Halo PSP underway, underground

by James Ransom-Wiley { Mar 1st 2006 at 2:00PM }

Homebrew enthusiast, PSPdemon, is attempting the impossible: bring Microsoft's Halo franchise to Sony's PSP. This ambitious creation is actually a mod of the popular multiplayer app, Iris. If and when the Halo PSP mod is released, it will be a relatively basic four-player deathmatch game. Still, it's an exciting revelation for supporters of the homebrew scene.

[Thanks, craig]

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Edgar @ Mar 1st 2006 2:08PM

Its just not the same when its not made by Bungie, or even on a console.

Sure you can make a game look like Halo.

But that doesn't mean it feels like it.

Thomas Crymes @ Mar 1st 2006 2:28PM

Crates! Crates! As far as the eye can see, crates!

How could it NOT be good?

jCsickZ @ Mar 1st 2006 2:34PM

halo, third person, with one thumbstick? count me OUT

wonderflex @ Mar 1st 2006 2:34PM

#1 - It may not be made by Bungie, nor "feel" exactly the same as the true Halo series, but that doesn't mean that it can't still captivate a person like the initial game can.

Rather you despise Halo as I do, or not, you can't deny that the game has a fan base. A living, breathing, monster, of a fan base. Many will say it's the only reason they even own an Xbox. Now this PSP adaptation of the series only further shows the amazing pull that the game has.

Other games have grown in popularity as to where they've been modded over onto other platforms. Look at Golden Eye for the N64. We have people working day and night to put out full game conversions of Half Life and Unreal Tournament, just so we can relieve the feeling on a system that is more convenient, and up to date. Sure, it may not feel exactly the same, but it can still be amazing fun.

As far as the fact that it's not made by Bungie is concerned, this actually isn't a problem at all. Look at the homebrew Mario Adventure that Joystiq showed us back on the 13th. That game is fantastic, and not connected to Nintendo in any way, yet still keeps their spirit alive. Nintendo layed the groundwork, the community played the heck out of it, and the author gave it a facelift while still keeping us in our comfort zone.

So, rather than putting the game down, maybe we should instead hope that they are able to pull of a similar move, and give us something new abd inviting, while still staying true to the Halo core.

slow news day @ Mar 1st 2006 3:00PM

I can just picture the lawsuit already...

BlackYoshi @ Mar 1st 2006 3:16PM

Yeah, these fan mods using copyrighted character can easily get shut down. I remember Nintendo was not too happy about the OoT mod for Halo on the PC.

mercatfat @ Mar 1st 2006 3:21PM

Pretention much, wonderflex?

the the difference between the Mario game you mentioned and a mod like this is the engine. Halo has quirks that a mod of iris can't possibly capture. The Mario one, on the other hand, used the Mario 3 engine itself. hard to beat that.

the difference between this mod and the mods you mention is that the control scheme is so limiting on a PSP. the Goldeneye mods, and others like them, give you a whole keyboard of controls for basically unlimited customizibility to you.

this is simply a graphics mod like Super Noah's Ark. just because it plays on Wolfenstein doesn't make it a better experience than actually building an ark and carrying the animals onto it.

plus, wooden crates? work in progress or not, who are they kidding?

by all means, though, i wish them the best of luck.

Spamalot @ Mar 1st 2006 3:22PM

As long as it has squatting, it can't be that bad...

--
Spamalot
www.squatsquat.com

SuicideNinja @ Mar 1st 2006 3:48PM

I must say that anything Halo belongs far far away from anything having the misfortune of bearing the Playstation brand. I applaud the effort that will be put into this though.

To make it the most acceptable, it should be setup so the guns are PSPs that fire UMDs (just like it real life!). Master Chief could even throw PS2s for grenades. Then I would have no qualms.

wonderflex @ Mar 1st 2006 4:10PM

#7 - tueshey (sp?)

Zaetha @ Mar 1st 2006 4:20PM

Is running on RIN, based on Quake 1 and 2. Now, RIN is something amazing that must be acclaimed. But somebody just throw a md2 of Master Chief on the original RIN (that can be easily loaded as Quake 2, but with limitations) and gets on Joystiq's frontpage and then digged. Nothing original at all. Nothing to see here.

Kye @ Mar 1st 2006 4:58PM

Master chief congratulations. You killed every last one of the Covenant. Destroyed the flood and even eliminated a few races of aliens that had nothing to do with us in anyway whatsoever.

Now that the war is over we have a great job lined up for you!

You see those crates over there... we'd like you to move them over here. Then when your done you can put them back over there... After that you can move them...

duder @ Mar 1st 2006 5:08PM

i played the quake version LMAO TOTALLY UNPLAYABLE. psp is a joke.

mercatfat @ Mar 1st 2006 5:17PM

perhaps the ark of the covenant is in one of the crates?

bad pun/obscure reference?

Kye @ Mar 1st 2006 5:17PM

*for some reason Kye thinks that this is a competition for (that word that means thinking up text) the caption*

1. Alright blue team we seem have a new map here. The mission is to... errr... break as many crates as you can in 10 minutes. Ok, everyone got on their safety gloves and goggles? Alright! Those splinters can be a bastard to get out.

2. (spoiler) After dying at the end of Halo 3, having liberated the earth, by himself... with a rusty spoon and a bit of cardboard. Master chief goes to hell. (Well, he did kill millions of aliens and even the odd marine who was silly enough to pick up the shot gun/sniper rifle he had his eye on)... But only hell isn't all brimstone, burning baby sh*t and Adam Sandler movies like that crazy guy in town keeps screaming. No. Hell is an endless maze of boxes with stuff in em. Some boxes have in missing Cukoos. Some have in pizza. The rest golden coins/rings, health packs, more ammo and even a level-up token or two. Your task - to break all the boxes... only thing is they re-spawn soon after breaking!

:-s

3. What's that?... The government says we aren't allowed to use weapons in games anymore?! We have to beat the enemy how!!?... hide and seek!?

... it's been a long day... and I need a hug... just humor me even if it's obvious.

*he wearily does his star-dance*

:-/

rico @ Mar 1st 2006 6:48PM

well u cant do halo on the psp, but if looks like halo and plays same as ghost recons 3rd person style then count me in.

Kamalot @ Mar 1st 2006 10:55PM

A game for the PSP I actually almost want to play...

S.O.G. @ Mar 1st 2006 11:24PM

Everyone hatin' on this mod just needs to shut-up. If you don't like Halo, then ignore this and move on. This mod is for people who love halo, or who just want to see something new on their screen. Sure, boxes aren't on the xbox versions, but heck...make em' purple and we'll have no problems with that, right? And who cares about it being 3rd person, modders have been trying to make Halo 1/PC/2 3rd person forever, and when they succeded they were praised not booed.

Just keep in mind that it isn't supposed to be 100% accurate. It's a MOD. So stop complaining, and start suporting it.

Keep up the good work dude.

:)

jadenguy @ Mar 2nd 2006 3:32AM

interestingly, this mod actually contains more story than the game from which it is modeled. BURN.
seriously, halo's achievement is not in terms of technical mastery, but in affordable fps multiplayer on the net and in person. for that i laud the series.
and about this mod, it's just a chance to perpetuate a fiction made popular by that great multiplayer experience.
what amazes me is how many great multiplayer games didn't bring people together like halo. i still love you simpsons the arcade game!

PSmonkey @ Mar 2nd 2006 8:50AM

Hi,

I am the author of Iris and I just wanted to post a few points.

This halo mod is running off of a homebrew 3d engine I developed for the psp called Iris. Its a simple 3rd person shooter based on quake 3 bsp trees. The character models are quake 2 md2 models (currently in the process of replacing with quake 3 md4 models so I can do skeletal animation & ragdoll).

What the author is doing is not a walk in the park because my engine at the current time is on the limited side (it was originaly just ment as a platform for me to learn 3d engine coding). He took a remade halo model for half life, converted it & reanimated by hand the whole thing to work in the md2 format.

The crates on the other hand are because he only retextured a map that was included in my original game. The map was developed by a quake moder called MGFox who did a pretty snazzy job.

Anyways take it easy on the author, he is a one man army modifying a limited homebrew engine. He is not a full on development team or studio working on some huge licensed engine.

If you wish to get more info on the homebrew project Iris. You can check out my main site http://nemo.dcemu.co.uk

- PSmonkey

Evil Inside @ Mar 2nd 2006 11:40AM

PSMonkey has done some amazing work on Iris and PSPDemon's mod looks pretty good.

I can't wait for the full version of Iris.

Zaetha @ Mar 2nd 2006 1:39PM

Now that I reviewed all his work, I recognize his hard work. Any effort to bring quality homebrew to the PSP should be recognized as positive... and in a cautious way, 'cause we don't need more more of the typical drama on the PSP scene... Props to the modder and congratulations.

QWERTY @ Mar 2nd 2006 2:00PM

Here's an idea.... Why not do something original?

People who do mods using someone elses characters are only doing it to take advantage of the popularity of the character and cover up how bad the MOD otherwise is. Just look at all the Halo fans defending this...

billy humphries @ Mar 5th 2006 7:58AM

that halo looks so crap
i mean u can copy halo its a one and only
sony are right idiots xbox n xbox 360 are the only console halo will be for
i mean whats with the crates!!!!!!!!!!

poleeko @ Mar 6th 2006 10:38PM

Ok It looks nice and all

But i sware thats a level from the first doom.
like, i remember that behind a crate is a switch that unlocks a berserk box thing.

S.O.G. @ Mar 29th 2006 3:23AM

Lmao poleeko, I was thinking the exact same thing.

(To 23 and 24)
True, Halo is being used to make the mod more appealing, but the work required to make it and the work required to make an original mod are close to the same. And 24, did you know that Halo wasn't originally designed for the xbox? Than means that it was originally going to be on something different that an xbox. Nothing is wrong with making a mod based on a popular title, the purpose of the mod isn't necesarily to steal halo's fame, but probably to spread it's greatness. Remember, this is a work in progress, so don't complain about it. And if you make the boxes purple everything will be alright!

:)