slYnki’s back, with a new Halo 1 launch (bottom of AotCR to the top, maybe the highest jump ever filmed). Awesome!(Louis Wu 20:07:30 UTC)

So we sort of skipped the whole ‘potential insider shows up on NeoGAF and leaks Microsoft’s next year’s worth of announcements’ thing a few days ago, mostly because it was more trouble than it was worth to figure out if anything was actually confirmable… but it’s pretty funny that a Spanish video game seller actually put up a page for one of the leaked items. Halo 2 Anniversary, which has not been announced by anyone officially, can now be preordered from XtraLife. (The artwork they chose for the cover is fan-created, and includes a gun which didn’t even appear in Halo 2.) Thanks, GameRevolution (who snagged a screenshot, in case XtraLife’s page disappears). Wow – talk about proactive!(Louis Wu 20:04:33 UTC)

The long anticipated wait for Brent is over as he is back in the co-host seat where be belongs thanks to one of our listeners, Godzilla Todd. We had him on the show for episode 405 and we appreciate his contribution to the show. Hive him a shout out on Twitter; he deserves it. To welcome back Brent to the podcast, the rumor mill gives us info that hints at the possibility of a Halo 2 Anniversary coming out this year delaying Halo 5 until next year. Again, these are just rumors and should be treated as such until official confirmation has been given. This weekend, 343 is hosting it’s Halo Bowl, a spin off of the Turkey Bowl done back in November last year where the team colors have been changed to reflect this year’s Super Bowl teams. Monday we see the return of Team SWAT followed by the highly anticipated Heavies playlist two weeks from then. More details about matchmaking updates and a Franchise Writer position available at 343 Industries is available in this week’s Halo Bulletin.

Jack and Geoff sometimes stay on topic in the latest Fails of the Weak (AH.com | YouTube) – the final fail, with an amazing “kill everyone on my team while leaving the opponents unscathed” shot, is definitely watchable. Thanks, Nikko B201.(Louis Wu 21:06:12 UTC)

Whoa. Mark Kelso built a LEGO replica of the Spirit of Fire, with reference help from one of its designers, that comes out to 7 feet long (by almost two and a half feet tall by more than a foot and a half wide). It took him FOUR YEARS to build (mostly because life kept getting in the way). It’s pretty amazing. Black Six pointed out the Brothers Brick page he found it at.(Louis Wu 19:47:16 UTC)

Reinforcements enter the fray.

Leviathan came across a DeviantART piece entitled ‘Girl Battle‘ – it’s an attempt by artrobot9000 to ‘make badass armored/covered girls look feminine without being sexual’. I’d say it was a success! (Sadly, I recognize only the Halo/Destiny/Metroid characters… but then, I live a sheltered life.) Go look! (Check out the rest of the gallery, too – some awesome stuff in there. Loved ‘Halo-Spartans‘, ‘The Last Stand of the Spartans‘, and lots more.) Update: Oops, that’s Mass Effect’s Tali, not a Destiny Hunter. Sorry, Quirel.(Louis Wu 20:50:04 UTC)

We totally forgot to mention Wednesday’s Halo Bulletin yesterday – sorry! It’s absolutely worth reading; in addition to the information about upcoming changes in Matchmaking playlists, and beautiful screenshots with a nature theme, there’s an announcement about a job opening for a Franchise Writer – a job many fans might love to have. More – a job many fans might be qualified for! Go give the whole thing a read. (It is, of course, in our local archive, as well.) Thanks to MacGyver10 for keeping up when we forgot.(Louis Wu 20:38:55 UTC)

Robowski and the Post Game Carnage Report crew were pretty intrigued with Microsft’s purchase of the Gears of War franchise… but that doesn’t stop ’em from talking about Halo. Go listen!(Louis Wu 22:26:12 UTC)

There was some confusion a couple of weeks ago about the release date of Spartan Assault for the Xbox 360 – we’d pointed out that a fan had noticed a page on the Xbox.com site listing a release date of January 31, but the following day that page disappeared. Well, according to Halo Waypoint’s front page right now, It IS coming out tomorrow! Good news. ($15 gets you everything that’s been released so far – the game, the new co-op mode, and the first expansion pack. If you bought it for Windows 8 or Windows Phone 8 before the middle of December, your price is $5.)(Louis Wu 20:10:29 UTC)

GrifballHub is hosting a Halo: Reach Firefight challenge – lone wolves and team players welcome. GrifballHub will be updating leaderboards and you can find the gametype on the forums. Thanks, Goose Checka.(mastrbiggy 22:39:33 UTC)

The Tyrant’s latest Halo 4 WTF Moments episode is called ‘Attack of the Replicons‘ – sometimes, you’re confident that you know how the AI is going to react… until they react differently. My heart goes out to you, Tyrant.(Louis Wu 22:35:47 UTC)

NOKYARD let us know that High Speed Halo is back after a long hiatus. The website has been updated and will be featuring multiple speed runs per day, meaning that the submission process is now pretty quick. In addition, there’s a new live stream page where players will attempt world records. Check it out!(mastrbiggy 22:34:07 UTC)

Rockslider returns to grenade-flying fun on Truth and Reconciliation – there are two new videos showing off dustbowl megabattle fun. Go watch ’em! (Louis Wu 22:25:37 UTC)

Quirel is back with another Fanart Tuesday (well, west coast Tuesday) – this time, the focus is Cortana. And the images he’s found make a fantastic collection of perspectives – go explore! (Louis Wu 22:23:41 UTC)

Masterz1337, the co-lead for the CMT project (search our news if that doesn’t ring any bells), let us know that they’ve discovered an interesting discrepancy in player speeds between the various Halo games – read all the details on the Halomaps forum!(Louis Wu 23:59:38 UTC)

DeviantARTist SebastianvonBuchwald envisioned a battle between Master Chief… and Mario. Nice artwork! Thanks, SEspider.(Louis Wu 23:54:29 UTC)

MixMaker117 cut a new Halo vid to ‘Once Upon A Time’ – nice feels! Go watch. (Louis Wu 23:39:52 UTC)