This week, our writers discuss Michael Fassbender’s role in the Assassin’s Creed movie, Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn, the lack of mod support for Battlefield 3, outrageous eShop prices, and the restoration mod for Knights of the Old Republic 2.

Let’s begin.

A Dangerous Method (By Brian Sipple)

It wouldn’t be Assassin’s Creed without more questions than answers; Ubisoft stayed true to form when it confirmed Michael Fassbender as the lead actor in the upcoming Assassin’s Creed movie: Will the Prometheus star robe up as Altair, Ezio, or Connor (or all three in a disorienting aggregation)? Will he fight Templars in the present as Desmond Miles, handing off the period acting to an unannounced supporting cast? Perhaps the role of a villain is better-tailored to his darkly dapper disposition?

Here’s one thing I do know: however Ubisoft and Fassbender (who will co-produce the picture with his company, DMC Film) decide to approach the project, they had better make it count. Video-game movies are still a tepid proposition within the green-lighting district of Hollywood. Blame — as Ubisoft and BioShock’s Ken Levine do — a misappropriation of creative control, but the interactive medium is starving for a breakout silver screen sensation. How many more can fail before the concept becomes taboo? (Don’t think Hollywood is important? Look at what film adaptations do for books on a perennial basis.)

That’s why Assassin’s Creed “the movie” is such a gamble with its trinity of talent, resources, and epic source material: If it succeeds, I wouldn’t be surprised to see a game-film renaissance, A-list suitors abound. But if it flops, a funeral — Prince of Persia, Doom, Max Payne and Hitman mournfully in attendance, Uwe Boll peeking from afar behind a pigeon-excremented headstone, raindrops no match for his tight-lipped smirk.

Hey, That’s Master Chief! (By Andrew Dyce)

For Fans of Halo, this week was Christmas come early. Not just because of the new looks at gameplay of Halo 4, or the announcement of an inevitable-but-awesome limited edition Halo 4 Xbox 360. No no, this week was a dream come true for fans of the franchise’s fiction. Fans who doubted that the best stories in the Halo universe would never be seen in live-action.

But Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn looks to change that. The first full trailer for the project showed just how large-scale Microsoft had gone with the series, calling on serious young talent to make the equivalent of a feature-length film. And with the set photos and in-depth plot summary, it became clear just how much inspiration the writers had taken from the Halo novels chronicling the early lives of John-117 and his fellow Spartans.

For those who have read them, the story of a Spartan soldier always begins with childhood. Ghosts of Onyx, The Fall of Reach, and even the newer Forerunner Saga novels all place combat, a fight for survival, and family alongside the maturation from adolescent to adulthood. If a Halo movie ever does get made, it’s likely to place armor and action over storytelling. But with Forward Unto Dawn, at least we’ll see one Halo story that goes beyond pyrotechnics.

DICE, Where’s the Mod Support? (By Rob Keyes)

Forcing Origin on PC players without any other option is one thing, releasing an incomplete game that needed extensive updates before being launch-ready is another. We’re talking about Battlefield 3 and to make up for all of this (and a crappy campaign and co-op mode) DICE and EA could have given back something to the community, something previous games in the series benefited from greatly: mods.

For a game with a beautiful engine, the replayability and viral marketing potential could be off the wall if DICE all and EA’s Origin platform allowed for user-made mods. Look at what the DayZ mod is doing for ARMA 2 sales, three years after launch. Players are buying the game in droves, just to get in on the incomplete, yet ambitious zombie-themed, user-made experience.

When Battlefield 4 comes out next fall, if DICE truly means it when they say they will continue to support BF3, open it up to the community so they can mod the game, add their own maps, weapons and vehicles. New franchise installments need to give more, not less.

When is it Time to Let Go? (By Kyle Matthews)

The modding community at ModDB has been buzzing with activity since the release of The Sith Lords Restored Content modification for Knights of the Old Republic II, sending it to the top of the most popular mods list. But when is it too late to continue updating older games, solely out of fan devotion?

There are still hundreds of modders and fans of various geriatric games out there – Doom, Quake, and Half-Life, to name a few. But after everything that has already been done, and all the effort put into keeping these games alive, sooner or later the level of interest will drop.. right?

It’s certainly a wonderful gesture of fan devotion and appreciation for developers’ hard work, there’s no question. And with a game like KOTOR II, which is still fairly relevant today, it’s easy keep interest high. But in today’s market, with so many additions to franchises – and new ones popping up all the time – will there be enough people to do older titles the service of keeping them alive and relevant to gamers today?

Just something to think about.

You’re Ninten-Doing It Wrong (By Riley Little)

When Nintendo first announced plans to make their first-party retail games available via the eShop, things began looking up for fans of the company. Finally it seemed as if the family-friendly Japan-based console manufacturer was making the appropriate steps to stay on par with their immediate competitors; now that the first big digital release is almost upon us, however, it’s becoming apparent that there are some holes in the Big N’s digital distribution strategy.

The biggest problem comes in the form of the price of titles on the eShop. Gamers will be able to pick up a copy of New Super Mario Bros. 2, this August 19th, at their local retailer for $39.99, but — despite a serious lack of manufacturing/shipping costs — those that choose the downloadable version will be paying the exact same price. Since Nintendo saves money when consumers buy digitally, they are more than capable of lowering the price — unfortunately, they refuse to do so.

If the house that Mario built is serious about stepping into the digital distribution front then they need to start making their products cheaper, because an extra 100 coins for Club Nintendo isn’t an enticing incentive.

Conclusion

That’s all for this week’s Game Ranter Banter. As always, let us know what you think of this week’s news in the comments, or on Twitter @GameRant and Facebook.com/GameRant.

If you have specific topics you’d like any of the team to cover, don’t hesitate to ask.