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!

More MLG news – MLG San Diego has been cancelled (they couldn’t find a venue), MLG Seattle moves to September, plus info on MLG St. Louis, MLG Philadelphia (Halo Nationals 2), MLG Vegas, and more. Go read!

El B has finished creating hi-quality vector versions of Bungie’s game medals for use in the stats program Query Spree (and other places, I’d imagine, now that they’re done) – pretty stuff!

synide asked that I remind people that the deadline for MLG’s Online League registration is today – but he asked me to post it yesterday. I forgot. If you’re intending to play in either the amateur or pro leagues, and your team isn’t signed up yet… do it now, or you’re not gonna be playing.

Today’s One One Se7en shows you the perils of the upcoming DLC… be careful out there.

ST started a Halo-related blog – this one devoted to his Halo 2 stats. His post ‘A look at H2 through the eyes of the mediocre player‘ is a rambling look at what it takes to find a ‘fun’ game.

There’s a fascinating article over at PC Magazine; a father, not really a video game player, discusses the ESRB rating system, and where it might be falling short. (One of his conclusions: “I’m sorry, but Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas should not have the same letter rating as Halo 2.”) Mostly, I saw exactly where he was coming from – but there are a few ideas that make me go “Huh?” (He believes that if you’re going to have a hero like the Master Chief in a game, you should not allow him the free will to kill his fellow soldiers.) Anyway – worth a read, for anyone who has a stake in the rating system – this means parents, kids who need to rely on their parents to approve games, and anyone else who needs a way to judge content without having to play it all.