Here’s the Fan Fiction that’s built up over the last 24 hours:

• Wings of Death, part 3, by el_halo_diablo
• UNSC Long Range Rifle Group, part 3, by Blindside
• Shadows of Archon II, part 13, by Wado
• Into the Ranks: Points of View Told, by David Beale
• Prince of Shadows, part 1, by Mercforhire
• Project-Halo, part 2, by SpikeDaDragon

Go read it before there’s more!

Team Overkill, a Staten Island Halo clan, is planning a Halo LAN fest on September 22nd. These guys are good; if you’re within driving distance, it’ll be worth the trip. You can read more about it on their Seventh Column chapter site. (We don’t normally post small lanfest notices like this… but this is one I’d love to make myself (I can’t, unfortunately; that weekend is fully booked) – these guys put on a good show. 🙂 )

Microsoft is learning the hard way that coordinating data releases across multiple sources is nearly impossible these days. A few days ago, the cover of the French MOX (Official Xbox Magazine) was leaked on the internet… then pulled less than 24 hours later under MS pressure. The damage was done, though, and early versions of this tantalizing new Halo 2 content were out there. Today, two new leaks have occurred – BOLL received (over a week early) a copy of the Swedish magazine Super Play containing new pictures… and davex5647 found some online scans of this month’s Edge magazine, also out almost a week ahead of schedule. There are new enemies, new vehicles… possibly new weapons to come. (The full Edge article isn’t online anywhere yet – and it’s unclear if it WILL be.) We don’t condone the posting of copyrighted print material before it’s actually off the shelves… but the fact remains, it’s out there; Microsoft’s careful plan to have all magazines with this info be released on the same day (September 17) lies in tatters on the floor, stomped on by the near-instantaneous information transfer capabilities of the internet.

Matt Soell points out that the Halo Rumor Control database (linked prominently from our FAQ) has been updated. He was spefically talking about information about Halo on Xbox Live (it is not, and will not be, supported – though Halo 2 will contain Xbox Live support) – but there’s also information about the Halo 2 release date (there isn’t one) and the issue of the Halo 2 footage being too good to be in-engine (it is in-engine, not prerendered). When in doubt, go to the source!

As a followup to last week’s ‘Making of the Halo Trailer, Part 1‘, Bungie has posted ‘Part 2‘ at their Tru7h and Reconciliation site. It’s a pretty amazing read, if you’ve ever wondered what goes on behind the scenes, soundwise. Beyond the electronic magic, there were 35 live musicians involved in what you hear, including Jay Weinland playing oboe and english horn, and Marty O’Donnell and his wife joining 12 others for the choir singing. Go read it – and then see if you can find a Dolby 5.1 version of the trailer that works for you.

Friday’s Fan Fiction:

• Viper Squadron Chapter 1, by Havok
• The Shadows – Part 6, by Glenny
• UNSC Long Range Rifle Group – Base Camp, by Blindside

Nice small batch, today…

Phil Howlett writes to point out that the OXM UK cover DVD number 8 (July? August?) contains some pretty interesting warthog jump footage – apparently, there’s a jump onto a pair of covenant dropships (sequentially, of course). Unfortunately, we have no access to this disc – if anyone reading this subscribes to OXM UK and would like to send in the footage, we’d be happy to host it. Thanks!

Drunkgamers.com is getting ramped up for a series of gameplay videos known as ‘Red vs. Blue: The Blood Gulch Chronicles’. To whet your appetite, they’ve created a 2-minute-long trailer for the upcoming films – it’s available as a 30 mb DivX-encoded .avi, or (with some compromises) as a 10 mb QuickTime 5 video. It’s pretty funny… but be warned – language is PG, at least. If bandwidth gets tight, we’ll jump in with a mirror or two. (This was released last week, hours before the Halo 2 video. We held off then to keep it from getting buried… and then spaced completely on getting back to it.)

Seems Microsoft has requested that Halo Game remove the MOX October cover from their site. (Sort of silly, if you ask me – it’ll be on newsstands in 5 days.) If you missed it yesterday, there’s always next week… (Thanks to Roger Wilco for the heads-up.

Thursday’s Fan Fiction:

• Wings of Death, part 2, by el_halo_diablo
• Banserki’s Journal, part 9, by Sarge
• Titan, part 6, by Jaywhit10
• Shadows of Archon II, part 12, by Wado
• A New Breed, Chapters 1.1 – 1.2, by Geshtu
• Revolution, part 7, by Gruntkiller

Only 24 more hours till the next update!

Okay, this is just plain disturbed. I’m thinkin’… the next time I go to Altoona, PA, I’m bringing a dog with me. A BIG dog. With sharp teeth.

In the hopes of fending off a (continuation of the) flood of composite pictures, I’d like to ask that people not send us images of famous (or even not-famous) heads pasted onto the MC’s (or any OTHER Halo character’s) body; we just don’t have the bandwidth to host stuff like this. You’re welcome to put pics like this up in free webspace somewhere, and link to it on our forum… we’re not trying to stifle your creativity, just conserve our own resources. Thanks for understanding.

Guh. There are some guys who want to build a Mjolnir Mark VI suit. Not a model of the suit – not a wearable mockup… but the real deal. (Well, aside from the stuff like muscle augmentors and neural hookups, I guess.) Somehow, they’ve come up with a parts list for this, with a pricelist on this parts list of $500-1000. (No specifics, though.) They’re asking anyone who wants to contribute to visit their site and send them money. Mmm…. money.

Petitions, petitions… B-go points out another one; this time, it’s aimed at letting Bungie know that there’s a mass (currently 5, but they’re hoping for more signature) of under-18’s who really want to be able to participate in a national Halo tournament. (I’d be astounded if Bungie didn’t already know that – but they’re aiming to show just how much interest there is.) If you’re under 18, and you want to add your name to the list, visit the petition site. (One thing to keep in mind: Halo is rated Mature – so if you’re under 17, you’re not even really supposed to be playing it. Bungie – and Microsoft – would have a pretty hard time justifying the efforts of setting up a tournament that only 17-year-olds could legitimately compete in…)

Halo Game has posted the cover of the October 2002 issue of the French MOX (the Official Xbox Magazine) – the issue should be on the stands in less than a week. Nice artwork! (Thanks to cubanB, who noticed it first on a few message boards.)

Today’s Fan Fiction offerings:

• ROUND-THINGIE: Combat Devolved, by Matt Anderson
• HELLJUMPERS chapters 6-7 and chapter 8, by Havok
• UNSC Long Range Rifle Group – Assembly, by Blindside
• The Shadows, part 5, by Glenny
• Shadows of Archon II, part 11, by Wado
• English Coursework, by Ross Mills

Get to it.

New desktop image from Jerry H. Find it in our Wallpaper section.

Thomas Bottrill points out an online petition , UK4HALO, calling for a UK Halo tournament. If you’re a UK resident, and want to make a statement about the need for a tournament along the lines of the Halo National Championship here in the US, drop by and sign the petition.

Its lack of useability was getting on my nerves… so the Screenshots Database has been overhauled. It’s also been brought up to date. Feel free to browse through it, and if you run across any glitches or anomalies… please, let us know. I can’t fix it if I don’t know it’s broken. There are shots here you won’t find linked ANYWHERE else – and that’s a promise. 🙂

Worth a read.