Shortly after Red Mile Entertainment was acquired in 2008, the in-development Sin City game was cancelled -- but footage of the title has leaked today, and it looks incredible.

The tragic tale of the Sin City game began when Frank Miller's comic book serial of the same name was adapted for the silver screen in 2005. Off the heels of sweeping acclaim, it seemed a video game adaptation was the natural next step. Enter Australian game company Transmission Games and American publisher Red Mile Entertainment. The two teamed up in 2007 to create a Sin City game, but after SilverBirch Studios acquired Red Mile and later buckled itself, the game was cancelled.

Today, footage of the cancelled Sin City game leaked, showing off what could have been for the highly-stylized title. The Sin City pitch video, dating back to nearly 10 years to 2007, features both in-game visual effects and engine work at play, really highlighting the game's potential for greatness. Clearly taking inspiration from hot-ticket games like Assassin's Creed, the Sin City concept footage also shows off the original intent for the game: to tell an origin story in the beautiful black-and-white aesthetic for which Miller is known.

Some of the game's playable characters are seen in the leaked footage as well. Had the game been finished and released, players could choose between three characters: Marv, the main man with a penchant for vengenace; the Japanese crime gal, Miho; and the hasty P.I., Dwight McCarthy. An additional clip shows character play a bit more in-depth, and it is revealed in an end slate that the game would have been available for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

So if the leaked footage of the game looks promising, why exactly did the Sin City project apparently hit many snags even before Red Mile was acquired? Allegedly, there were discrepancies between the game's story and the story seen in the source material. While Frank Miller's comics implemented one type of methodology to set up a unique tone, it has been rumored that game writer Flint Dille's approach was quite different.

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This isn't the first time a cancelled game has had footage, stills, or information released after the doors were closed on the project. The cancelled open-world Superman game had test footage leaked last year, and just last week, fans feasted their eyes upon leaked game art for the LucasArts and Red Fly Studios Darth Maul game. What the public and, more importantly, developers and publishers do with the now-uncovered footage can vary wildly.

While this leaked footage is fantastic to look at, it might be just another blow to those who were really gunning for a Sin City game adaptation. Some may argue that seeing what could have been is worse than not knowing at all. Others say this is the final nail in the coffin for the Sin City game, and have chalked it up as just another cancelled game that was never finished.

However, the footage leak may serve a positive purpose: to push ambitious creators and new developers to possibly revamp the project and finally bring a Sin City game to the masses. It may be wishful thinking, but considering how well-received the film was and how many fans have expressed that Sin City definitely deserves a video game, a sliver of hope may still exist for the gaming dreamers out there.