Red vs Blue has posted Episode 55, Defusing the Situation, for sponsors (it’ll be up for the public this Friday). Andy (their newest character) gets angry, Griff gets shafted. Donut WANTS to – never mind. Thanks to Dewmazz for noticing.

A few days ago, Major Hit submitted his ‘Fog of War’ trailer to our Movie Peer Review Rating System – it failed, but for unacceptable reasons. (One of the judges didn’t have the proper codec to see the original file, and instead of simply passing on the review, proceeded to slam it pretty hard.) We’ve re-encoded it to QuickTime (12.8 mb) and WMP9 (13.5 mb) formats – go watch! This one looks to have potential.

For folks keeping up on the official Microsoft Halo-related press releases, this is the one for Monday’s map release. Thanks, Ted! Update: Marc Friedrichs, of Halo Universe, points out that the German press release contains the following additions:

• In Europe the Expansion Pack will be released on July 1, 2005
• All maps will be available free via Xbox Live on August 30, 2005

The freebie date is worldwide, not just Europe.

Hmm… there’s a thread over on the Xbox Addict forums suggesting that the new maps have already begun showing up in the matchmaking playlists. I’m a bit skeptical, given that 1) Turf (the map mentioned) isn’t even free, meaning that many XBL users won’t have it, 2) Bungie said it wasn’t happening yet (though that was some time ago), and 3) there’s no mention I can find on OTHER forums, at this point. You never know, though. Check it out! (If we get more info – confirming or denying – we’ll be sure to pass it on.) Thanks, SKooT. Update: Poboonru points out a game played yesterday that seems to suggest that Turf is, indeed, part of the Team Slayer playlist. Update 2: my bad – that game is full of the folks who said they’ve found a way to hack matchmaking. This almost certainly isn’t something your average player can participate in. Sorry. (Thanks to the many, many people who pointed this out.) Update 3: Official word from Bungie on this issue: the maps have NOT been released into current playlists yet (still slated for May 5), and the only people playing them this way are hacking – they’re currently sifting the database for violators; anyone found participating in these games will be permanently banned from XBL Halo 2 Matchmaking and use of Bungie.net web services. Don’t do it, folks – it’s not worth it.

A while ago, we mentioned a European Halo tournament promoted by Xbox.com – looks like the US is finally getting in on the action, thanks to Gamestop. Thanks to many who wrote about this – looks like 3Suns was first.

w00tness continues to include Halo in its episodes; Monday’s comic contains a major battle scene with many, many recognizable ship types – including Covenant cruisers. Thanks, XB-70.

Bob W points out an interview with Adam Baldwin and Nathan Fillion over at Ain’t It Cool News. These guys are in a movie called Serenity, slated for release in September – the only reason this is Halo-newsworthy is because Nathan is pretty obsessed with the game, and mentions it half a dozen times during the interview. Oddness…

Geezer Gamers has posted a mini-review of the new maps; bottom line, they like ’em. Thanks, 3Suns.

Looks like the Halo Story page got an update – Finn’s been poring over the mailbag, and found some choice nuggets. Lots of speculation about old stuff…

Mike Miller’s Halo 2 Legendary Walkthrough continues to grow with High Charity – it’s dark, it’s messy, he gets through it fast. Seven vids, to help you through the rough parts. Say goodbye to the Master Chief!

Over on GameTrailers.com, you’ll find 4 new Halo movies – gameplay vids of the four new maps. Two of them are in ‘HD’ (640×480), the other two are 480×360. A nice addition to the GameSpot/IGN/GameInformer gameplay vids released recently. Thanks, Christian Andersen.

ThatWeasel points out that the website is up for the 2005 Rockets on Prisoner Awards – a fan-driven awards ceremony celebrating the best films of the year. Go check out the details, and leave your feedback!

Red vs Blue has released a special Map Pack Day video – it’s available in Hi-res for sponsors, lo-res for everyone else. Mom jokes, strategic planning, and footage of all four new maps – all in a single day! Thanks to PsychoJoe for the heads-up.

Jumping’s all the rage these days – and if you’re into it, there’s some amazing stuff out there. Jump Tactics just released Episode III – Headlong last night; the zip file (which actually contains a couple of vids, and a nice piano piece) is almost 114 mb, and available as a BitTorrent download. (The link above leads to a press release posted on our forum.) And though it was originally posted a week ago at High Impact Halo, I never pointed out Broncho and Friends’ Jumping Vid here because the server load from the HIH folks was high enough (we served over 200 GB of the film on its first day of release). It seems to have died down a bit, though, so if you haven’t seen it, grab this one, too. That’s a lot of jumping footage – go see what you can use on the new maps! (Turf seems BUILT for jumpsters.)

Exactly one year ago today, a fan project that took on a life of its own kicked off. By the time it was done, some folks were clapping, others were shaking their fists – but all agreed it had made a mark on the fan community. Its mastermind just popped up for cake.

There seem to be a number of questions folks have about the new Downloadable Content, and what’s covered (and NOT covered) when you buy it. Major Nelson, Director of Programming for Xbox Live, has posted a DLC FAQ over on the Xbox.com forums (free registration required to see it). There are a number of questions and answers (and he’ll be updating as needed) – but the big stuff boils down to the fact that downloadable content is tied to an Xbox, not a gamertag or a Live account. If you have 5 Xboxes, you need to buy the content 5 times. (Alternatively, you can wait until June 28th, and buy the DVD – once.) If your Xbox dies, and you need to replace it – you lose all downloaded content. And so on. Go read the FAQ for more info. Thanks, CYBRFRK.

Didn’t take long… the first egg in the new maps was actually found before they went live (on Turf, you’ll find two cola machines; one with a rooster, the other with teeth) – but now that the maps have been released, a slightly less obvious one has been pinned down. Walshicus on our own forum, and A Random Hero on the High Impact Halo forums, both noticed a face in the Halo overhanging Containment – both thought it might be Frankie, but it sure looks to me like Chris Carney. (Thanks to A Random Hero for the screenshot from the level.)

The Freelancer Halo mod folks need help with pictures (in-game or fan art) of Covenant and UNSC starships (not fighters). If you’ve got something that will work, drop by.

Eep – moved ’em, but forgot to mention ’em. 11 new stories in the Fan Fiction section today. Go read!

Bungie has said that the new (free) downloadable map Containment is the largest yet available for Halo 2 multiplay. Stuntmutt agrees – check today’s One One Se7en.