Another dozen (well, almost) vids of the upcoming Halo 2 maps have been posted at Gamespy – these are the complementary files to IGN’s offerings a couple of nights ago. (If you look at filenames, IGN got the evens, Gamespy got the odds.) Go grab ’em in the flavor of your choice – unlike IGN’s, these are downloadable in hi-res by the general public. Thanks, John Rivas.

Got a movie, want it hosted by us, but can’t get past the MPRRS? Stuntmutt can help with today’s One One Se7en.

Looks like Brian Jarrard was pretty busy this past week – in addition to the interview vid at Gamespot we mentioned a couple of days ago, and the one at IGN that was findable (but not explicitly mentioned in our news), there’s a THIRD interview about the new material, this time over at 1UP.com. (This one’s text-based, not in video format.) There’s some intriguing info in there – check out the details on banning, the info on playlist changes to avoid obnoxious situations, the discussion about what happened to the needler (and the promised, but unrealized, changes). This interview is actually page 2 of 1UP’s article – page one is an intro to the maps themselves. Thanks (yet again), 3Suns.

Dyslexia, over at MLGPro.com, has posted an article evaluating the changes to online play due to the Auto-Update – it’s a pretty in-depth read, and while it’s slanted a bit to the viewpoint of the changes and how they affect MLG players, there’s plenty of general info for less competitive folks. A very nice overview. Thanks (again), 3Suns.

Looks like the Spectator Chasecam we mentioned a few days ago has been perfected, and released – if you want to play with it, go grab it off the Gearbox forum! Thanks, MasterGrief.

This raised goosebumps on my arms. Here’s hoping it wasn’t faked.

Bungie has posted very large versions of many of the new screenshots released recently – the smallest is 960×720, the largest 1920×1768. As SketchFactor put it, if you haven’t seen them or you want to see them in a larger format or with a less obtrusive watermark, they’ve got you covered. Go download!

A relatively abrasive summary of the new Auto-Update has been posted at Stage Select. Funny, unless you get annoyed with the unrelenting sarcasm.

David “Walshy” Walsh, a member of Team STK (maybe the best, if 6-year-olds can be believed), has been interviewed over at TeamXbox. Interesting read – guy has a solid head on his shoulders. Thanks, 3Suns.

Back in February, Lt Tuma sent along a montage – a trailer, really; campaign footage mixed with cutscenes, set to Breaking Benjamin’s Blow Me Away. It wasn’t that I didn’t like it – I never even got around to WATCHING it. Recently, he wrote to ask again about it – so I watched it. And liked it – quite a bit. We have a new Peer-Review system in place at this point, however… so I asked if he’d be willing to submit to it. He said sure – so I dropped it into the hopper. Two and a half hours later, it had received ratings from 12 volunteer reviewers, and the consensus was ‘thumbs-up’… now isn’t that better than languishing in a queue for two months? You can grab it in WMP9 format (17.4 mb, mythica.org | bungie.org) or QuickTime format (15 mb, bungie.org | mythica.org) – here’s hoping you like it!

boogey-woogie points out an article at The Nevada Sagebrush about one of the finalists in MTV’s Best Gamer on Campus contest. Sounds to me like the guy plays too much Halo 2… (Registration is required – Bugmenot.com can help.)

Sometimes, days just don’t go as you plan. Mike Miller got the materials for his latest Legendary Walkthrough chapter, Uprising, in on time… but events here have conspired to keep me from posting the link. Go look at it; the man CONTINUES to blow me away. Sometimes it’s because he’s just so dang accurate with his grenade throws… but sometimes, it’s because he comes up with a simple (yet to me, completely new) way of looking at a problem – and solving it. 13 videos, in either QuickTime or WMP9 formats, will get you through this beautiful but deadly level in multiple ways. Check it out!

There are 27 new pieces up in the Fan Fiction section today; busy weekend for the writers. Go read!

Strategy guides like Not So Common Sense are all well and good, but they can only take you so far. Sometimes you need to think outside the box to get that critical advantage. Now, Mr Kippling has revealed some of his most deadly secrets of clan match strategy. Go forth and dominate!

Calvin Chaos noticed a new tab for the Halo 2 Theme over at Mxtabs.net – if you play, go grab this!

Hehe – oops… If you visit the GameInformer preview we mentioned earlier, and head to the Media page, you’ll find a 17.7 mb film labeled ‘Sanctuary #2’. Somebody’s gonna get yelled at – cause this ain’t Sanctuary at all… it’s Gemini, one of the five maps slated for release in late June. It’s a really dark video, and if you don’t grab it soon, it probably won’t be there (I’m guessing as soon as someone realizes the booboo, it’ll go bye-bye), but for the lucky few, this is a bonus attributable to human error. (Thanks to Apocalidiot and chaosknight514 for pointing this out – I wasn’t going to watch the GI films until tomorrow.)

Wow, very nice – there are 28 new map pics over at Gamespot showing off the new levels; many gameplay shots, but also several overhead shots showing the full level layouts. (Thanks, Red Leader.) There’s a written preview (with a movie – an interview with Brian Jarrard about the new material), as well. Not to be outdone, IGN has their own preview – some of the same screenshots (with the IGN watermark, of course, instead of the Gamespot one), plus 12 new vids (streaming for the masses, downloadable for IGN Insiders) showing off the first four maps. None of the new media is on Bungie.net yet (nor has anyone sent us copies behind the scenes) – but if we get our hands on un-watermarked copies, we’ll be sure to post ’em. Update: looks like the shots are up at TeamXbox, too (with a smaller watermark than GS or IGN) – thanks, chaos recon. Update 2: GameInformer has a preview/media, too. (I’m sad – we’re not on the right lists, I guess.) Thanks, Apocalidiot.

In a move calculated to keep their post on our front page for the maximum time possible, Bungie has just posted a new top story, pinning down the new maps download date. (It’s next Monday, April 25.) There are descriptions of the levels (if you missed them the first time around)… but the big news is clearly the date itself. (The maps passed certification today.) Today was Auto-Update day… next week is Map day! Get happy!

Gruntsbane has created a tutorial explaining how he makes the Halo Babies comic strips – it’s pretty cool stuff! (The HB news post, with user comments, is here.)

Hypnotoad, who created some melee damage charts a couple of months ago, has updated them to reflect the new realities of the Auto-Update. I’m sure those numbers could be made friendlier… but it’s a useful chart, nonetheless!