MtM9157 sent us links to a couple of movies – they have nothing in common but their maker, but they’re both fun to watch. Gears of Halo Theft Auto 5 is just a ridiculous concept for a game (that would probably make a fortune if it actually existed), and Lost World is… just strange. It vacillates between great melding of live video and Halo footage and utterly bizarre dance sequences. And stuff. Both of these are older – but we haven’t highlighted them before, so maybe you haven’t seen them either. Check ’em out!(Louis Wu 04:28:02 UTC)

Heh – for those who feel that Bungie’s limits on Rank (Grade 4? pfft) are too hobbling, HaloCharts has cranked up the options – to Grade 7. Or even higher! Swing by this page for details on these expanded ranks. Thanks, Pete Venkman.(Louis Wu 04:26:13 UTC)

The Bungie Weekly Update is full of Mythic goodness – wait, is that a surprise? It shouldn’t be – their public release is the news of the week. Good stuff in there; highlights of cool fan maps, answers to frequently-asked questions, reminders of cool freebies, and more. Go read! (If you’re not happy reading it on Bungie.net, read it in our Weekly Update Archive.)(Louis Wu 01:31:09 UTC)

Jake108 pointed out the next episode in Geekscape’s Teabag Prevention Presents series – it’s all about how to suck less at the Ghost. Go learn how to fight WITH them… and AGAINST them. Good tips in here!(Louis Wu 01:30:37 UTC)

So last night, Bungie and Joystiq met in an epic battle of wits. I say wits, because fighting skill had nothing to do with winning. Bungie, unhappy with the way that Joystiq seemed to be stacking the deck, decided to do a little stacking of their own. Forge, apparently, can be used for more than good. Go read about the shenanigans over at Bungie.net – and pray you never get on their bad side.(Louis Wu 23:26:05 UTC)

Joystiq’s got some charts compiled from data provided by GamerDNA showing how Halo 3 and Halo Wars players fit in to the overall Halo fan pool. I’m not sure I understand the graphs; for example, the first graph shows that 17% of all Halo franchise players played Halo Wars, and 82% of those (14/17) played both games… but the second graph says that about 95% of Halo Wars players also played Halo 3. Maybe you’ll have better luck understanding it than I do – they’re certainly pretty.(Louis Wu 20:23:03 UTC)

If you’re an Xbox LIVE member with a Silver (free) account, you might be interested to learn that this weekend is a Free Halo 3 weekend – all accounts, Gold AND Silver, can play online! This situation is active until Monday, April 13, at 12 pm ET – so get going and play some Halo 3 for nothin’! Thanks to KP, who is putting in an overtime request for the extra work he had to do to nail down this info. Update: Looks like Ranked playlists are not included. Social and Double XP (and customs) only! (Still a nice deal…)(Louis Wu 19:02:21 UTC)

NOKYARD created a custom Grifball arena… in Sandbox’s Sky Bubble. Gameplay gets the added twist of ‘leave the arena, you die’. Go watch some video over at Grifball Hub, courtesy of LBCountry.(Louis Wu 18:41:30 UTC)

IGN has put together an article that contains everything they know so far about Halo 3: ODST. Nice summary of existing info! Thanks to Gilver for the heads-up.(Louis Wu 18:39:24 UTC)

Dave Kramer sent word that BusyGamerNews.com is giving away two Emerald City ComiCon swag bags, each with a different Halo art print signed by Bungie 3D artist and weapon designer Tom Doyle. You can’t beat THAT with a stick! (There’s a truckload of other stuff in each bag – but it’s the Halo artwork that made it relevant here.)(Louis Wu 18:13:51 UTC)

Just a reminder – today’s the day for the Red vs Blue Community Playdate. (We first mentioned this a couple of weeks ago, but if your schedule looks anything like mine, that was ancient history.) The Rooster Teeth crew will be online and playing Halo 3 between 9 and 11, Eastern time… look for ’em and join ’em! Thanks, KP.(Louis Wu 18:10:15 UTC)

jdars has been talking to folks who do great things with Halo 3 screenshots – and has gathered these talks into a new feature we’re hosting here. Aesthetic Artist Interviews is a collection of discussions with folks who know how to get the most out of Halo 3’s visual treasure trove. Swing by and read the first of these – COL0NEL SANDERS talks about what got him into the Screenshot business, along with some of his techniques, and a gallery of his best work. Enjoy!(Louis Wu 17:29:04 UTC)