A piece of forgotten history: Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse

In 2002, when the PS2 was still in its prime, 3DO was a company driving towards the edge of a cliff, in a kind of literal sense. They made a string of popular games, Including the 'Army Men' series, which popularized on the idea of little green plastic soldiers being combatants in an over sized battlefield, and the 'Heroes of Might and Magic' Series. While these games were moderately successful, many of their other titles were terrible, and lacked the appropriate sales to keep the company rolling. It was time for them to look in a newer, edgier direction. They inevitably decided to look towards the 'M' rated marketplace.

The company looked toward the most popular book of all time (the bible, for those of you who've been hiding under a rock for the past 2000 or so years) to dig them out of a mound of debt. They announced 'The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse' for release in 2003/2004 and began production soon after. The game follows that crazy angel Abaddon, who tries to rid the world of the aforementioned horsemen in the middle of the apocalypse. Of Course, when I say 'Angel', I mean 'A white guy in a long, black trench coat with long, black hair wielding dual guns and a sword to match'.

Early Previews suggested the game would be really trying to earn the 'M' rating, complete with gratuitous violence, mangled bodies hanging from ceilings, entrails, and nudity. While it sounds like a much darker, less cartooney Devil May Cry, a lot of talent was rallied behind this project.

First on the list were Comic book artists Simon Bisley (Halo Graphic Novel) and Dave DeVries, who were working on the detailed, dark and really cool looking art for the game. Early concept paintings were released early in development to show the mood and tone the games would carry at its release. Voice talent included non other than Tim Curry, Lance Henriksen and Traci Lords. Michael Mendheim and Kelly Turner were assigned the designer and executive producer tasks, and even Stan Winston was attached to the project.

Rumor began to circulate that the project's budget had already exceeded eight million dollars and there was still a year of development yet ahead. With all the talent on board, this would've been 3DO's last ditch effort to dig them out, but it seemed like all the money they threw into the project couldn't save them from impending doom. On May of 2003, 3DO filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and closed its doors for good. The horsemen were dead.

After 3DO shut down, a lot of unfinished, yet promising titles were auctioned off to other companies to help them settle debts. In August 2003, 3DO's brands and Intellectual Properties such as 'High Heat Baseball', and 'Might and Magic' were sold to respectable companies such as Namco, Ubisoft and even Microsoft. Unfortunately, the four horsemen stayed in the stable untouched. No company expressed any sort of interest in the project. So the world moved on and 3DO faded into the dust, almost taking the four horsemen with it. You'll notice, I said 'Almost'.

Sometime in 2004, a number of investors, developers and artists banded together to form Four Horsemen Entertainment L.L.C., in order to purchase the rights to the project they still had faith in Too much work, time and money had been invested in the project to let it slip away so easily. May 12, 2004, the rights were bought and handed over to this group to finish development of the title.

According to Michael Mendheim, the rumors about the budget ballooning to eight million dollars are preposterous. According to IGN "Mendheim clarified that the Four Horsemen project at 3DO never reached a budget anywhere near eight million dollars. After 3DO's closure, publishers neglected the title not because it was unwieldy, Mendheim explains, but because in its then-early stages it may not have been large enough. Publishers may have also been unwilling to provide the time necessary to complete the title properly." Now that the product is in new hands, it has evolved significantly. Stan Winston is negotiating toy and movie rights, several comics are being produced, and a newer version of the game is being prepped for release. New art was released for the game, and things seem to be going well for Four Horsemen L.L.C.

IGN's sit-down with Mendheim was published in June of 2004. This article is being written March 2008...so, where is the game, comic, movie, toys and everything else promised from this franchise? We still have no release. The original website for the Four Horsemen game is gone, and a little digging is required to find the new one. Through the Four Horsemen Entertainment LLC website (fourhorsemenentertainmentllc.com), the 'new' game site can be found. The site houses a flash intro, which explains the game's plot with a bad ass voice over, but after that, is nothing. Artwork on the site is still available, but the copyright still reads 2004.

The franchise, but most importantly, the game, seems abandoned. The only thing that seems to leave a trace of the franchise is the relic website, abandoned and stale. Any enthusiasm, or hope for the game's release has been smothered by time. Are they waiting for next generation consoles? They're already here. Are they going to just release everything simultaneously to capitalize on all the angles of the franchise? There is no mention of a comic release, and the movie hasn't even been mentioned and the game is obviously dead. If the franchise is to be revived, whatever existing game data out there is outdated with the advent of the Xbox360 and PS3, officially making the game that was being produced by 3DO dead. The remaining screenshots seem to be the last echoes of a company that has now faded into obscurity...