Wondering what’s to come of the Halo franchise now that Bungie is no longer developing games for the series? Don’t be afraid. The franchise is in good hands, I write in today’s Georgia Straight.

Halo: Reach, released in September, is the final Halo game developed by series creator Bungie Studios, but fans should be heartened by the fact that Josh Holmes is one of those tasked with overseeing the franchise as it moves forward. The Vancouver native is the studio creative director for 343 Industries, the Microsoft Game Studios unit formed to coordinate all things Halo.

In this week’s Georgia Straight is my review of the adventure game, Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom, which was somewhat overshadowed by bigger publicity campaigns last fall, but is one of the best games of 2010.

There’s a dearth of adventure games that are suitable for the preteen set. Too many either lack the narrative sophistication necessary for older kids or are designed specifically for mature audiences. Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom, on the other hand, is perfect.

I let my computer rest for most of the holiday break, which is why I’m only now writing about a story that published on December 20.

In that edition of the Georgia Straight was my round-up of some games for Windows Phone 7 that were available at launch.

Microsoft is betting that Windows Phone 7, released this fall, will help it make gains in the vital mobile market. Like Google’s Android, WP7 isn’t a device but an operating system. By designing WP7 to integrate with gamers’ Xbox Live accounts, the software giant is hoping to get a leg up on its competitors.

Vancouver Observer TV asked me to speak with them for a story they were working on about last-minute shopping at the Apple Store in downtown Vancouver’s Pacific Centre mall.

Just before Christmas, CBC Television News Vancouver asked me to talk with them about the importance of backing up the information that’s on our computers. With hard drives as cheap as they are these days, you can have multiple backups so you don’t have to worry about losing any of those precious digital memories like wedding photos and videos of your child’s first step.