Ben Roth has compiled a list of HBO forum regulars, and the HPC handles they play under. If you’re looking for folks from our forum when you’re online playing Halo PC, this is a list you should read!

Halo Ops has put up a Halo PC Vehicles Guide – and though the screenshots are quite nice, some of the info is a bit questionable. (I thought ‘Phade’ was a typo, at first, as the name of the Shade – but it’s used more than half a dozen times.) As a discussion-starter, this article is worth a read.

Titanium Designs, a modding group for Unreal Tournament 2003, has released CTF – Bloodgulch 2, a map design based on Halo’s Blood Gulch. You can see screenshots on this page, or grab a 17 mb WMP9 vid of the level from their Videos section. (Personally, I’m having trouble seeing the resemblance…) The 3 mb map download can be snagged off FilePlanet. Thanks to Alex Bilas for the heads-up.

Okay, this one’s weird. tjc2k4, a forum member over at xbox-scene, has managed to get injected models to work on his modded Xbox. (Not yet for Halo PC, unfortunately.) It’s not ready for release yet, but there’s a proof of concept movie showing a warthog with wings flying around. He didn’t have the bandwidth to host it, and Haloskins hasn’t posted the upload yet, so Break Point came to the rescue and put the movie up on his site. (We’ve also tossed a copy of this 2.2 mb WMP7 vid up on Mythica.) Bizarre-looking stubby-winged Warthog… maybe we should call it the A10. Take a look!

Rockin’. Destineer has updated SketchFactor, who in turn has updated the world about the latest with the Mac Halo beta. Looks like the programmers are being worked pretty hard… but the payout’s pretty big! Check it out.

Hankerin’ for a new Halo action figure? The second wave of figures have shipped; two Master Chiefs, the Elite, and the Ghost went out on trucks today. Details at Bungie.net!

The Halo-Ween pumpkin-carving contest has been judged, and the winners can be found over at Bungie.net – congrats to winners Michael Coffing, Cheyenne Space, Jason Whited, and Warbow! (There many other entries visible in the Pumpkin Contest Gallery, as well.) Very cool stuff!

There’s another SeeMePlayMe online tourney this evening at 7pm CST. 2v2 – but rapture points out that it’s easy to find partners in the SMPM Halo lobby. Other relevant links are in the forum post.

If you bought one of the first wave of action figures, Joyride would give you an Active Camouflage Master Chief, for a $5 shipping fee. Not a bad deal… unless you’re One One Se7en‘s MC. Ouch!

Do cyborgs dream of holographic sex? Halo: Resolution looks at this bizarre question today.

The Silent Cartographers, a Halo PC modding group, has moved into new digs at www.islandfour.com. Well, they gotta get SOME use out of that domain, don’t they? (If you don’t know the story… count yourself lucky.) Go visit the site; it’s WAAAY easier on the eyes than the original. (And check out the newly described – but not announced – project, Aquaphobia!) Postman pointed it out on our forum (though it’s my bad for forgetting it was going live today).

Programerz points out that HaloSpy has been released; it’s a server browser/server monitor, and it shows you FULL STATS on the gametype. Very cool. Check out Halocity for details.

Thanks to Hamid Djangi, who pointed out a couple of review sites with lots of links we haven’t reported yet – all of the following came from GameRankings and Metacritic.

• New Zealand Herald (September 25)
• Maxim Online (September 25)
• ActiveGaming (October 1)
• Lawrence.com (October 2)
• IcronticGames (October 6)
• USA Today (October 8)
• Gaming Target (October 10)
• Gaming Nation (October 11)
• The Next Level (October 13)
• Cincinatti Inquirer (October 14)
• The Globe and Mail (October 14)
• Thunderbolt Games Online (October 14)
• GameOver (October 17)
• Gaming Age (October 21)
• The Discworld (October 22)
• PGNx Media (October 25)
• Computer Gaming World (October 27)
• Gaming Media (October 28)

Whew! That’s a lot.

Gonna be near Portland, Oregon in mid-January? Check out PDXLAN 2004 – both Xbox and PC Halo tourneys. Lots of prizes. Cost to get in is free-$2.00 depending on when you register. Thanks to Demented for the heads-up.

Hehe – goatrope figured out how to make the MC melee with no weapons. Okay, it’s just for show, but it’s still pretty cool looking. Check out this forum thread (more pics farther down, as well).

Stuntmutt is playing with fire in this week’s Sunday One One Se7en; the MC learned this the hard way.

Wonga. Took WAY too long (the last update was over a month ago), but the desktop backlog is FINALLY cleared. 19 new images (many with multiple sizes, many in BIZARRE sizes) can be found in the Wallpaper section. Enjoy!

Only 13 stories for you today in the Fan Fiction section…

• Are You Afraid? (rap), by Alpha Lance
• Spartans Of Darkness Part 2, by SpartanOmega
• A Marine Named Peters: Did you Hear Something?, by GLADIATRRR3000
• Plasma Burns and Bullet Shells-chapter 7, by Myth
• Retreat is…, by Mainevent
• Sons of Sparta VI, by SOS.Odin
• And now all hell will break loose Part 7, by metallicafan
• New Lunar HQ: Chapter 5/ Part 1, by Fleet Admiral
• A Spartan Named James- Part 4, by ZePHyR wRaiTH
• Red Fraction – A Halo Comedy, by Dispraiser
• Temporal Rift PART III: LOST IN SPACE, by Alexander_Valient
• Halo 2 Rise of a Hero, by CovieKilla
• Shadow Ops II: Nowhere to Run, Chapter Two, by Nemesis

Enjoy. News will be sparse for the rest of the day; I’m out.

Electronic Gaming Monthly has posted an interview with Ed Fries, about the past, present, and future of the Xbox. As could be expected, Halo (and Halo 2) figure prominently. Found this on Shacknews (thanks, Ash).

Halo reviews on Active Reviews (loved the soundtrack, disliked no music in gameplay, 4/5) and Futurelooks (8.5/10, unhappy with the AI and voice acting, thinks Halo might become an interesting alternative to Unreal “if the community gets big”). Hoo-kay. Thanks, Blue’s News.