Gameplanet, in New Zealand, has more info about the winners of the Halo 2 competition in NZ last weekend (we mentioned it Sunday) – turns out the top 2 players are headed to Sydney, not just the top player.

Wow. One of these days, I need to pay attention to our rules; they’re set up for a reason. When we automated our Links section, we got over a hundred submissions in the first few days – we set up a rule saying ‘no more front-page mentions for new sites’ because we didn’t want the front page to be nothing but new site mentions. Yesterday, we got email asking us to front-page 2old2play, a splinter group of the Geezer Gamers. I declined – but was sent a series of emails over the course of the afternoon, hounding me to reconsider. So this morning, mostly to make the emails stop, I did. Now I’m getting emails from folks who stayed in the original Geezer Gamers, telling me that the split was pretty unfriendly, that the information we posted wasn’t true, and that we needed to set the record straight on the slander. Let this post stand as notice that never again will we EVER post news about a new site, unless there is content that WE believe warrants a post. NO exceptions. Don’t ask – because it won’t happen. I refuse to participate in he-said, she-said games.

Almost 2 weeks ago, Alan James sent us new pictures of his under-construction Master Chief Suit – this time, it’s arm (or leg?) pieces. Apologies for taking so long to get them up… check ’em out, and follow along with the progress!

AiDcomics has seen a niche, and decided to fill it. They’re offering hosting for Halo-based comics (that meet their guidelines). If you pen a Halo-based comic, but have trouble finding a home for it… these guys can help you out. Read the news post on the main page for details!

bitterbanana has gotten a Spectator Chasecam working in HaloCE; you can see a short video of it (AVI format, 3.7 mb) in action on the Gearbox forums. Still a bit jerky… but it’s early yet. Thanks, MasterGrief.

Fozma points out an interview with Alex Seropian about Stubbs the Zombie, Wideload’s Halo-engined game, in the May issue of Edge magazine. My copy hasn’t arrived yet, so I can’t discuss it… but hey, Edge is good stuff!

13 new pieces (stories and poems) in the Fan Fiction section since Monday. Go read!

Another interview up over at MLGPro.com – this one with GandhiTheGreat, a jock by day, a video game geek at night. Go read about the Gandhi Hop! Thanks, James Schneider.

trigger119 wrote to say that a new trailer for The Avenger has been posted at halomachinima.com, in the Action/Drama section. (This is probably a good time to point out that the Movies section of that site has been rearranged by category, to make films easier to find.) The trailer is pretty short, and makes no sense to me… but it could just be that I’m missing my coffee or something. MPEG-1 format, 12.8 mb.

The latest in the series of Narc’s Retorts is up over at Rampancy.net – Narcogen takes American society to task for suggesting that violence is equivalent to sex in the context of ‘things that are bad for our kids’. (This is also the subject of a sizeable thread on our forum, as well – both the thread and Narc’s retort stem from the PC Mag piece on the subject of game ratings posted yesterday.)

Phan7om posted a note on our forum about last night’s Halo Humpday Challenge; he knows about it because he played in it. (This week, the High Impact Halo admins and forum mods took on Bungie – and lost.) Bungie’s writeup isn’t posted yet – but Phan7om’s forum post contains links to all three games. Hard to hide stuff around here!

It’s amazing how easy it is for things to get away from you. Last week, we put up a gallery for the Halo-related art of Bryn Casey. The same day, his brother posted on our forum, with a NEW picture… and I’m just now getting around to adding it to the gallery. Time… it’s an eel. Covered in vaseline. Go look – as Bryn says, it was originally painted with acrylics on an 18×24 canvas… pretty cool stuff.

HALOChat posted a bunch of links to the Cyberathlete Professional League – seems they’re moving to a 4v4 format for their Halo 2 tourney, instead of the original 5v5. Many more details, including location and date, can be found in the forum post.

Nick points out a new update about Prometheus, the multi-version editor in development. A bunch of questions answered (mostly bringing expectations back into line with reality), a set of new screenshots. Go look!

Mjolnir14 points out a thread on the FileFront forums about a project starting up to create a Halo mod for Star Wars Battlefront. If this is your cup of tea, go see if you can help!

The Codex Episode 9 – ‘Remembrance’ – has been released. QuickTime only right now, but other formats are on the way. Emotional. (Great filming, as usual.) Thanks, StickyHelljumper.

Wow – a comic that’s been dormant for months, Adventures in Disaster, has put up episode 17… poor MC. Thanks, Boxer.

So you thought that the one thing that older gamers had over younger ones was maturity? You thought wrong. Seems that the Geezer Gamers clan, the first Halo 2 clan devoted to gamers who worry more about their kids than they do about their allowance, has been letting in much younger members, which has offended the REAL ‘older crowd’ – a rift has occurred, with a new faction, 2old2play, heading off and forming their own clan. Membership is restricted to 25 and older, and the website will have a whole bunch of cool features like video tutorials and private clan forums. And a special nap area, maybe. Thanks, Dave Friesen.

Ross Mills points out a Halo 3 reference in today’s Penny Arcade. Let’s see Bungie try and wiggle out of THIS one!

Another product of the Movie Peer Review Rating System – Nighthawk 117’s Soldiers in the Sky is a tribute to the ODSTs. A great example of HUDless filming (if you have Action Replay, you might want to check this thread out at High Impact Halo – thanks, Dry Ice), it ties solo gameplay pretty nicely to a classic Johnny Horton song. Stirring. You can find it in WMP9 format (640×480, 18.5 mb) at either mythica.org or bungie.org, or in QuickTime format (640×480, 19.1 mb at bungie.org or mythica.org. Our reviewers are chomping at the bit – if you’ve got video that you want the masses to see, visit the MPRRS!