IGN Xbox has put up a shortened version of the intro movie – if 40 megs is too large for you, you can grab the first 40 seconds (it’s only 1.6 megs) of it here. The rest of the films are in their Insider section – you need to pay to get ’em.

A handful of desktop images came our way recently – two more from Enforcer (variations on a theme) and one from [SE]Eye_of_the_Tiger. You can find ’em in our Wallpaper section.

Rampancy.net is stating that Halo is currently being certified, and unless a major problem pops up, it should be certified as Gold Master. So: stick a fork in it – it’s done.

Holy mother of… Looks like the whole first level (and more!) has just been made available by Gamespot. 9 movies, a total of 115 megs if you grab the mpegs… I (obviously) haven’t had time to watch ’em all… but the first couple are jaw-dropping enough. Bad news – Cortana’s still the same voice as was used at E3, so those that didn’t like her there will still not like her. Geez – stop reading and DOWNLOAD! (A huge shout out to Draikin for the heads-up.) Update for those who don’t want spoilers: The first movie (the biggest) contains the opening sequence of Halo – the Pillar of Autumn entering the Halo system. (You’ll see this first thing when you play the game.) The second through the fourth are gameplay sequences from the first level. The fifth is a cutscene – banter between Cortana and Master Chief, and the decision to abandon the Pillar of Autumn. The next two are more gameplay sequences on the ship. The last pair show splitscreen coop play on the Halo itself, but have very little action in them. They’re good for a look at what splitscreen coop might feel like (green arrows over your partner’s head, etc). On the page, they’re listed from newest to oldest… so ‘the last pair’, for example, refers to Movie 17 and 18.

Nice snag by Narcogen over at Rampancy.net – seems the FAQ that’s up now at xbox.com is ruling out Xbox output to monitors:

Can the Xbox hook up to a Computer Monitor?

The Xbox video game system is intended for use with television sets. This focus allows gamers to enjoy the superior visual and sound capacity of high-definition and high-resolution television sets.

Ouch – that’s a 180 from their old promise of VGA output…

Never let ’em tell you Vector only writes one-liners. Though he’s brief on the forum, his fiction’s a little… meatier. His latest offering, the fourth installment of the Hawk Chronicles (it’s really Chapter 2b, but who’s checking?), can be found in our Fan Fiction section. Pull up a chair and get to it!

Thanks to Harry Al-Shakarchi, who noted that Halo has a good showing on the official WindowsMedia.com Media Guide – it’s number 2 in the showcase (after WWF, of all things), and in the top position just to the left of that list (in both low and high-bandwidth versions). In fact – it’s the only game in both sections! Not bad…

As reported by every Xbox site under the sun, the news out of Cannes yesterday was that the European Xbox release will be on March 14, 2002, and it will retail for 479 euros (about $435, at today’s rates). Games will run 69 euros (about $63). Ouch!

Bob’s in trouble… go read Chapter 13 of the Hermes Trismegistus saga in our Fan Fiction section. Don’t forget to let Tursas know what you think!

Bounty, of Battleground: Halo, learned a bit about diurnal transitions in Halo from Matt Soell today – apparently, there won’t be any situations where you can see the change. Hmm… guess that means that sunset scene mentioned in Xboxweb’s preview is gonna be pretty short… Swing by BGH to read the full quote.

Got a burning question to ask Marty O’Donnell? Stop by TeamXbox’s forums and add it to this thread – apparently, the webmaster of Score Central will be conducting that interview next week, and is happy to pass along fan questions. Just remember… don’t ask Marty how old he is.

An interesting little elucidation about level design, from Bungie’s Tyson Green, aka Ferrex (Dead). Bigger levels are better, right? Not always… sometimes, spending more of your finite development resources on making smaller levels cooler is more advantageous than creating huge, boring levels. Nice insight! Check the details (and throw in your own two cents) on our forum.

Wow – a wallpaper bonanza. Enforcer has uploaded no fewer than seven new images, in two major themes. I’ve grouped them, since they’re so similar – you’ll find descriptions of the variations on the main page for each theme. Just go visit our Wallpaper section and it’ll be made clear.

Thanks to a random, 6-month-old thread on the IGN Xbox forum, a new tidbit has come to light – in an interview that IGN Xbox did with John Howard and Joe Staten in April, Joe mentioned a multiplayer mode we haven’t heard of before:

I just got done whupping arse in a game of split-screen “Slayer” with some programmer chumps (it’s all about over-charging the Covenant Plasma Rifle btw), and I can assure you Halo multiplayer is alive and well and definitely a part of the final product.

Slayer… hmm. Wonder how we all missed that when the interview was first noticed?

Thanks to Uriel, who pointed out on the forum that dom, an artist for Megatokyo, has posted an Xbox/GameCube rant. (Scroll down the page to the area below the comic – look for dom’s column.) After reaming the controller, and running down some of the good and bad stuff he saw recently, he hit on Halo:

Finally, the little aliens in Halo may just be the most fun bastards to shoot in a while.Ê They give you such crap when you die (“Not so tough NOW, are ya?”) that you can’t wait to respawn and pop a few more of them so they start scattering and screaming “Run!ʉt’s him!”.Ê When Cortana buys himself an Xbox for DoA3 and Halo, I’ll spend some time with Halo.

Someone with issues, certainly… but a fun read nonetheless.

Narcogen, over at Rampancy.net, noticed an interview with Ed Fries and (Japanese Xbox division manager) Yutaka Haruki at Coremagazine.com. Fries believes that the Japanese will embrace Halo (and other US offerings):

In the United States, 70% of the people who have reserved an Xbox also reserved the game Halo. We expect a similar figure in the Japanese market.

Time will tell…

Harry Al-Shakarchi pointed out this article on TGS 2001 over at IGN Xbox – it’s an overview of the feel of the show. They were taken by the Japanese reaction to Halo:

On a side note, it’s particularly cool to watch Japanese gamers play Halo, trying to figure out the controls as if holding a violin for the first time. The whole concept of playing a first-person shooter seems as odd as playing an in-depth horse racing simulation does to us (sorry, no first-day impressions of Jockey’s Dream).

We’ll see if Halo has what it takes to break through that barrier!

Josh Hampton decided that much of the wallpaper out there was too cluttered for actual desktop images… he’s taken the clean approach. You’ll find his entry in our Wallpaper section.

Aaacourt22 sends in a hand-drawn Marine, suitable for inclusion in wallpaper, if you so choose. Check it out in our Miscellaneous Art section.

The fan fiction of Gordi has attracted a following, as can be seen by reading his comments. Mr Bill Jr V thought enough of it that he set his most recent story in Gordi’s universe – it gives a bit of the backstory of the 6th fleet. Now THIS is cool… fan fiction for fan fiction! Read ‘The 6th‘ in our Fan Fiction section, and be sure to tell Mr Bill what you think!