Not exactly Halo news… but it’s near and dear to the hearts of many of our readers. Looks like there WILL be a Bungie-built movie… but it’s not Halo. Trading on Halo’s buzz factor, Bungie’s convinced new studio BraneDamage to create ‘Pimps at Sea: Avast Me Bitches’, and shooting will begin in August. (There’ll be an Xbox2 title released sometime in 2006.) Full details at 1UP.com. Thanks, master chiefie.

Phoenix_9286 posted Page 9 of his Last Stand comic last night – you can find links to all previous comics on this page, now.

Followup on yesterday’s Expansion Pack artwork tidbit – Marc from Halo Universe got word from the press agency that the artwork ISN’T final. (So yes, Tom, in this case ‘FPO’ DOES mean ‘For Placeholding Only’.) Bottom line – we still don’t know what the box will look like. (That WAS a nice pic, though…)

HBO Clan news – lots of it, it seems. c0ld vengeance has decided that he doesn’t have what it takes to be clan overlord for the HBO Helljumpers, and has stepped down, turning over the reins of power to BOLL. (The Helljumpers website has been hacked by the same folks who took over the forum for a short time a couple of weeks ago.) The HBO Lekgolos have become the Lord British Shishkabobs – you gotta love that new logo. (Makes ‘We’ll Eat Your Bones’ take on a whole new meaning…) As far as I know, the Sentinels, the Spartans, and the Forerunners are just fine today.

Query Spree, a pretty slick stat-tracking program for Halo 2 XBL stats, has opened their flash stat signature to a ‘public beta’. Visit this page, follow the instructions. It’s very nice-looking – and Query Spree 1.1.3 will have even more stats to report. For new features in the flash signature, send email to El Bastard.

For all those who think that the love of a game like Halo can never lead to financial success (unless you’re a part of Microsoft)… take heart. Halo Babies has been contracted by Proctor and Gamble; the “buttsock marine” has become the logo of the newest line of Pampers. Check out all the details!

CVG has a story this morning about unlockable content on the upcoming expansion pack – the option to play several levels as a side-scroller. (You won’t be playing as the Master Chief, either – you’ll be playing as Mistriss Chiefette. Imagine taking on the Library with a handbag (a new weapon being created specifically for this purpose)! Go read.

New Calvin and Halo from Blackstar this week – man, did that hit home.

W00T! Subnova is back online, which is awesome news for them – but it also means our Fan Fiction section is back online. Sorry for the downtime!

MLGPro.com put up an article about the Halo 2 expansion pack – it’s a weird read. It jumps back and forth between acceptance of the existing price structure (with solid logic including acknowledgment that the majority of Halo 2 owners don’t have Live, and the reminder that if you choose to buy the maps rather than wait to get them free, you’ve ACCEPTED their cost) and annoyance/regret that the maps aren’t free NOW (because, you know, if you’re a competitive player, you’re FORCED to buy them when they come out – waiting for them is not really an option). There’s also a bizarre claim that since Bungie clearly sucks at playing the game (as evidenced by their Halo Humpday Challenge record), they “can’t possibly know the complete dynamics of any map they make.” (That one made my head spin.) Anyway, go read. Thanks, 3Suns.

The Codex Episode 7 has been released – ‘The Siege of Halo Base’ features the shotgun action of Jack Foster. It’s action-packed, and nicely filmed. Currently in QuickTime only, but DivX and WMP9 should be posted later today.

Bronzemage sends us a link to a forum working on a Halo mod for the space-sim Freelancer. This general Freelancer mod site has more info, as well. I poked around a little bit, but didn’t find any existing artwork – yet. Check it out if you want to help!

Oliver Stopienski, from Halo Orbit, points out that they’ve got an image that’s supposed to be the Halo 2 Multiplayer Map Pack cover; this is the same artwork that Bungie used for its news post about the expansion pack, so who knows? It might even be true. (It’s too small a picture to rule out a simple photoshop job, and there’s no mention (that I can understand) of the image’s providence in the Halo Orbit news item.) Update: Marc, of Halo Universe, confirms that this image comes from Microsoft’s German PR firm – seems like a good bet that it’s accurate! (No offense meant to the Halo Orbit folks – my skepticism comes from multiple fakes in the past – not from them, but on the internet in general.)

SkyLine asked us to point out Wild Card Production’s pair of Halo montages – lots of sniping. Hosting’s offsite, so what the heck. Wi1D CarD Montage 2 is 45.6 mb, MPEG 1 format (4:33 long). Wi1D CarD Montage 3 is 3:15 long, MPEG1 format, 32.5 mb.

Black Six points out a Halo 2 Sweepstakes at Gamestop – sign up to win a special edition Xbox, along with both Halo Xbox games. You must be a resident of the US, and a legal adult in your state of residence. You’ve got until April 13 to sign up!

mr smiley points out another hefty art update at Halo Babies. The Elite and The Assassin and Angel of Prayer were my two favorites, but check ’em all out!

Hehe – SuperSunny has figured out a way to bring the Halo 2 glow effect (light reflecting off the ground) to Halo CE. The innovation doesn’t stop! Thanks, MasterGrief.

Team Tabula Rasa has two new columns on Halo 2 strategy online – Furiont opens his ‘The Making of a Spartan‘ column with a recap of how he got started in all this, and Faewraith113 fires up his ‘Sententia per Antiquus‘ column with a piece called ‘Community of Electrons’, which looks at the growth and evolution of the gaming community over the past 20 or 30 years, and how Halo is helping to bring this to the next level. Go check ’em out!

Overswarm is almost ready to start posting his Strategy guides… but he realized that many of his pieces would be better if he had an artist working with him. If you’re interested in helping out, and have some talent, drop him an email!

Mat Noguchi was one of several Bungie employees to present talks at this year’s Game Developer’s Conference. He was kind enough to provide both the paper and the slides he used for the talk itself (with his notes attached). You can read the paper here, and view the slide show (minus a few real-time demos) here. It’s a pretty fascinating read!