If you need a cheap copy of Halo 2, and you live in the US, you’ve got a shot on eBay; SYSTEMS pointed out an auction where someone tried it for 10 minutes (it was a gift) and put it on the shelf. Starting bid is $30, Buy it Now price is $40, and the auction ends in 15 hours or so (it was a 1-day thing to begin with).

Thirteen new pieces in the Fan Fiction section today – a bunch of poetry. Go read!

Boatloads of new fan artwork over at Halo Babies today. Hopefully, if all goes well, today will be a windfall for misc-art lovers… we’ll post our own update. Viewers win! For now, though, check out the dozen or so new images at HB.net.

Wow. A a couple of different articles have come out recently about violence in video games, both including Halo 2 in with games like GTA: SA. As far as I can tell, they’re not even about the same organizations… Gamespot reports about a 5-member coalition, including the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility, the National Council of Women’s Organizations, Mothers Against Violence in America, Center for Advancement of Public Policy, Justice, and Witness Ministries of the United Church of Christ, that is looking to harden the policies about selling Mature-rated games to minors. (It looks like they got their info from an ICCR Press Release – thanks, UNEXPECTED62.) Australia’s The Age reports statistics from The National Institute on Media and the Family. (Thanks, Brett C.) Is a game that glorifies violence against women and the police really not any more dangerous to our children’s worldview than a game that pits us against alien aggressors in an attempt to save our planet (and our race)?

Okay, we’ve opened a forum specifically for Clan HBO on XBL – this forum is there for organization of clan matches, discussion of tourney rules, that sort of thing. It’s not limited to just clan members; if you’re interested in becoming a clan member, but didn’t make it into the group before the Bungie-imposed 100 person limit, this forum might be a good place to discuss the formation of a second HBO-affiliated clan. It’s a phpBB forum, which should make some people happy… but signatures are turned off, so many of those smiles might turn to frowns. Stop by, find friends, frag each other!

Is the plasma sword hazardous to your health? Maybe. Check this article at Aussie Xbox on ways to escape this deadly addiction. Thanks, Hep.

Dolbex points out that there are two new themes for groups over at the Seventh Column. I’ve switched the HBO Junkies to use the Mullins Halo 2 theme, and Dolbex has set Been Mawed to use the Column WW theme, so you can see them both in action. Nice!

Major Nelson yanked the top 10 games on Xbox Live last week – guess what was in the number one spot? (Yeah, tough guess.) Thanks, Cybrfrk.

Writing music is hard sometimes. Adapting music can be even harder – but often moreso on the listener. Dork Tower points the way NOT to take. Thanks, E1337.

It’s amazing what turns up when you’re not looking. We got email from Jeremy Durkota about a machinima series known as ‘Alone’ – it was created by a Red vs Blue fan and promoted on the Sponsors vs Freeloaders site (they’re a RvB fansite)… but when I visited a couple of days ago, I was surprised to find not one or two episodes, but two SEASONS. There are a dozen films, ranging from promos to commercials to actual episodes, almost all the work of one guy, Matt Spencer. Check out Echo Zulu Films!

Beowulf has a bunch of extra Halo schwag that he wants to part with – but he needs help deciding how. Stop by this forum thread and give him some contest ideas! You never know – it could be YOU receiving the goodies in the end.

Narcogen, of Rampancy.net, recently traveled from his home in Kazakhstan to London, on business. While there, he met up with Stuntmutt, of One One Se7en fame. Stuntmutt’s recollection of the evening is a bit… fuzzier than Narcogen’s, but they’re both fun reads. Nice to see Halo bringing far-flung compatriots together! (Or maybe it was just the beer…)

I was wrong when I said that Halo 2 press was finished.

• Columbus Dispatch – Game summary/review (B) (thanks, Warbow)
• ABC News – Video Game Report Card (says Halo 2 is worse for your kids than Leisure Suit Larry – thanks, Chester)
• IGN PS2 – Will Dragon Quest VII own Halo 2 in first-day sales?
• Onlypunjab.com – Indian press release for Halo 2
• USA Today – is this the golden age of video gaming?
• San Francisco Chronicle – Halo 2 is at the top of a crowded field

Shadow Panther has whipped up a couple of nice tables – Weapons Statistics and Weapons Rankings, based on rate of fire and damage done. If you’re looking for the best dual-wield combo, you should read these!

In a valiant attempt to try and catch up a LITTLE bit with the backlogged artwork, I’ve posted 30 new desktops in the Wallpaper section, bringing us up to late October. Closer!

You know about trading weapons with marines in single player, right? Today’s One One Se7en looks at a potential pitfall.

The flood of Halo articles is really ebbing – The Daily Texan Online (University of Texas at Austin) put up an article looking at why Halo was such a success, and how it’s being followed by Halo 2. (Thanks, Unofingersalute.)

Online comics – there are a few.

• Ross Mills pointed out Blue Screen of Life, a five-page comic based loosely on the lives of the Uni students he lives with. (He didn’t draw it, but he IS in it.) The first two pages are pretty devoid of Halo content.
• w00tness has put up 3 new strips since we last checked in (first is here) – looks like the Covenant might have met its match.
• VG Cats has a new Halo-related strip up today – it’s a quick guide to Halo 2, and… well, go read it. (Thanks, Trunks.)

Again – as a general rule, we’re not hosting trick vids yet (the new site’s not ready) – but High Speed Halo seems to be offline, and there have been a couple of speedruns of Outskirts done already. Juggertrout posted his run on our forum last night – but it was done on easy, and it’s in WMP9 format, which is a problem for some people. Cody Miller submitted his own run – on Legendary, 4 seconds slower than Juggertrout’s… and I gotta say, it’s got style. 31.7 mb, QuickTime format. I still want to see a speedrun of Cairo Station… on Legendary.

Hehe – retsamolah was playing with After Effects, and managed to make himself go away. Movie is 1 mb, QuickTime format, no sound. Nice work!