Cel Damage 2 (Cancelled 2003 Video Game)

Cel Damage 2 was a cancelled vehicle combat game set for release in 2003 for the Sony Playstation 2, Microsoft Xbox, and likely Nintendo Gamecube as well. It was the sequel to the 2001 vehicle combat game Cel Damage, and its enhanced port, Cel Damage Overdrive.

The existence and development of a sequel was first mentioned in a development article written by David Wu, a member of Psuedo Interactive. In the concluding paragraph, he stated:

''Now that Cel Damage is out the door, PI's last monkey is off its back. We are published and moving ahead. There is plenty for us to look forward to now, not the least of which is Cel Damage 2, which we will deliver for next holiday season. We are excited about the prospects for Xbox and hope to continue to exploit its strengths with network and team-based play in our next game.''

The project went quiet soon after said article, without any further information on its development, leading to some questioning its existence. Come 2008, Psuedo Interactive concept artist Ted Kim posted the game's concept art onto his DeviantArt page, TedKimArt.

The concept art shows that out of the ten characters in the first game, six of them (Violet, Dominique Trix, Sinder, Fowl Mouth, Whack Angus, and Count Earl) were set to return, and had all gotten redesigns. Other concept art showcases map ideas, ranging from a tropical island, to the inside of a volcano, to a futuristic laboratory.

Also in 2008, test footage of the game in early development was posted online. Said footage begins with Violet traversing on-foot, implying that there was going to be on-foot combat in addition to vehicle combat. The footage also depicts Violet driving underwater, indicating that there was going to be an underwater map as well.

According to a comment from Ted Kim's DeviantArt account, the sequel, just like Overdrive, was striving to improve on many of the aspects that the public criticized about the first game.

The reasons for  Cel Damage 2' s cancellation is currently unknown. Some sources have rumored that the North American publisher of the first game, Electronic Arts, purposely pulled the plug because of the poor sales of the first game, while a few sources have rumored that it was due to a lack of funding. It could also be speculated that it was cancelled due to the fact that it would be released around the same time as big-name holiday releases like Mario Kart: Double Dash!!

However, with former Psuedo Interactive employees founding a new company, Finish Line Games, and re-releasing Cel Damage Overdrive on Playstation 3, PS4, and PSVita, a revival of Cel Damage 2 may be possible.