Gaming news roundup: Is it Halo or goodbye?

Like a retired rock star who keeps on releasing albums, developer Bungie keeps on keeping on when it comes to keeping its ‘Halo’ franchise alive. After the mega-selling original trilogy came ‘Halo: ODST’ and the forthcoming spin-off, ‘Halo: Reach’, was expected to be the last hurrah. Not necessarily so, say the developers, who are refusing to speculate on whether this is the end, instead saying, “We’ll have to wait and see.” Sounds like we might be seeing more mêlées for a while yet.

Mario movie madness

Everyone likes Mario, right? Well, the good folk at Drcoolsex.com really, really like him, if their fantastically funny fan film is anything to go by. They’ve created a trailer for a ‘Mario Kart’ movie and it’s awash with booming voice-overs, luxuriant fake moustaches and enthusiastic Italian- American accents. The best bit? A tearful scene at Luigi’s hospital bed when he asks his brother if there’s racing in heaven. And when the winningly tarty Princess Peach introduces her son, baby Mario.

Snakes and property ladders

There are some games that really push the boundaries of what is entertaining and what is just everyday mundanity dressed up as fun. Avanquest’s ‘Build-a-Lot’ for the DS, to be released next month, is tiptoeing along that line. As a property developer, it’s up to players to build set numbers of homes, reach rental income targets and shmooze planning officers. All the fun of battling the recession, wrangling with tenants and having to speak to (virtual) estate agents with none of the potential gains of playing the property market. It sounds grim, not sim.