ODST.net has put up a promo vid for their upcoming Summer League – you can find a link in this forum post. (Hehe – clever way to release a montage vid.) 11.2 mb, WMP9 format.

Rockslider continues his long-term investigation into Halo, with a couple of suggestions for fun on Truth and Reconciliation. Good stuff!

Bloodmoon Studios is working on a new machinima project called ‘A Day at the Races’ – you can find the trailer for it on their website, or at That Weasel Television. The full movie (about 4 racers who have to deal with each other, as well as an evil villain) is coming soon. Check it out!

Many, many people emailed us about yesterday’s VG Cats comic – a new look at an old taunt. looks like Target4Hire was first.

Wow. So a couple of months ago, the rumor making the rounds was that a Halo script was being written for the big screen by Alex Garland, who wrote The Beach and 28 Days Later. And then we heard nothing. Until today. Defamer has a piece that says that couriers dressed up in Master Chief armor have been bringing the script around to all the major studios to be read (and bid on) today. If we get word on how this turns out, we’ll be sure to let you know. Update: Looks like it didn’t go over so well… an updated blog entry at Defamer suggests that the script… well, is not so good. Thanks, Anton P. Nym.

Remember that series of articles on CBS Gamecore, written by William Vitka, in which the various viewpoints about videogame violence were put on display? Looks like 1UP.com is following suit – a few months later. Same guy on the ‘ban ’em’ side (Jack Thompson, a lawyer looking to sue the gaming industry for murders he says are attributable to Grand Theft Auto), and another familiar name on the ‘games can be good for you’ side (Henry Jenkins, who’s been involved in the debate for quite some time). It’s a good read. And while you’re on the subject, check out this article at the New Hampshire Union Leader, found by Wiggum – an interesting viewpoint that suggests that the legislation banning sale of M-rated games to minors might be, in fact, the impetus that spurs more of these sales.

2old2type Radio (a subsidiary of 2old2play) has released their second weekly episode as a podcast – it covers site info, as well as upcoming tournament news, the new consoles, and how upcoming games will affect Halo 2’s success. Check it out!

A couple of months ago, we mentioned the Video Games Live Concert – a celebration of game music. At the time, there was just one show scheduled, in LA, on July 6. The tour continues to fill out – there’s now an August 11 date in Atlanta, GA. (Check back at their website regularly for more info.) And the good news for Halo fans – Marty O’Donnell will be in LA for that opening show! Get your tickets now.

Nicholas Singer, a professional composer who studied at Oxford and the National Film School, is looking for single-player Halo mods that need original music. You can hear some samples of his work in the forum post – I’d say anyone who picked him up would be doing pretty well!

In early May, Raz0r_117 submitted his movie, entitled ‘A Day In Halo And Halo 2’, to our Movie Peer Review Rating System. It didn’t pass – although reviewers liked the diversity of the montage, they thought parts were repetitive, and the quality of the video was pretty low – but Raz0r found hosting for this at That Weasel Television. You can go watch it there! (If you disagree with our reviewers’ opinions, speak out on our forum.)

Today, in the Halo Cutscene Library, you’ll find the Two Betrayals cutscenes – the Chief gets his eyes opened. The hard way. Go watch!

There’s an interesting read over at Pitchfork Media, a music review site. John Cage’s Xbox looks at game audio as an up-and-coming genre, attracting more big-name composers – and the problems that come with the mixing of worlds (in this case, movies and games). I’m really surprised Marty O’Donnell and the Halo audio crew aren’t mentioned here… but it’s a good read nonetheless. (Halo DOES get a one-line mention, justifying the article’s on-topicness here.) Thanks, Ashes.

Thanks to our own Count Zero for submitting another level transcript – Gravemind is now available in the Halo Story Page navbar. As more levels come in, we’ll be adding them!

Stuntmutt speculates about Halo 3 in today’s One One Se7en. You ask me, though, that last balloon sounds more like J Allard than Frankie…

kapowaz pointed out a writeup of a Halo PC match between the HBO Helljumpers and his own Helljumpers (not affiliated with HBO). Looks like the HBO team got their butts kicked pretty bad… it’s an entertaining writeup.

Sector 7 is putting together a machinima series, called Squad 7. The promo for the series (51 seconds long, QT format, 8 mb) is available on their website. Thanks, JPOGDNA

Thanks to Peptuck, who submitted Level Transcripts for both The Arbiter and Oracle. The Arbiter is now online – Oracle should be soon. (Apparently, a number of other levels are in progress, thanks to fan response to mnemesis’ call for help last week.) Remember: these are works in progress; if you come across a mistake, PLEASE send us a note; we’ll fix it. (Update: Gravemind is also up, thanks to Count Zero. Thanks, Count! -mnem)

Two new cutscenes added to the Halo Cutscene Library today – The Library is now documented. Go grab ’em!

Anelf3 submitted an audio recording of a piano recital he performed a couple of weeks ago – his subject material was the Halo theme (figured out on his own, rather than read from published material). The MP3 is 2.7 mb, and just under 3 minutes long. Give it a listen!

Fifteen new pieces for you in the Fan Fiction section today. A quick note – one of these pieces is an analysis of in-game relationships – it belongs in the Halo Story section, rather than the Fan Fiction section. I let this one go, because up until now there hasn’t been a rule against them (I didn’t think one was needed) – but if others choose to use the Fan Fiction section to submit story speculation, we’ll be rejecting the entries. Thanks.