It’s theoretically possible that there may be some of you out there who are still unaware that Halo 3, the latest and supposedly final chapter in the ludicrously popular videogame series, has recently become available for purchase.

In which case, I’d like to congratulate you for escaping from solitary confinement in a Thai prison, but if you don’t mind me saying so, stopping by a local internet café to browse the SG Newswire might not be the best way to celebrate your new-found freedom.

For the rest of you, if Microsoft’s marketing tsunami hasn’t already convinced you to buy one of the three different versions of Halo 3 to play on your new Halo 3-themed Xbox 360 console while you drink Halo 3-flavored Mountain Dew and then impress fellow Halo 3 players by burping loudly into your Halo 3-themed wireless Xbox Live Headset, they’ve got one last trick up their sleeves to wring a few more drops of hype from Halo 3 now that it’s gone from “upcoming videogame packed with life-altering awesomeness” to “tangible shiny disc-shaped object you can be interactively entertained by while Bill Gates takes another swim in his Scrooge McDuck-sized pool of money”.

To celebrate the release of Halo 3, Microsoft announced today that they are “evolving their relationship” with Bungie, the game development studio that created the Halo games. Bungie, who had been in a monogamous relationship with Microsoft since Microsoft bought them in 2000, got the 7 year itch and decided the time was right to take a little break, get back into the swingin’ independent game developer scene, maybe see some other consoles. Microsoft fell for the “it’s not you, it’s me” line and now only owns a minority stake in Bungie.

Like most major developments in the videogame industry, news of the Microsoft/Bungie split first appeared as an unsourced rumor in an obscure videogame blog. The original article, which paints the reasons for the split in less glowing terms than the eventual Bungie and Microsoft press releases, started a geeksplosion of skeptical postings and articles on other, slightly less obscure videogame websites.

Those of you who have social lives that don’t involve bellowing “Boom! Headshot!” into your headset might not realize how the accuracy of most videogame rumors posted on the internet is on par with broken watches and blind pigs, which makes it all the more surprising that this one turned out to be true.

But before you start daydreaming about how awesome it’ll be to play Halo 4 with your Wiimote, Microsoft still owns the intellectual property rights to all things Halo. Also, Microsoft will be “continuing its long-standing publishing agreement” with Bungie for future games, and Bungie claims that they “will continue to develop with our primary focus on Microsoft’s platforms”.

I just hope this split doesn't further delay the release of my most anticipated Bungie game that doesn't involve the word "Halo", the genre-defining killer app known as Pimps At Sea.

Perhaps you are one of the many who has not been caught up in the Halo 3 hype. That’s okay. It’s alright if you don’t like it or just don’t get it. It’s probably because you’ve never played it. This week’s release of the game marked the largest grossing entertainment launch in history – Halo 3 racked up $170 million dollars in sales exceeding Spider-Man 3’s box-office opening and sales of the other recent geek midnight madness for the final book in the Harry Potter series. So, if you are not caught up yourself, there’s a good chance you know someone who is.

At its core, the multi-player aspect of Halo is as simple as schoolyard games like tag, king of the hill along with a healthy dose of paint-ball thrown into the mix. Perhaps that explains its unprecedented popularity – in many ways, it’s a new kind of sport. And while it’s very easy to understand the rules, it can take time to master the skills required to become a great player. But that only applies to the multi-player element of Halo, the campaign mode of the game actually has all the makings of the next great movie franchise on the level of a Star Trek or a Harry Potter.

A Faceless Hero
Basically, Spartan Officer John 117, or as most of you non-gamers know him, Master Chief, is the last of the Spartans, a kind of "Super-Stormtrooper," if you will. And we’ve never seen his face which allows anyone playing the game to picture them in his helmet. This is very much in keeping with the spirit of epic myths as explained by author Joseph Campbell in his book The Hero with a Thousand Faces. However, any film version of the movie will likely have to reveal the face behind the mask as this seems to be the most often asked question, “What does Master Chief really look like?” The answer is simple… he, or she for that matter, is you. I am hoping Chief is female, that would be hot.

Epic Musical Score
John Williams is the go-to man of choice when it comes to epic films. From the Star Wars movies to Indiana Jones and Harry Potter, he has composed the most memorable film scores in history. And if you can’t get John, there’s always Danny Elfman who has also created some amazing film music as well. Martin O’Donnell & Michael Salvatori have created a music track to accompany the levels of Halo’s campaign mode that is both emotionally stirring and triumphantly epic. It’s like no video game score you’ve ever heard and even non-Halo fans will recognize it if one begins to hum the notes.

War, Weapons and Blowing Up Real Good
There is no shortage of impressive technology in the Halo Universe – from the weaponry wielded by the Chief or the alien guns from the Covenant. The Covenant consists of a loose collection of alien allies who shoot pretty purple laser weaponry, the coolest of which is the “needler” gun. The “ghost” motorcycle is also damn cool along with the very practical “warthog.” It’s like opening the toy soldier set and letting them loose in a world where anything goes and in the sci-fi film world, we haven’t seen anything as epic as the battles portrayed in Halo. Well, we haven’t seen it yet, at least.

Actress Jen Taylor (center of course) is best known to as the voice of Cortana.

Sexy Holograms
Cortana is Master Chief’s guide through the story. She’s sexy as hell but unfortunately is not real flesh and blood – she’s a hologram and the Chief will only touch her in his dreams. In the world of movies, Cortana would be known as “Miss Exposition” showing up at key moments to explain what just happened, what we need to do next, and the goal that must be achieved. But she’s so much more than that as she represents, in a sad way, desire that will never be fulfilled.

Scary Zombies
Who doesn’t love zombie movies? The Flood is the scourge devouring sentient life in the galaxy, turning living things into a cross between the horrific creatures from George Romero’s Dead films and John Carpenter’s The Thing. Just the sounds of the Flood monstrosities creeping around unseen will make your skin crawl. And these things are as scary as they are hard to kill. I personally love all things zombie-related and I even have a bumper sticker on my car that reads: I “heart” Zombies.

The Biggest Threat in the Galaxy
Sure, the Star Wars movies had the menacing Death Star, two of them in fact. And Star Trek had that giant carrot-shaped planet eater from the original series, the huge Borg Cube from the Next Generation and the colossal V’Ger from the Motion Picture. But the Halo ring dwarfs them all with its ability to wipe out all life in the galaxy to prevent the scourge of the Flood from spreading. Now requires coining a new word on the level of Humongo-normous-colossalopolis!


Could a Halo movie win Peter Jackson another Oscar?

For some reason, the Halo movie has been filled with false starts, even with talent like Peter Jackson involved as executive producer. Perhaps this recent financial milestone and public frenzy will inspire a version of the film that will resonate beyond the rabid gaming fan base. And we may even see, for the first time, a movie based on a video game that actually goes on to win the Oscar for Best Picture. Just kidding, I think a Halo movie that works as a decent motion picture would be a worthwhile achievement on its own. Clearly, all the elements of a great film experience are there, but doing it right may be as difficult as finishing the fight… solo… on Legendary. (You know what I’m talking about.)

Gore gone!

Chris_Gore prefers to beat campaign before attempting multi-player. So shoot me.

At the recent E3: Electronic Entertainment Expo, I had the opportunity to speak with Cliff Bleszinski, or Cliffy B as he is widely known among gamers. Cliff is the lead designer of the best selling game Gears of War on the XBox 360, which is in development at New Line to be translated to the screen. Strangely, for those who have played Gears, the experience is often described as being cinematic. When I asked Cliff about the movie-like elements of his game, he was very adamant that “…if game designers want to make a movie, then they should make a movie.” Good point.

Super Mario Brothers

As someone who at times, straddles the line between various industries, I have always admired the video game business. When a game is not ready, sometimes having to do with bugs, but more often having to do with concerns regarding the quality of the game itself, that game is delayed. Schedules are often pushed back, and while marketing departments at game companies push for release dates centered on prime holiday buying periods, a game that is not ready will not ship. Not every company in the games business sticks to this philosophy, but it seems to be a sound way of doing business when reputations are built and destroyed over the quality of one title.

Lara Croft: Tomb Raider

It might be nice if, say, the film business adopted the same philosophy. If a movie is not ready, if it’s not up to quality standards, then the release date should be pushed back. That might have improved films like Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, which was entertaining and fun but clearly not good. A test audience might have mentioned that the inclusion of Galactus as a character would have added more weight to the story, but this is wishful thinking. Films are rarely ever delayed these days, and the quality, or lack thereof, would never impact the release date. The film business is so costly when it comes to major theatrical releases, theatrical releases that are tied into ad campaigns that must be booked months in advance, merchandising tie-in deals, partnerships with retailers or fast food franchises, to delay the release of any movie would ensure that film never made a profit. But it might make a better movie.

Wing Commander

Still, why is it that movies and video games, mediums that are so closely linked, just can’t seem to work when translating from one to the other?

Resident Evil

The history of video games made into movies is a very rocky one. In fact, compiling a “Top 10” or list of the “Best” video game movies is a complete waste of time. The simple reason is that there has hardly been one good film made from a video game, much less one that is remotely watch-able. The evidence is clear when simply creating the list from which to draw the “best.”

Street Fighter

Consider examples like Street Fighter or Double Dragon or Super Mario Brothers or Lara Croft: Tomb Raider or The House of the Dead or Mortal Kombat, which was kind of fun, but ultimately cheesy and tame compared to the game. You might find a list of the “Best” somewhere, but it’s more like reading a list of films made from video games, none of them rising to the top as being films worth seeing when separated from their video game roots.

The House of the Dead


Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within

Oddly enough, gamers will tell you that there has never been a decent game made from a movie, which is probably true. Most games made from film franchises are rushed to meet a release date coinciding with the theatrical release and include familiar, yet not particularly challenging gameplay resulting in a mediocre game at best. Still, like an idiot, I play them. I happen to enjoy video games based on movie franchises because they are not very challenging. They often result in games I can finish because my limited skills as a gamer would definitely keep me from being considered as a back up for those players in the MLG. (That’s Major League Gaming, and yes, it really exists.)


Gears of War (left) is in development at New Line, while the groundbreaking Halo franchise is in the able hands of Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson, who is executive producing. Will either translate into a decent movie?

As my conversation with Cliffy B wrapped up, he did express enthusiasm about the Gears movie. He told me that a script was delivered by screenwriter Stuart Beattie and that it was going to be a good film first, not a video game movie. In fact, Cliff was adamant about staying focused on his career as a game designer with no aspirations about being in the film business. It’s a lesson many learn to late – just stick to what you know.

Gore gone.

In addition to being a movie geek, Chris_Gore continues to battle a lifelong addiction to video games.

One day I imagine a world at peace. A day in which a small black box on top of my television comes armed with the ability to download and view any movie or TV show along with those accompanying extra features that we once found only on those silver platters we used to collect so long ago, way back at the turn of the century. Remember those things? Remember DVDs?


The battle for the next DVD format rages on and consumers have yet to pick a winner.

We’re still a long way from downloadable content taking hold in numbers worth noting. (My estimate is five years.) However, the war raging now is a different kind of Red VS. Blue. I’m not talking states in the US, of course, but the competing HD-DVD formats that have been thrust upon the public. A public that didn’t even know that the current televisions or DVDs they were watching were in need of an upgrade.

While there have been countless articles quoting techno-babble and specs and stats comparing the two formats of HD-DVD, I want to add to the discussion by pointing out a few things that traditional tech writers may have missed. So, here’s a few of the basic questions answered without a lot of techno-babble.

Do I really need an HD-TV?
I guess that depends on how good your eyesight is. I was at an electronics store once when I realized that the average person doesn’t really care and the HD-TV format is being forced upon consumers. After staring for some time at an HD-TV a woman turned to me and asked, “Is that HD or not?” And this has happened on more than one occasion. While the differences in picture quality are clear, especially considering the rectangular shape of the widescreen, the general public still needs a side-by-side comparison to tell. Here’s the deal—
Regular TVs have 480 lines of resolution.
HD-TVs have 720 lines of resolution, nearly double. And many new HD-TVs support up to 1080 and there are newer HD-TVs coming that will go as high as 1350.

What’s the difference between the formats of HD-DVDs?
There are a lot of complicated specs thrown at consumers regarding the two formats of DVDs—HD-DVD and Blu-Ray disc. And you can look at a great comparison of those tech specs here. The bottom line is that Blu-ray (blue packaging) can hold more data than regular HD-DVD (red packaging). And neither format is compatible with the other.

Do technical specs really matter?
In this battle, it really does not matter. So, while storage space on Blu-ray is higher, the other differences are negligible when you consider picture quality. On the quality of image, both are superior with no visible differences when viewed on the same television screens. In fact, if your TV is smaller than 32 inches, it’s probably not worth getting an HD-TV anyway, much less an HD-DVD player.


In glorious 1080 resolution, some movies are still unwatchable.

Do I have to choose a side, I mean, can I go both ways?
Yes. You can. A combo player that will accommodate both Blu-ray and regular HD-DVD is coming soon, but will cost about $1,000. In addition, some studios such as Warner Brothers, are releasing DVDs that are playable on both a regular DVD player and a standard HD-DVD player. So, if you were considering buying Superman Returns anyway, and you don’t have an HD-TV or an HD-DVD player, you can purchase the film and get both. Once you do upgrade to HD, you’ll be ready for image quality that is both jaw-dropping (explosions) and disconcerting (bad skin on actors you may have previously found attractive). The combo DVD/HD-DVD format is really the only edge in the format war.

I’m confused, just tell me what to do!
That is the reaction from most consumers, “Just tell me which one is the best.” In this battle, there is no best format. It really comes down to cost. Sony’s PS3 (if you can find one) is also a Blu-ray player, and Microsoft’s Xbox 360 has an add-on that will allow one to play regular HD-DVDs. When you add them up, both cost the same (about $600), although, for $200, you can by the Xbox HD-DVD add-on and, with a USB and some technical ingenuity, connect it to your computer.


XBox 360 has an external HD-DVD drive available.

My advice is to wait. Just be patient. And before you even consider an HD-DVD format, it’s more important to choose an HD-TV. Next Christmas will see the real HD-DVD format battle when more and more people actually have HD televisions in which to view them. So, go ahead and buy that HD-TV (as long as it’s larger than 40” it’s well worth it) and, if you buy DVDs frequently, get those combo discs to build your library. That’s what I’m going to do.

Gore gone.

Chris_Gore is an author, a filmmaker, the creator of Film Threat, and happens to own an XBox 360 with an HD-DVD drive.