It was put on hold in 2006 and was eventually confirmed canceled in 2014. However, Nova got an adventure of her own in 2016 via StarCraft II: Nova Covert Ops.
It’s always sad when a game gets canceled, but StarCraft: Ghost had a lot working against it. For one, Blizzard was not directly involved in the production. Also, the game was intended for release on two different console generations. Finally, it struggled with identity, shuffling between a stealth-focused adventure and absolute carnage. But this footage gives gamers insight into what could have been, had Blizzard not bailed the project.
More: Blizzard Seems To Have Abandoned StarCraft For Now
Source: Leerz Meneses via YouTube, Delso Bezerra via YouTube
