New content on Halo Babies today – first, there’s a double-size strip that includes the Spoiled Sponsor winner (and The Vehicle That Wouldn’t Die), and then there’s a supercool video showing Lorraine McLees drawing a raffle prize at the fanfest – it’s fascinating. Go check it all out!

There are a couple of Halo2-related vids in the plethora of new items at Xbox.com; there’s an 8 minute video with Jenny McCarthy, where she talks to folks experiencing the Halo 2 demo, then weasels her way into playing herself, chatting up Frankie and Pete Parsons pretty good. (Look for Lorraine, Max, and SketchFactor in cameo roles.) There’s also a video with Robbie Carbone, winner of an Xbox Live contest, getting Robbie’s reactions to Halo 2. (You can read Robbie’s full story here.) The downside to ALL of Xbox.com vids is that they’re totally un-viewable on a Macintosh; this is pretty disappointing. These two vids can be accessed directly from their mms streams, though, and these DO work on a Mac; I’ll have to pull these if Xbox.com complains, but for now, if the official interface doesn’t work for you, you can see the vids here: Jenny McCarthy and Robbie Carbone. Thanks to Caligula Caesar for getting me started on all this stuff.

There’s a new Halo 2 hands-on from Gamers.com – another satisfied reviewer. Check it out.

Wow. Swing by Bungie.net and grab four new wallpapers; there’s a simple but beautiful one involving the Halo 2 logo, and really nice versions of mehve’s Fall of Reach, The Flood, and First Strike book jacket artwork. All four desktops were done by Zoe. Thanks, Tempus Fugit.

The Junkyard has turned its spotlight on David ‘Narcogen’ Josselyn, head honcho over at Rampancy.net. He discusses life in the former USSR, drinking, and getting tooled in Halo (by his wife). Go read it – there’s lots more, he’s pretty verbose.

Eurogamer interviewed J Allard; the subject of the interview is XNA, but Allard focuses a LOT on Halo (as an example game), and then waxes enthusiastic about Halo 2’s presales.

I just think Halo 2 is going to tip our world upside down. I think nobody will go to work on November 9th, I think there will be fights in stores over the last copies, I think it will be one of the biggest pre-orders in the history of mankind.

Cool read. Thanks, Adam Daniel.

Frankie has written up a great piece on the Secrets of Zanzibar; as Frankie says, the map can change quite a lot before Halo 2 ships, so these secrets might not be in the final version, but just reading them will give you an idea of the depth of this new level (and, by implication, map design in general for Halo 2). Looks like first notice goes to Gruntsbane.

Juggertrout put up a vid recently, showing some nice shade jumping. The forum post is here, and a functional mirror for the movie is here (the original is busted). Check it out!

Looks like Bungie’s showing off one the Series 5 Flood action figure; there’s a Flood carrier (and his little popcorn friend) on the Bungie Webcam at the moment. (Pic saved here for posterity.) Thanks, 3.

Ian McConville has posted a new VG-Cats-tribute wallpaper at MacHall – and it’s got a great Master Chief in it. Grab the paper, visit MacHall, vist VG Cats… it’s all good. (Thanks, Andrew.)

The Halo 2 FAQ at Bungie.net has gotten a major overhaul – questions tweaked, many new questions added… a definite must-read. Thanks to Tempus Fugit for pointing it out.

Roger Wilco has created some pretty cool 3d stuff in the past. (Some of it has even been confused for Bungie concept art, it’s that good.) Today, he brings you Special Delivery, a new movie fully rendered in 3ds max. 24 mb, QuickTime format, graciously hosted by Mythica.org. Beautiful.

The Master Chief runs up against his worst enemy in today’s Calvin and Halo.

Halo 2 was the subject of today’s Dork Tower cartoon at Gamespy. IRC consensus is that it’s not funny. What do they know? Make up your own mind. Thanks, Brad.

Mothergoat (author of some cool Halo fan music) has been bitten by the mapmaking bug – and his first map is now available for download. It’s called Transfer, and it’s pretty bumpy. (Mothergoat calls it ‘jump-heavy’.) Some nice touches, like the overarching longsword beams. There’s a small promo movie (3.9 mb, WMP9) if you want to see what you’re getting into. Grab it – it’s 7.5 mb!

When the Limited Edition box set was originally announced, Halo forums across the net were flooded with folks outside the US worrying anxiously about whether it would be available internationally, and whether it would be available in PAL format. There’s still been no official confirmation – but some investigation by fans would suggest that non-US residents have nothing to worry about. Mogwong found the LE announcement on the Xbox.com Australian site, with a clear ‘Limited Edition Halo 2 to be Available for Pre-Order’ headline at the top (something that would have gotten pulled from the original before placing it on the AU site if it WEREN’T to be available), and Ciarán found a pre-order page at Gameseek (and another at Alcom Electronics in Switzerland) offering a PAL version of the LE box for preorder. Combined, it looks like the Limited edition will be available worldwide, and in both formats! (Remember, it’s pre-order only; once Halo 2 is released, you probably won’t be able to find it.)

Gamespy has put up its Annual E3 Awards – and Halo 2 took #7. (It was beaten by four games and two handheld gaming devices.) Thanks, MinM.

Another IGN article – this one is called ‘Halo 2: A Deeper Look‘. It checks out the little things that add up to make Halo 2 stand head and shoulders above its competition. Nicely written.

In going over the E3 coverage out there, I found a Hands-On article we missed last week; it was put up at GamePro. It’s not long, but gives a nice recap of the play afforded press and lucky public last week.

IGN has posted a ‘Second Time Around‘ article – the reviewer got a chance to think a bit more about Halo 2 and strategy. It’s a good read. Thanks, HaloMasterr.