Summary
If there is one thing that director Michael Mann is known for besides his iconic Miami Vice television series, it’s the 1995 heist movie, Heat. The crime film, which saw Al Pacino, Robert De Niro and Val Kilmer pair up, is one of cinema’s most famous ensembles, due in part to its amazing shootout sequence.
It’s the kind of sequence that would make for a great video game, and it turns out, that was almost the case.In the latest episode of “Games That Weren’t,“aYouTube channel dedicated to showcasing canceled video games, The Last Job AKA The Heist was unearthed as a canceledPlayStation 2video game from 2004.
Grand Theft Auto’s Heist Sequences Don’t Even Come Close
According to the Games That Weren’t website, The Last Job was a game in the works for the PS2, with a planned Xbox release as well. It was developed at Acclaim Cheltenham, and was even showcased at a behind-closed-doors press event at E3 2004.
Per the on-site bio, the game would have let players control four different criminals, each with their own specialization. The game’s premise was simple, with the crew seeking revenge and financial gain, and levels involving yachts and exhibitions had been thought out.
Perhaps the most interesting part of the game is just how exactly it would play out. It’s not too dissimilar to current games likePaydayorGrand Theft Auto’sown heist mechanics. This gameplay description is certainly well ahead of its time.
Check it out:
Within the game you would also control 4 different roles on each mission via parallel play. Basically, this is where each job would be split into “phases”, allowing you to play as all of the crew and interact with your own previous performances on previous tasks by the other members.
As an example, if you do not guard the foyer area well, then your hacker crew member has very little time left to then hack the vault. If you then don’t hack the vault quickly enough, you’ll then have even less time to grab what you came to steal.
The team strived for accuracy,per the blog, and they apparently “brought in ex-SAS member John McAleese for a two-day team building/training exercise to teach about 20 or so of the team about how special forces people think.” They also took cues from Mann’s Heat film,which also had the actors undergo SAS weapons training.
Sadly, the game was never meant to be. But via an ex-developer,we do have a good look at what could have been. And from that developer,there is also a prototype build that players can download. Either way, what a cool concept that never came to be.
