Mike Miller continues his dash through Halo 2 Legendary – literally. Quarantine Zone has been posted… and (like last week) Mike’s decided that discretion is the better part of valor. Translated, that means ‘run like hell’. I couldn’t help thinking about all the lucky rocket shots that took me out during parts of this level, and how you might find yourself doing it more than once… but all in all, it’s a pretty speedy way through. Don’t get comfortable thinking that running will always get you out of trouble, though – Gravemind is next, and there ain’t no easy way out. For now, though – go check out Quarantine Zone on crank!

XBL-base Halo 2 cheating gets a wider audience, with an article in the April 2005 issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly magazine. (We can’t bring you scans of EGM any more, by their request – but you can find this on your local newsstand.) There’s nothing in the article that hasn’t been seen online… but it’s notable simply because the problem was given a full page in a major US gaming mag. Thanks, ChaotikZero1.

As some of you might have noticed, the Fan Fiction section went offline yesterday. This is because the T1 that fed the wireless bridge connecting Subnova’s Core to the internet was turned off. All local (to Subnova HQ) servers – like the one hosting HBO’s Fan Fiction section – are offline, until a replacement can be found. Services hosted elsewhere – Subnova’s main website, the IRC network – should still be online (or, more accurately, should be reachable again). We apologize for the downtime – we’re doing the best we can.

Darkphibre has updated his Halo Statistics program – version 2.2 now works with Bungie’s adjusted feeds, and has a bunch of new features. Read his forum post for details, including a screenshot and a download link. Update: I almost forgot – Darkphibre would love help getting the word out about this tool. He’s only ever announced it here – but he feels that it’s finally stable and user-friendly enough for wider coverage.

Wow – if you’re one of those people that has to have EVERY Halo action figure… break out that wallet. Gamestop is offering a couple of case packs; you can buy the Halo 2 Warthog Battle Damaged Case Pack, with 12 warthogs total (six regular, four battle-damaged assault hogs, and two civilian hogs), for just over $100… or the Halo 2 Spartan Battle Damage Case Pack, with 6 figures in 3 colors (only $90 for this one). Wonga! Thanks, littlebigman.

Video Gamers League (VGL) has kicked off registration for a nationwide Halo 2 tournament. Qualifiers will be taking place in 28 metropolitan areas, and FFA tourneys will be free to enter. Top prize will be a 2005 Scion xB. Visit the VGL website for more details!

Over at HaloDev, you can read about Prometheus – a map editor designed to edit and create maps for Halo, Halo 2, and future games that use the Halo engine. It’s not available yet – but there’s a page full of info (and a list of Halo modding luminaries working on this that suggests it has a pretty good chance of succeeding). Go check it out – there are 10 screenshots to whet your appetite.

EB Games is now offering the Halo 2 Expansion Pack – $19.99, containing 9 new multiplayer maps, a new cinematic video (!!), and a new mini-documentary video from Bungie. Ship date is listed as May 24th. Did EB Games post this a little too early…? No word from Bungie yet about the availability of certain parts of this directly over Live – more when we know it. Update: Looks like there’s a pretty sizeable thread about this already on our forum – nova posted it last night. I haven’t read the whole thing yet – but lots of people are complaining that they have to pay for this. I cannot understand why nobody willing to wait for an official announcement from Bungie – we have no IDEA whether the material will be available via another route, and what (if anything) it will cost. Update: looks like the listing has been pulled from the EBGames website. No real surprise there…

Way to go! Marty and company took home Audio of the Year and Best Original Soundtrack Album at the 3rd Annual G.A.N.G. Awards a couple of weeks ago in San Francisco. (The sponsors, Game Audio Network Guild, posted the results today on their website.) Thanks to John Rivas, who got this from TeamXbox.

Thank goodness for that After War email – it reminded me I forgot to post today’s One One Se7en. Stuntmutt points out some inconsistencies in trash talk… not that I’d know what he was talking about, nope, not me…

Kevin Ryan writes to say that After War Episode 16 has been posted – cleaning up some loose ends. The storyline seems to be coming to a head!

Last week, MLGPro.com posted a news item about the opening of a pair of online leagues – pro and amateur. Looks like a nice way to participate, if you can’t make it to the big tourneys! Check out all the details. Thanks, FWR_Ghost.

Wow. Fire Team Charlie has posted Episode 18 for members – currently DivX-only (74.5 mb), but QuickTime coming soon. With all the machinima coming out these days, and no updates since mid-January, you might have forgotten about these guys… that would be a mistake. A great blend of Halo footage and humor, with just the right amount of mod effects. This one was all Benny – and it rocks. (Should be up for the masses by Wednesday.)

prometheus added a new article on Halo Machinima to his Halo-themed blog, Tru7h and Rationalization. Is the field growing too crowded? Sound off! (He’s also posted a link on our forum, so you can chime in there, as well.)

Yesterday’s release of Delta Squad Episode 2 managed to bring down the server for Chronic V1RU5 – they hope to be up and running later this week. In the meantime, there’s a mirror of the video at halomachinima.com, and we’ve put up our own mirrors – two for the original WMP9 (mythica.org | bungie.org) and two for a QuickTime version (bungie.org | mythica.org). It’s a fun film – we hate to see sites go under. Update: Apparently, the Chronic V1RU5 team jumped the gun with the halomachinima.com mirror; it’s up now, however. You need to right-click and Save As if you use this link.

24 new stories for you in the Fan Fiction section this morning – those writers were pretty busy over the weekend! Go read.

Blade writes that the online LAN party he hosted recently was a success – a writeup can be found here. (Keep an eye on the site, if you liked the writeup – that was part one.)

Chronic V1RU5 has released episode 2 of their Delta Squad series. 55 mb, WMP9 format. Infiltration of an enemy base (Headlong), followed by a huge battle. Once again, battle footage has some nice ‘shakeycam’ work… really feels like wartime journalism. It’s a little hard to tell the good guys from the bad guys – armor colors at a distance are pretty close (especially in low light). Voice work… needs work. Cinematography, however, is top-notch. This is another series worth keeping an eye on!