Some fun video stuff today at Bungie.net:

• Magic is a group montage put together by Axilo – some nice multikills.
• Halo: Reach Beta Fails Episode 1 contains a bunch of funny clips – many of which have already been publicized this week.
• The Beginning is a Reach Beta montage from CJnEw001 – very heavy on the slow-mo.

Go watch!(Louis Wu 18:16:28 UTC)

Hawty McBloggy is back with another round of Friday Caption Fun – last week’s pic got some great captions, and this week’s pic is pure awesomeness in a can. (Well, a Boneyard.)(Louis Wu 17:49:37 UTC)

Rudefire is a US serviceman currently in Iraq. He can’t participate in the Reach Beta – but that doesn’t stop him from showing his Noble Team colors! Check out his custom insignia!(Louis Wu 17:28:26 UTC)

I noticed that Halo 3: ODST was NOT in the Top 5 Xbox 360 games sold for the week of May 13 (according to Gamasutra), so I went back a bit. Last week, ODST was #5, and the week before that it was #3. (There is no ‘Saling The World’ article for the week of April 23, and ODST is not on the April 16 list.) Not bad – at least two extra weeks in the Top 5 games sold in North America because of a free Beta test!(Louis Wu 15:19:25 UTC)

Hedgemony is getting into the Wallpaper game – cehck out his ode to the Assault Rifle. Love or hate the weapon, it’s hard to deny that the wallpaper rocks.(Louis Wu 15:04:55 UTC)

RVideo whipped up a really cool panorama from Boneyard – take a look! (He’s also posted a single-shot overhead view of the entire Boneyard gamespace – awesome for planning routes!)(Louis Wu 15:04:38 UTC)

Eep – we almost forgot! Yesterday was Thursday, so the Halo 3 Double XP Weekend Playlist went live… this week, it’s Rocket Race. Missing that glorious drive-and-shoot gametype? Take a break from the Reach Beta and go play! (Don’t forget to save any films you might want clips of before you do, though; each time you switch games, you clear that temp cache, and wipe out your ‘Recent History’.) (Louis Wu 15:02:05 UTC)

FyreWulff is back with another Firefight Friday challenge – this one’s called ‘Beta Zone’, and it takes place on Alpha Site. You’ve got two difficulty variants: Heroic… or Heroic with the Blind Skull. This is the last ‘Firefight Friday’ – he’s back next week, but it’ll be a Campaign challenge. Go play!(Louis Wu 14:59:08 UTC)

Hedgemony is offering to colorize your favorite Reach Beta screenshot, turning it into an interesting keepsake. Go check out his example (and the first request), and then drop your own screen in the queue!(Louis Wu 14:58:29 UTC)

AsiansOnFire started up a machinima series last year, for a senior project – didn’t get enough support from the community, so he only made the first episode. Go watch it – then decide if you want to help with a reboot effort! (Louis Wu 14:57:18 UTC)

Eight new pieces are up this week in the Fan Fiction section – go read!(Louis Wu 14:56:10 UTC)

Urban Reflex posted a short (2:39) tribute to Halo 2… light-hearted, yet poignant. Go watch action from his last night! (Louis Wu 14:54:48 UTC)

Morpheus stopped by with a bunch of vids from G4TV – a 50-minute Feedback episode focused on Reach, an ‘All Access’ preview of the Beta (this was clearly posted last month), and an ODST cameo in a small X-Play feature. Go watch!(Louis Wu 14:48:29 UTC)