Author: halo@bungie.org

Free Weights dropped by our forum with a tale of woe and holiday cheer – and some fine words to say about Ross Mills. Go read, and be buoyed.(Louis Wu 16:58:17 UTC)

AvatarAang let us know that the latest Inside Halo is now online – Halo news, a Top 5 list, and top plays of the… however long it’s been. Go watch.(Louis Wu 16:56:32 UTC)

Hawty McBloggy let us know that although she missed Friday again this week, you can still go by and participate in the latest round of Friday Caption Fun – answers for the last round are up, along with a VERY odd screenshot for this round. Go see what you can come up with! (Louis Wu…

A10M1C let us know that the ‘Tis the Season’ Screenshot contest kicked off at the Mindless Distortion blog last week is now over – and the winner has been announced. Swing by to see the details!(Louis Wu 16:43:53 UTC)

The Bungie Weekly Update is up way earlier than normal, but hey, when your whole update consists of cool concept art, it’s pretty straightforward to get it online. Go look at the ODST goodies! You can, as usual, do so in our own Weekly Update Archive, if you so choose.(Louis Wu 19:37:45 UTC)

NOKYARD, of High Speed Halo, wrote to say that the Pacifist Speed Run table is now online. These runs do not allow pulling triggers, grenades or melee of any kind – you might wonder what folks are doing not shooting in a first person SHOOTER, but hey, it IS the season of peace. Go read…

FireDragon04 let us know that he’s got a new Halo 3 machinima short up on YouTube. His description to me suggested that the video “follows a very confusing un-linear story and doesn’t explain anything but lets everyone take away their own conclusion to the video” – pretty accurate. Go see if you like it.(Louis Wu…

Nabsuh stopped into our forum with a pretty obscure teaser for his upcoming project – there’s enough there to whet your appetite, but not enough to really let you know what’s going on. (Isn’t that what a teaser is all about?) Go watch.(Louis Wu 18:19:04 UTC)

urk stopped in this morning to highlight a Bungie Christmas Tribute from a couple of fans – a fun Rube Goldberg construction on Avalanche. Check it out! (Louis Wu 17:15:24 UTC)

Kral, from Halo.fr, wrote to tell us about a new montage he’s edited, showing off gameplay by UFG Ninja SI – 3:33 long, available in HD format on YouTube. The music is a bit abrasive, but the editing is pretty good. Go watch!(Louis Wu 17:13:46 UTC)

Ross Mills pointed out an article on Kotaku about the upcoming helmets from McFarlane, for their Spartan figures. Adorable! (Louis Wu 17:13:26 UTC)

FyreWulff is offering a copy of Halo 3: ODST (clearly not to be given away for a while) in a raffle that you enter by playing a game on a custom map/gametype of his. Swing by his post for full details – you won’t find an easier way to get hold of this game! (Louis…

It’s Friday, so it’s time for another Fan Fiction update – even if Christmas makes it feel like the beginning of the week. Six new stories today – go read!(Louis Wu 17:08:12 UTC)

Just before Christmas, B.net’s Yoozel posted a note about Forgecast #5, the latest podcast from the ForgeHub team. Looks like Scotty (interviewed on the ‘cast) let our forum know this morning. Swing by and grab a copy!(Louis Wu 17:06:08 UTC)

LoneRanger 2.5 and Hellhawk were discussing a deal you can find on Xbox LIVE Marketplace – if you buy a 12-month LIVE subscription between December 23 and January 5, and pay for it online (that is, without a prepaid card), you get a free copy of the Legendary Map Pack. Not bad!(Louis Wu 17:05:30 UTC)

M E R R Y   C H R I S T M A S ! From the HBO crew and our families, to you and yours, we wish you the merriest of holiday seasons. Pax. We have a new Christmas Comic for you, from Stuntmutt… but other than that, we’re taking the day off. (We’ll be…

Torrent stopped in to announce that a public demo for his Halo: Out With a Whimper sidescrolling game is available for download – swing by and grab a copy! Forum response is quite positive.(Louis Wu 22:40:25 UTC)

mrsmiley let us know that the Halo Babies Happy Halodays Contest had 50+ entries for round 3… and the winner has been announced. You can also check out the rest of the entries in the round’s gallery. (Louis Wu 22:39:45 UTC)

pete_the_duck decided to try and see if he could predict what Orbital would look like in its entirety, based on the screenshots released yesterday. Check out his sketches – and see if you agree!(Louis Wu 14:56:05 UTC)

Over at NeoGAF, Stormtrooper30 pointed out a rumor that popped up on the Europe-Nintendo forums (heh) suggesting that in the next few months, Microsoft would begin patching original Xbox titles to retroactively add achievements. First on the supposed list? Halo: Combat Evolved. Before you get your hopes up, Luke Smith immediately chimed in with a…