Author: halo@bungie.org

And… that’s it for me today. PAX starts in a few hours, and it’s time to get moving! Enjoy your Friday, there are still some HBO folks on duty if you have news, I think. (We’ll certainly have a wrap-up article or two, but I’m not bringing a laptop to the show.) If you’re IN…

Tony ‘ubald’ Marcotte sent word of another new render he’s done – this one is a gorgeous shot of a ghost, riding off into a sunset. Go check it out in the gallery we’ve set up for him here!(Louis Wu 16:23:56 UTC)

Here’s one of the more unique uses of the Halo 3 lobby I’ve ever seen. TruthPastor SBG holds a pair of bible study classes on Monday nights, for his clan members (and anyone else interested) – obviously, only fifteen other people can participate in a single lobby at once, but in fact he’s run a…

Weta’s taking preorders on their Cortana Statue – $225 US, with the statue actually shipping 2nd quarter 2009. As an incentive for tying up your money for the next 6-9 months, they’re entering all preorders before September 30 into a drawing – win the drawing, and you might be flown down to Weta Studios and…

Eight new pieces are up for your reading pleasure in the Fan Fiction section today – go get ’em!(Louis Wu 15:14:58 UTC)

mattroe told us about a Halo 3 reference on the Australian comedy program Rove. I KNEW there were extras Bungie didn’t tell us about!(Louis Wu 11:11:13 UTC)

Kido Badtower stopped by to announce his machinima series ‘Willingly Insane’ – he’s already created 9 episodes of Season 1, and 4 episodes of Season 2, but he’s remaking the Season 1 vids. All eps are hosted at YouTube. Go see what you think!(Louis Wu 11:08:52 UTC)

Okay, so back in February, we posted a news bit about one of our readers who speculated that an announcement by Gearbox’s Randy Pitchford was Halo-related; his original post is no longer available on his website, but Archive.org has a copy. This info was updated, sort of, in May – but nothing really materialized. Well,…

Topless Robot (relatively safe for work, despite the name) has put up a ‘Top 10 Sexiest Action Figures Ever Made’ – and a certain naked-and-glowing female AI from the Halo series made it to #3 on the list. Thanks, xupaosso.(Louis Wu 17:06:36 UTC)

Bryan Simon wrote an ode to Bungie and Halo 3 – you can find it on YouTube. Fan love rocks! Go watch!(Louis Wu 16:58:45 UTC)

TTL Demag0gue has posted today’s episode of Reclaimer – Episode 81 shows Viper trying to shut down the virus in the slipspace array. Sometimes things don’t go as planned…(Louis Wu 11:26:02 UTC)

Hawty McBloggy has a followup to last week’s love triangle amongst Cortana, a Big Daddy, and a Hunter – as well as a new piece of Fan Art devoted to your favorite blue AI. Check it out!(Louis Wu 11:21:55 UTC)

The Treeskunk crew has put together Outpost: Isil Episode 9 – Full Frontal. You have to wonder how the two teams actually still have living members left 9 episodes in… lots of death and destruction here. You can download it in a lot of different formats, or watch it streaming (in a lot of different…

Last night, Bungie released a brand-new podcast – it’s a monster 80-minute piece of work full of jokes, interviews, and bears. Paul Russell is the special guest, Shishka discusses the playlist changes coming up next month, and security expert Jerome Simpson comes by for a mini-interview. Shishka puts up with ribbing from Sketch and Luke,…

Wow, very cool – last Saturday, Eagle 117 SBG got married (to another member of the SBG clan, Patience SBG) down in Louisiana… and the groom’s cake showed off their Halo love! (pic one | pic two). Congratulations, guys! (And thanks to TruthPastor SBG for the heads-up.)(Louis Wu 11:25:04 UTC)

Hawty McBloggy found a ‘Top 10 Halo 3 Exerminations’ video on YouTube – quality is aweful, but the gameplay’s pretty nice. Number four, especially – totally clutch play. (There are way more htan 10 here – the honorable mentions start about halfway through the film.)(Louis Wu 11:17:06 UTC)

Over at the Rooster Teeth website, Red vs Blue: Reconstruction Chapter 12 has been released – things take a pretty serious turn. (Don’t worry, there’s plenty of comedy.) I’m loving this more with every episode. Looks like elpolloguapo was first with the heads-up.(Louis Wu 10:41:08 UTC)

Over at NeoGAF, Kibbles pointed out a YouTube video containing footage of a fan-made mod of Crysis, showing off Blood Gulch. The environment itself is gorgeous. The gameplay… I wasn’t so impressed with. You can discuss this on our forum in this thread.(Louis Wu 10:40:08 UTC)

The Halo Wars website points you towards a developer diary written by Bill Jackson, one of Ensemble’s crew at the Leipzig Games Convention in Germany – it can give you a sense of how those guys are spending a typical day at the convention, and how Halo Wars is being received. (While you’re there, you…

El Mayimbe has posted the fourth of five pieces of concept art for the spec’d Fall of Reach movie – a battle scene at the climax of the film. Go check it out!(Louis Wu 21:39:33 UTC)