MarkHawk points out a new Subzero Rivalries at Evilburger.net. The scary thing is, I’ve MET people that stupid.

Thanks once again to the kindness and hard work of a reader (thanks, Uriel!), the Movies database is nearly up-to-date. It’s accurate to just before E3, actually. (The next batch is gonna be a doozy.) 2 months, 50 movies… the database has almost 500 entries in it. That’s a lot of footage!

One One Se7en takes a look at one of the changes in Halo 2, and how it might affect some Halo players.

Halo: Resolution shows you what to do when the wrong kind of soldier shows up.

19 new stories for you in the Fan Fiction section today; go take a look!

Xorian points out a co-worker’s MIDI renditions of ‘Covenant Dance’, usable as a ringtone for your cell phone. There are two versions, both quite good. Check ’em out!

Poll news: First up, the poll we mentioned yesterday at Slashdot. Another 21,000 votes have been cast since we mentioned it, and the percentages haven’t changed all that much; Doom III and Half-Life 2 are still dominating with 25% each, and Halo 2 is still in third place (now with 13% – about half as many votes as the two biggies). Meanwhile, over at Gamespot (thanks, Jay), there’s a poll asking which game should take home the most prizes at the Game Critics Awards in a couple of weeks – and Halo 2 is out in front with 43% of the almost 2500 votes. Interesting to see the differences in audience!

Eep – we forgot to post yesterday’s Calvin and Halo. Sorry! Go read it – the idea of playing that game in real life is WONDERFUL.

Halo 2 leads the pack of 2004 Game Critic Awards Nominees with 4 nominations: Best of Show, Best Console Game, Best Action Game, and Best Online Multiplayer Game. Results in two weeks!

Halo 2 took Best of Show (and runner-up for Best Xbox Game) at Gamestyle’s Best of E3 awards. Thanks, Lothar Hex.

Ciarán points out that another change in Bungie.net’s Halo 2 FAQ is a line added to the bottom of the Limited Edition question:

This offer will be subject to availability in your country, but is not limited to the US.

There was evidence that this product would be available outside the US, but it’s nice to have an official word on that.

Bungie.net came back online a couple of hours ago, with 5 new forums, snappier response times, and some information about the Seventh Column site. Go read about it!

Quick roundup of some Halo 2 impressions articles we missed in the last few days:

• Worthplaying
• PC Arena
• Gamers Hell (really short)
• Boomtown

Good stuff.

Coming soon to gaming stores near you, Xbox.com has a nice 2004 Spring Guide as a free giveaway. It contains a very nice 3-page writeup of Halo 2, including a bunch of shots not yet available (legally) on the web. Since it was freely distributed at E3, we’re able to bring you a scan (thanks, Dan’s Brother). Check out our Press Scans section for details. (Yes, I know I said it would be posted yesterday… nothing ever goes as planned.)

Slashdot’s got a poll up on its main page; ‘Most Anticipated of E3?’ Currently, Halo 2 has 10% of more than 3000 votes (with Doom and Half-Life 2 each pulling a quarter of the total). Does that seem right to you? Thanks, Chris Simpkins.

Quick update on Chimp, mentioned yesterday – Baka has released version 1.3, with .wrl file importing to gmax. (For information about this Error Geometry file, and why you might want to import it to gmax, read the ‘Level Compilation’ section of the HEK tutorial.)

Limax created new screens for a fun game, with kudos to Fuzzy for the sprites. I’d play…

From Narcogen, at Rampancy.net:

In celebration of Rampancy’s fifth year (the early parts of which were spent as The Core), we’ve published the first two parts of Halo: Combat Retrospective, a look back at what people thought of Bungie and Halo before the award-winning game was even announced, yet alone released, and what’s changed since then: everything and nothing.

Narcogen reminds us, obliquely, that we’ve allowed our own 5-year anniversary to pass, unheralded. (It was Saturday.) As long as I don’t forget my OWN, though, I guess we’re fine.

MinM points out that the Game Critics Awards nominations will be posted today at 5 pm pacific (midnight UTC); Halo 2 should have a decent chance at some. (It was beaten by Half-Life 2 last year for everything except Best Console Game – will this year be a chance to even the score, or will a different game step in?)

IGN posted the fourth episode of its Halo 2 Multiplayer Hands-On series, this time focusing on how Halo 2 has won over the Nintendo fanboi at the heart of Fran Mirabella, editor of IGN (and author of the Hands-on). It’s a decent read – thanks, 3Suns.