Halo on the DS?

Yes, I know what you’re thinking. “No way in hell.” And you’d be right, but just to put our curiousity at rest, let’s see what IGN editor Matt Casamassina has to say on the subject:

Once upon a time, a very smart publisher came up with a brilliant idea. It contacted Microsoft and got the ball rolling on a very unlikely project: Halo for Nintendo DS. Needless to say, there were many egos involved and unfortunately because of some issues that I won’t detail, the project was eventually cancelled. But not before it was completely up and running and fully playable. I know all his because I recently learned of the back-story and got a chance to play a leaked build of Halo on DS for myself.

Amazingly, the ill-fated DS version of the title plays remarkably well. Think Metroid Prime Hunters but with a Halo facelift. I had the opportunity to run through the beginning beach area and noted while playing that it looked like Xbox Halo except on DS, it was running fast, and the control was responsive. The trademark Halo music even played out of the tiny speakers of Nintendo’s handheld. It is really, truly a damned shame that certain publishers couldn’t make this happen because it would have undoubtedly been a huge hit and would have only furthered the popularity of DS and the Halo franchise.

That settles it. I rest my case … I have yet to see something the DS can’t do. Halo on the DS would certainly be possible (from a technical standpoint) if Microsoft and Nintendo set aside their … differences. (Not likely) Keep in mind, though; Rare develops games for the DS, and they’re owned by Microsoft. But Halo on the DS would mean asking for Mario on the 360. Yeah, not likely.

[Editor’s note: And I thought Halo on the PSP was cool.]

[Editor’s note 2: Do not use the term “Wii60” in the comments. I have a gun.]