Halo and GTA in New Controversy?

Two of the biggest videogame series of all time get tangled in fresh legal and censorship gossip.

Microsoft is suffering a legal attack from a packaging company, and the special Collectors' Edition tin box for the smash-hit Xbox game, Halo 2, is at the centre of the controversy.

The illustrious Redmond, Washington-based company was reportedly given details of a flat-book packaging concept developed by Scandinavian firm, Glud and Marstrand. As Microsoft looked around for quotes, it's claimed that it may have let details slip to a rival packaging firm. Arguably, it's not the ideal position to be in after the resounding success of the Xbox title..

In related Halo 2 news, it now appears that a popular movie website made something of an error recently, reporting that Uwe Boll has been signed up to direct. Boll's credits include the contemptible House of the Dead flick, Alone in the Dark starring Christian Slater, and the soon-to-release Bloodrayne epic, starring Kristanna Loken. Being quizzed on the message boards of Halo developer Bungie's website, one inside source shot the report down quicker than Master Chief could headshot a grunt. So it seems we could still see a great Halo film after all.

Meanwhile, Rockstar has taken the opportunity to announce that the next console version of Grand Theft Auto - set to debut exclusively on PlayStation 3 - will feature the most realistic style of graphics the series has ever seen. However, whole the Scottish developer's claims are not in doubt, one concern is that the phenomenally successful series could prove to be even more controversial than previous instalments, because of the new, ultra-stylised graphics.

Could it be possible that going hyper-realistic with the violent series will lead to the biggest complaints yet seen by the publisher? Could next-gen GTA even miss the shelves altogether, because of its realistic, mature content? It's unlikely of course. But perhaps America's Walmart chain will avoid stocking it - while selling real guns at the other end of the shop.

Daniel Boutros
Contributor, Kikizo Games