Halo 3 DS
So, the rumours and now videos of Halo DS (I'd suggest reading through that before continuing on here). What do I make of them, you don't ask? Well, I answer anyway, they're certainly interesting.
The cynic in me wants to decry it and the fanboy in me wants to embrace it. But let's stick to the facts. I haven't followed a lot of his stuff, but Matt Casamassina is a respected and generally reliable video games journalist and it's not impossible that he would pick up on a Halo DS, if it exists. In fact, IGN being such a major organisation and Matt being the big Nintendo guy there, if anything at all existed of it, it would almost certainly leak to him.
Of course, that's a lot of “ifs” and doesn't necessarily prove the game's existence. It's possible that it is an elaborate hoax of some kind, probably played by Casamassina, if anyone. I say that simply because he reiterates time and again that this was an official product, something no one would do without irrefutable proof of authenticity. Unless they were a master trickster of the highest calibre.
As for the videos they seem to clearly depict a Halo-style FPS being played in wireless multiplayer on two DS consoles. Many commentators have pointed out that something like that could be a simple reskin or mod of an existing DS FPS (the two most common targets being Goldeneye: Rogue Agent and Metroid Prime Hunters). Of course, I (and, I highly suspect, they) have no idea if such a thing would be “simple” or not and how you could possibly tell.
And if creating such a game from existing technology is easy, then why must it have been done by amateurs or pranksters? Is it inconceivable that a game developer or publisher might make it, just to test the water and see what could be done?
Another point of contention is whether Microsoft would allow their ultimate cash cow to appear on a Nintendo system. When you think about it, this doesn't seem so impossible. Despite die-hard fanboys tapping their heels together and wishing really hard, no portable Xbox seems likely and it would arguably be to Microsoft's benefit if the PSP suffered.
Despite now owning a big stake in the company, Microsoft has still let Rare develop for the DS, even spreading the Viva Piñata franchise, and no one has completely ruled out Rare games on the Virtual Console (though Goldeneye seems unlikely, due to the obvious licensing nightmare). Even if Bungie isn't focusing on Halo right now, other developers may prove just as capable of handling the franchise. Ensemble Studios is dealing with Halo Wars, though it is admittedly a Microsoft subsidiary dealing with a 360 game.
So it's quite possible that it did exist, even if it got no further than a tech demo. It's also fairly easy to see why it got cancelled or, more accurately, why it never really got off the ground. The Halo series has pretty tight continuity and another game would be difficult to fit into the series timeline. Bungie and Microsoft are clearly aware of the dangers of milking the franchise, since they have decided to lay the main series aside for now.
So, are the videos real? There's no real reason for them not to be. Sure it could be a hoax, but would Matt Casamassina really risk his own, and IGN's, reputation if he knew it wasn't real or even just had doubts about it? No, probably not. So, in absence of any other evidence, I'm sticking with the word of a trustworthy journalist.
And so we lay Halo DS on that big old pile of semi-mythical games, alongside Metroid Dread and all that Kid Icarus nonsense from years back. Though that doesn't seem so impossible now, given Pit's appearance in Smash Bros. Brawl (remember when Fire Emblem characters cropped up in Melee?) and certain comments made by Shigeru Miyamoto.
Anyway, feels good to get some gaming news done and some speculation out of my system. That'll have to hold me over until Sam and I kick off the VersusCOM podcast again.
...
I've just remembered that I have a Maths test tomorrow. Probably ought to revise for that.
The cynic in me wants to decry it and the fanboy in me wants to embrace it. But let's stick to the facts. I haven't followed a lot of his stuff, but Matt Casamassina is a respected and generally reliable video games journalist and it's not impossible that he would pick up on a Halo DS, if it exists. In fact, IGN being such a major organisation and Matt being the big Nintendo guy there, if anything at all existed of it, it would almost certainly leak to him.
Of course, that's a lot of “ifs” and doesn't necessarily prove the game's existence. It's possible that it is an elaborate hoax of some kind, probably played by Casamassina, if anyone. I say that simply because he reiterates time and again that this was an official product, something no one would do without irrefutable proof of authenticity. Unless they were a master trickster of the highest calibre.
As for the videos they seem to clearly depict a Halo-style FPS being played in wireless multiplayer on two DS consoles. Many commentators have pointed out that something like that could be a simple reskin or mod of an existing DS FPS (the two most common targets being Goldeneye: Rogue Agent and Metroid Prime Hunters). Of course, I (and, I highly suspect, they) have no idea if such a thing would be “simple” or not and how you could possibly tell.
And if creating such a game from existing technology is easy, then why must it have been done by amateurs or pranksters? Is it inconceivable that a game developer or publisher might make it, just to test the water and see what could be done?
Another point of contention is whether Microsoft would allow their ultimate cash cow to appear on a Nintendo system. When you think about it, this doesn't seem so impossible. Despite die-hard fanboys tapping their heels together and wishing really hard, no portable Xbox seems likely and it would arguably be to Microsoft's benefit if the PSP suffered.
Despite now owning a big stake in the company, Microsoft has still let Rare develop for the DS, even spreading the Viva Piñata franchise, and no one has completely ruled out Rare games on the Virtual Console (though Goldeneye seems unlikely, due to the obvious licensing nightmare). Even if Bungie isn't focusing on Halo right now, other developers may prove just as capable of handling the franchise. Ensemble Studios is dealing with Halo Wars, though it is admittedly a Microsoft subsidiary dealing with a 360 game.
So it's quite possible that it did exist, even if it got no further than a tech demo. It's also fairly easy to see why it got cancelled or, more accurately, why it never really got off the ground. The Halo series has pretty tight continuity and another game would be difficult to fit into the series timeline. Bungie and Microsoft are clearly aware of the dangers of milking the franchise, since they have decided to lay the main series aside for now.
So, are the videos real? There's no real reason for them not to be. Sure it could be a hoax, but would Matt Casamassina really risk his own, and IGN's, reputation if he knew it wasn't real or even just had doubts about it? No, probably not. So, in absence of any other evidence, I'm sticking with the word of a trustworthy journalist.
And so we lay Halo DS on that big old pile of semi-mythical games, alongside Metroid Dread and all that Kid Icarus nonsense from years back. Though that doesn't seem so impossible now, given Pit's appearance in Smash Bros. Brawl (remember when Fire Emblem characters cropped up in Melee?) and certain comments made by Shigeru Miyamoto.
Anyway, feels good to get some gaming news done and some speculation out of my system. That'll have to hold me over until Sam and I kick off the VersusCOM podcast again.
...
I've just remembered that I have a Maths test tomorrow. Probably ought to revise for that.
Labels: alasdair, versuscom, videogames
posted by Alasdair Corbett at
11:36 PM
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