What If ... There Was A Microsoft All-Stars Fighting Game?

Okay, we admit it. We're jealous. Sony just announced a fancy Super Smash Bros.-style fighting game for PlayStation 3 (PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale), and now we want something similar for Xbox 360. Of course, while Sony and Nintendo have a ton of exclusive characters that work perfectly in that sort of game, Microsoft doesn't have a lot of exclusives to draw characters from. At least, that is what we thought at first. Here are our early picks for who we'd want in a Microsoft-themed All-Stars fighting game.

Halo Series -

• Master Chief - Obvious. He is everything good about Xbox.
• Cortana - Why would she have a physical body? Who cares!
• ODST Trooper - We suppose you could use one or all of the Halo Reach spartans, but they'd probably play just like Master Chief. A Halo 3: ODST Trooper will bring a totally different style.
• Arbiter - Either the Arbiter or just a generic Elite would be interesting.
• Grunt - Imagine a short little Grunt flipping out and fighting like Yoda. Sounds awesome.

Gears of War Series -

• Marcus Fenix - Obvious.
• Dom Santiago - Alternate costume where he cries a lot.
• Augustus Cole - Screams "Cole Train, whooooo!" after every combo.
• Anya Stroud - Cause it would be a sausage fest otherwise.
• Carmine - Any one will do ...

Other Characters -

• Alan Wake (Alan Wake series) - Gets all hipster mad when someone interrupts him while he's on his laptop at Starbucks and enters fighting tournament for revenge. Or something. Oh, and his stage will be dark.
• Joanna Dark (Perfect Dark - One of the few characters Microsoft actually let Rare bring to Xbox 360.
• The Stig (Forza Motorsport) - Top Gear has been a part of both Forza 3 and Forza 4, so why not invite The Stig to try his hands at a little Fight Club.
• Commander Shepard (Mass Effect series) - Yeah, Mass Effect isn't an Xbox 360 exclusive anymore, but we'll always consider the Xbox 360 its real console home.
• Banjo and Kazooie (Banjo Kazooie series) - They were in a racing game with Sonic and SEGA characters. Why the heck not include them here.
• Conker (Conker Live & Reloaded) - Only if he drinks and swears.
• Gunstringer (The Gunstringer) - Star of the best Kinect game deserves a spot.
• Crackdown Agent (Crackdown series) - Basically made to star in a fighting game. These guys are B.A. Baracus.
• Player Avatar - Yeah, you can already play a terrible Indie game with playable Avatars. How about using them in a game that isn't awful?
• Killer Instinct Characters - Take your pick. Maybe Spinal, Orchid, and Fulgore as they are the most easily recognizable.
• Viva Pinata Characters (Viva Pinata series)- 1-2 of the most popular pinata species along with Dastardos or Professor Pester.

Please note that this game is not actually in development, and likely will never be. This is just our way of having fun with a "What If" scenario.