Gah – nearly forgot. Joe Tung posted an interesting piece on the Reach Developer Blog last night – he discussed ‘Playtest 4’, a recent Campaign build of Reach that was tested by a few dozen outside people. Sounds like things are moving along well on that front!(Louis Wu 15:56:43 UTC)

Over at NOW Gamer, an interview with Crysis 2 writer Richard Morgan (known for some really fantastic novels) went live yesterday – he has some negative things to say about Halo’s characters. Interesting viewpoint – you can chime in with your own thoughts in the thread on our forum started by mattroe. (Louis Wu 15:39:41 UTC)

Want to get in on the Halo 2 action in these last few days, but not sure how to go about it? FyreWulff’s got your back. Swing by his Guide to the Last Days fo Halo 2, which shows you exactly how to re-download old maps you may not have any more, which gametypes are being played in which lists, what you should watch out for, and even some gametypes you shouldn’t miss. Great read!(Louis Wu 15:31:13 UTC)

Empire (a UK film magazine) put Frank O’Connor’s comments about a Halo movie to music – Beyonce’s Halo, to be precise. Nice! Thanks, MC_Leprechaun.(Louis Wu 15:29:59 UTC)

Otakon08Ikari let us know that he and a friend went to Tekkoshocon (an Anime convention in Pittsburgh), and wore some homemade Halo armor – check out the pics on the 405th. (Louis Wu 15:29:38 UTC)

Hawty McBloggy found a Halo fan who immortalized his gaining of Recon armor by tattooing the helmet on his chest. This is one Bungie can’t turn off…(Louis Wu 15:28:52 UTC)

NeoGAF’s BladedExpert (with some help from DualX) took a LOT of clips from HaloGAF members, mashed ’em together with some great Halo music, and turned out a 16 minute megamontage with some fantastic moments in it. You can watch it on YouTube, in two pieces (Part 1 | Part 2), or you can download it from us (720p, WMP9 format, 362 mb). Watching it makes me wish I could find time on Saturday nights to play with these guys…(Louis Wu 16:51:37 UTC)

In light of the fact that the last few days of Halo 2 online play are upon us, Eurogamer has published ‘Better Than Halo: The Making of Halo 2‘, a look back at the creation of the game. Bungie developers Jaime Griesemer, Joe Staten, Chris Butcher, Chris Carney and Brian Jarrard reminisce about the insanity that was Halo 2 development, and how it shaped the company into the far-better-functioning machine it is today. It’s a fascinating read, a look at the months leading up to the release of a truly blockbuster title – it could have ended so differently. Go read! Thanks, eddie m. (Louis Wu 16:23:31 UTC)

There are a few nice tidbits this weekend at Hawty McBloggy’s – she found a customized female mohawked Spartan on eBay (sold yesterday morning for $8.50), a reminder to play Halo 2 this week (that picture scares me), and instructions for a Super Happy Fun Time Kit from Grin + Bear It (I can see lots of shenanigans ensuing from this). Go play!(Louis Wu 16:22:56 UTC)

Co-Optimus is kicking off a ‘Collectible Night‘ – they’re teaming up with the Waypoint team this Friday night to ‘collect’ skulls, terminals, and audio logs in Halo 3 and ODST! Check out the page for details on how to participate.(Louis Wu 16:22:03 UTC)

Rampancy.net has posted the next episode of Anger, Sadness, and Envy, their podcast that looks at how Halo games play. Episode 13 looks at the first part of Halo 3: ODST, and features Narcogen, Blackstar, and Miguel Chavez. It’s 90 minutes long – go grab it! (I couldn’t make the in-page version play, but the download works just fine.) (Louis Wu 16:20:49 UTC)

Halochief89 stopped in to announce a Flash interface for his Halo Clairvoyance story; it’s not final, but it’s a start. Interesting!(Louis Wu 16:20:07 UTC)

}SoC{BrownSound noticed an article at Kotaku, in which a photoshop contest was egg-themed, for Easter… and our favorite super-soldier made the winner’s group. Nice work! (Louis Wu 16:19:45 UTC)