Everyone’s seen those ‘Get a free Xbox 360 with a free copy of Halo 3!’ ads popping up on websites – most of us realize that there ain’t no such thing as a free lunch. That doesn’t stop people from trying, though – and I read a writeup this morning that should help you decide whether following those links are a good idea for you, or not. The nasty part of the whole process is you have to commit to spending cash long before you are made aware of the full cost of the endeavor. If you decide, partway through (as the writer’s husband did) that it’s getting too rich for your blood… you can fold, but not without losing SOMETHING. Worth reading.(Louis Wu 14:19:41 UTC)

TTL Demag0gue told us that it’s Reclaimer Monday – Episode 57 looks at how Viper plans to get control of their base back.(Louis Wu 14:18:05 UTC)

The Halo Wars Monthly Update was posted on Friday (thanks to Omega for pointing it out yesterday – I feel behind, now). There’s info about the upcoming E3 show (and what will be seen there), info on the Cyclops unit, some strategy advice, and word that the screenshots archive is going to be updated soon. (Don’t forget the large screenshot collection posted recently by GamePro.com – and I hate to say it, but I totally missed the preview of the game that went along with those screens – thanks to Planet Halo for noticing that.)(Louis Wu 14:14:59 UTC)

Wow – this link was passed along to me tonight, and it’s one of the funniest vids I’ve seen in a while. A chunk of Halo footage makes it relevant – but I’d be recommending it anyway, even without the Halo connection. (Well, maybe not here, on HBO’s front page – but I’d be working to get the word out in other ways.) Go watch ‘The Website is Down: Sales Guy vs Web Dude‘ and laugh. (Minor NSFW elements.)(Louis Wu 00:15:22 UTC)

Ouch. The New York Times has an article about Metal Gear Solid 4, and the hidden political and philosophical messages that it might or might not contain. (That’s not the ‘ouch’ part.) In discussing the importance of these elements, one of the people interviewed, Leigh Alexander (an associate editor at Kotaku), contended that it’s those story elements that are critical to the MGS experience – and used Halo as a counterexample. (That’s the ‘ouch’ part.)

Metal Gear Solid, Ms. Alexander said, “has the characters and the narrative, the symbolism and the metaphors, and all of the lore that ties it together,” whereas Halo is popular “not because of any of its peripheral elements or anything else about it, other that you shoot people.”

I guess Ms. Alexander hasn’t spent a lot of time around these parts… (Louis Wu 13:48:33 UTC)

Omega pointed out that as of right now (the critical point was passed sometime late yesterday or early today), the number of kills in Halo 3’s campaign exceeds the population on our planet, right now. That’s a lot of killing!(Louis Wu 13:48:14 UTC)

Dave Candland, Halo’s lead UI designer (you might know him as Evil Otto), decided to try his hand at guest-stripping for Another Halo Comic Strip – the result is actually quite funny. If ZZoMBiE13 can get enough submissions that conform to his guidelines, a Sunday Guest strip will be a regular feature – but they have to be funny! See? If Dave can do it, you can do it.(Louis Wu 13:47:40 UTC)

Smurfa noticed that DigitalPh33r has posted Episode 9, Part 2 (Act 2) of ‘Deus Ex Machinima’ over at Machinima.com. Lots of action, no dialogue. Make sure you’re up on the story before you watch this.(Louis Wu 13:37:00 UTC)

Today’s edition of Another Halo Comic Strip is an interesting look at Finders Keepers…(Louis Wu 22:36:42 UTC)

The Halo 3 ‘Believe’ campaign continues to rack up advertising awards – the latest is a pair of Gran Prix Lions (Film and Integrated) won at the 55th International Advertising Festival in Cannes last night. Check sample writeups at Adweek and AdvertisingAge.(Louis Wu 20:15:39 UTC)

Hawty McBloggy has kicked off the Halo Corpse Alphabet, a rather macabre project aimed at reproducing the standard English alphabet in… well, dead Spartans. The news story shows off an example of an X. Go see what you can contribute!(Louis Wu 19:36:56 UTC)

Tyler sent word that Forecast the Series Episode 4 is now online – you can read about it on their website, or watch it on YouTube. Folks are getting pretty creative with the machinimatography! (On second thought, there’s not much to read – just go watch it.)(Louis Wu 19:36:10 UTC)

Inside Halo 18 has a really short recap of MLG San Diego, the top 5 plays of the week, and some machinima highlights – go watch! Thanks, Bob 116.(Louis Wu 16:55:19 UTC)

Heh – the Plumsted, NJ public library has discovered that you can attract a little-seen demographic (young adults) by hosting a Halo lanfest. (The article mentions that young MALE adults were brought in – but the picture accompanying the story shows a mixed audience.) The question is, are they checking out books before they leave?(Louis Wu 12:44:45 UTC)

News.com.au has a story about Supanova, a science fiction convention in Sydney, Australia this weekend. The picture gallery has a couple of nice shots of a fan’s Master Chief costume.(Louis Wu 12:44:19 UTC)

UNSC Trooper pointed out that the Fan Fic Pick of the Week is up over at the HBOFF forum. Go see what (ENS) Rabid_Gallagher came up with as the top few stories of the batch! (Louis Wu 12:43:42 UTC)

Last night, Bungie posted their Weekly Update (available, as always, in our Weekly Update Archive in addition to Bungie.net), and it contains a monster writeup of the Halo 3 Battle Rifle, and how it was designed to work. (This week saw a lot of discussion around the net about how the battle rifle is ‘broken’ – its bullet spread is too random at long range for many hardcore users. The explanation in the WU makes it clear that this is by design – and only affects the weapon at long range. Bungie wanted the BR to be used primarily as a mid-range weapon, with long-range tasks (like pinging a sniper to pull him out of scope, or finishing off an unshielded target), but without the ability to be used as a universal “I can kill anything on the map with this puppy, regardless of location” tool.) Past this very detailed writeup, there’s also information about the San Diego Comic Convention, mention of a couple of dates to keep track of, and a couple of gorgeous screenshots of Cold Storage (nee Chill Out). Large versions of the Cold Storage shots are available in Bungie’s Screenshot Gallery. Go read! It’s a good ‘un.(Louis Wu 10:38:03 UTC)