MLG Atlanta has wrapped up, and you can find info at both MLGPro.com (full bracket info is here) and Team3D.net (roundup, focusing on Team3D of course, is here – thanks, FI3ND). Congrats to Ogre2, who took the FFA tourney, and Team3D, who dominated the 4v4 race.

We don’t normally keep track of the ups and downs of Halo-related websites around the net… but The Library was a pretty formidable resource that has been offline for quite some time. It’s back – thanks Psyrixx!

The third and last segment of Crossfire’s Hell Quarters, ‘Blood Spilled Redemption’, passed the MPRRS this afternoon – you can grab it in WMP9 format (61.6 mb) or QuickTime format (64.3 mb). Dark and moody, this segment uses music powerfully to keep the atmosphere mysterious, and to keep you guessing until the end. Very, very nice work – and evidence that voice acting is not an absolute necessity for a great film.

A couple of days ago, Atsumi posted a link to a LiveJournal entry with some comparison shots of Halo playing on an Xbox and a 360. Even though the Xbox shots were taken through an S-Video connection and the 360 shots were taken through standard composite video cables, you can see the improvements in color, saturation, and sharpness. The 360 DEFINITELY makes Halo look better – and the better your hardware, the more you’ll see the effect. (I forgot to mention this until I saw a response to the thread this morning.) Update: Bandwidth ran out on the pics the first time around. Atsumi has replaced those links with a new batch – but they could go, as well. I’ve mirrored the images themselves in this forum post; you should still visit the original page for her commentary, but if you can’t see the pics there, follow my mirror.

Rico’s House of Halo has been a part of the Halo scene for a long time – we first mentioned them almost 4 years ago, when the Battle of the Bay went off. (The original Rocket Dance video, much copied, came from that fest.) In today’s Napa Valley Register, they’re in the news again – helping to put a positive face on gaming. Way to go, guys!

Ed Chipman points out an article at Xbox365 that might just save your sanity, if you’ve got an Xbox360 and you’re having trouble playing Halo 2 online. Apparently, the ability to play Xbox games on live on a 360 is NOT the default setup, and the toggle isn’t the easiest thing to find.

Z writes to point out Titan VIII’s Montage 4 (there was a preview back in September, but this is the finished product). Production value is quite high; great syncing between music and action, and some really nice editing work. The cuts are a bit too fast for my taste (it’s really hard to actually APPRECIATE some of the killtaculars because they’re gone so fast), but reaction at Halo2Forum has been pretty positive. 104 mb, WMP9 format. Go watch!

3Suns has been scouring the MLGPro.com website for content – and has found a bunch of articles that haven’t been mentioned here, and, in fact, are very difficult to navigate to through MLG’s site… so you may have missed them. The current Player of the Week is Karma – but past spotlights have focused on Ogre 2 (which we mentioned, actually), Gh057ayame, and Captain Anarchy. There’s also a blog of the week – the current one, Captain Sparrow, contains some fun stuff, including a 3-part look at the MLG Office. Go catch up! (And while you’re there, check out the VoD coverage of MLG Atlanta, going on now.)

Mintz writes to point out a bunch of new content at Halo: Portable – articles from MLGPro.com, Bungie.net, Gamertag Radio, and even Mintz’s own story of getting an Xbox360 (originally posted on our forum). You’ll also find a nice pack of Edgen’s Halo MP3s, for when you’d rather use your ears than your eyes. Go grab some Halo stuff for your PSP today!

UNSCDF points out some Halo Trading Cards being created by Zertuche and friends – you can find them on the original site (it’s Freewebs, so it’s likely going to be down after this announcement) or on UNSCDF’s site.

GotFrag has put up a story about MLG Atlanta, otherwise known as Halo50k4, which kicked off last night – an interesting question; if Team3D, which steamrolled over the competition in Singapore at the World Cyber Games, doesn’t win here this weekend, what will it say about international competitors… and about competitions in general? Go read.

There’s a new Halo Babies strip up at Halobabies.net – a look at one of the real hazards of Thanksgiving. While you’re there, check out the Halo Babies store – HB gear and goodies. (That framed print ROCKS.)

Bungie recently agreed not to remove the Big Team Battle playlist, even though it’s the least-played playlist up. Stuntmutt puts his own twist on the situation in today’s One One Se7en.

Eight new stories in the Fan Fiction section today – go read!

The JumpTactics guys have affiliated with Halo2forum.com for hosting – you can grab their latest piece from there now (WMP9 format, 91 mb). JumpTactics Mix 1 contains the work of a large number of jumpers, familiar names, and not so familiar. Some of the jumps are simply astounding – all the way across Lockout, or all the way across Colossus, or from the lower sniper spawn to the top of the sniper tower on Ascension… you’ve got to see these.

This seems to be a movie day – I guess you should settle in for some real watching. Next up is a movie that was announced at High Impact Halo a week ago; some folks loved it, some didn’t. ‘Rise of the Elites Episode 2’ was submitted to the MPRRS, and failed – by the slimmest of margins. Those reviewers have been failing EVERYTHING lately, though, so I’m inclined to cut the film a little slack… I grabbed a copy and watched. It’s quite long (nearly 20 minutes), and an awful lot of work has been put into it. Cinematography is quite good. The plot is a little weak, and a few parts are slow… but overall, it’s well done, and worth watching. (Although some reviewers didn’t like the fact that all voices were done by the same person, I have to say that the voices are understandable and clear, which forgives a LOT of sins.) WMP9 version is 45.2 mb, QuickTime version is 44.1 mb. Get out the popcorn!

AnubisUK sends word that The Squadron, Episode 11 has been posted on their website. Because of bandwidth issues, they’re looking for a new home – and for that reason aren’t interested in hosting QuickTime versions until after the move, it seems, so you can grab the QT from us (27.8 mb). (WMP9 is available from their site.) Humans are still on the run, though Durge is called on the carpet for how long it’s taking to exterminate them. Go watch; this series continues to evolve, and filmmaking qualities are quite good.

Yesterday, while I was stuffing myself past all rationality, Ducain sent me a link to this newspost at High Impact Halo – SneakyPete has recreated a classic Halo trick… with s7yle. 3 Warthogs, a Banshee, and the Master Chief on top of the lightbridge tower… in single player. To keep you from having to deal with Putfile or Picapic (and to offer QuickTime users an alternative), we’re hosting both the original hi-res WMP9 (20.2 mb) and a re-encoded QuickTime (19.9 mb). This one’s pretty nice!

Yesterday’s User Friendly webcomic was vaguely Halo-related – if you don’t read the strip, go back a few for this to make more sense. Thanks, SteelGaribaldi.

This submission (47K) blew me away – this plasma sword letter opener was made by Paul S., by hand. His words:

Made by hand from 2mm anodised aluminium, about 150mm long and partly polished for a two-tone look. The handle design was modified for two-finger use (held between finger & thumb) and the inner edges of the blades are sharpened to cut through envelopes, although not too sharp, as it apparently got used as a hairclip on occasion. I still have the template if anyone wants to make one for themselves.

(This was uploaded to us about a month ago – I sincerely apologize for the delay.) Paul – if you’re reading this, we’d LOVE to host the template.