7th Columnist

Or should that be BS?

Some of you may remember back in January, Matt Casamassina, editor of IGNCube, discussed a port of Halo for the Nintendo DS that never saw the light of day. Claiming that a significant and well respected developer had begun coding the title, only to contact Microsoft and have the whole project cancelled, but not before he could get his grubby little hands on it for a play around.

Well, he’s back, and following the latest rumours of a Bungie/Microsoft split (convenient timing), has put up video footage in his latest blog of the game being played via wireless link-up with a colleague.

Could this be real? Could there really have once been a version of Halo planned for Nintendo’s touchy feely handheld, or is it just a load of old nonsense created to leech off of a snowballing net rumour and drive traffic to his site?

It’s up in the air, and there are many who take this new found footage to be the real deal – proof that the game was once in development and the possibility that it may still actually happen should Bungie and the big M part company. But before you get all worked up about the footage, there’s probably a few things worth pointing out. A few things that unfortunately for Matt, point towards the whole thing being nothing more than a steaming pile of the untrusties.

First up, there’s a few simple things that simply don’t fit right. Like, why would anyone want to make Halo for the Nintendo DS based on Halo 2? Surely a remake of the first game would make more sense, offering up a far more accesible entry point to the saga and control scheme. Dual weilding and aiming via the touch screen? Ambitious in thought, cumbersome and fiddly in practice. I can’t think of anything harder to recreate on the handheld than Bungie’s golden gameplay tripod; guns, grenades and melee.

Then there’s the miraculous wi-fi link up that takes place in the video damn near instantaneously. With no blinking lights atop of the DS indicating a link has been established and no noticeable loading time, this too, looks fake.

What about music in multiplayer? Again, I think not – and from the audio played, I feel for Marty O’ Donnell.

Or the simple fact that only IGN were shown a copy of this work in progress. As a journalist I find that incredibly difficult to believe. If Halo DS were floating about, cancelled or not… we’d of heard about it from somewhere else by now.

I could pick holes in this story for hours, but there’s little point. In fact, the simple act of creating this news post means Matt over at IGN get’s his desired result – a little more publicity. Still, I’ll leave you with a final thought:

Take a look at this video of a certain abysmal EA title named Goldeneye: Rogue Agent. Notice any similarities to the supposed ill-fated Halo DS? Of course you do. The reticle is the same, the damage indicator is the same, the death animations are the same, even some of the sound effects are the same. Either one of the ‘large’ developers involved in the alledged making of Halo DS was EA (doubtful) or we’ve just wasted more than enough time looking at little more than a freshly skinned version of a bad Bond adventure.

Halo DS? No. Or at least, not yet. Thanks for nothing Matt.