Now THIS is a typo no journalist should make. Thanks to HUNTR-KILLR for the heads-up.

Whoa… long time coming, but it looks like Take 2 is finally gonna exercise some options it acquired back in 2000. The Acquisition FAQ doesn’t seem to be online anywhere any more (I was pretty sure SOMEONE had archived it, but I can’t find a copy), but it included information about what Take 2 got out of the Microsoft/Bungie deal; for their 19.9% share of Bungie, they received all rights to Bungie’s Myth franchise, Oni and any sequels, and the right to use the Halo engine in two future games. Since that point (almost three years ago – June 19, 2000), there’s been no mention of this last license… until now. Gamespot has put up a news post discussing what’s in the works from Take 2.

He also mentioned that one or more of the games in development under the Gathering [of Developers] label will utilize the Halo engine.

Something to look forward to! (The same article states that Duke Nukem Forever will NOT be out this year, but that the project hasn’t been totally killed yet.) Thanks to travis for the heads-up! Update: See this news item for info about the FAQ.

Infininja points out another pair of Halo Dog Tag auctions at eBay… this one has just under a day to go, and currently sits at $30… while this one has a bit OVER a day, and is sitting at $4.99 at the moment (that’s sure to go up, though). How bad do you want one of these?

Four pieces of artwork for you today in the Miscellaneous Art section. Slowly but surely… Update: hot on the heels of that update, we received a Zelda concept from Jerry H. Take a look!

Gr3yFoX dropped off a modified screenshot for our Wallpaper page. Take a look.

5 stories for you in the Fan Fiction section today:

• Chapter 02: Fallen Angel, by Cpt Crapper
• Stowaway Part 2 (2 of 3), by Dispraiser
• Rebirth – Shadow’s Chapter 2 – Revelation, by Archangel’s Blade, Knightmare, Spartan 451, Shadow
• Foresaken Forefathers Part Four- Rendezvous, by Havok and AlphaBravo343
• ONI Black Ops Part Nine, by Havok

Go get ’em…

And more pics… Djof, of the Psyjnir Complex, has posted a bunch of his own (and a link to those of Magellan of Wolfpack). E3 Fanfest all over again!

Skeletor has put up a dozen and a half photos from the E3 Fanfest last week (the perils of non-digital cameras…). Check ’em out… some good flavor stuff in there. (There’s a forum thread about this – which is where I learned of it.) You can finally see the ‘Boll Says Hi’ shirt at the fest!

Wanna know all the down-and-dirty details about Halo PC? Curious about what’s true, and what’s just forumboard speculation? Bungie’s put together a Halo PC FAQ, just for you. Read it for detalis on the upcoming PC game. (For some unknown reason, it doesn’t mention the Mac version even once… but I’m guessing that’ll change eventually.)

Robcsi14 writes to tell us of a new Halo 2 forum, Halo 2 Paradise. There’s not much there yet, but he’s hoping a post here will change that. Check ’em out!

FiringSquad has put up a Halo 2 preview – it’s actually a review of the trailer, more than anything. We’ve added it to our Previews database. Thanks to Mhaddy, of the Junkyard, for the heads-up.

Since 1998, the Game Critics Awards have been given out to the most promising video games shown each year at E3. In 1999, Oni (PC) took Best Action/Adventure game. In 2000, Halo (for PC) took runner-up for Best Game, PC, and won Best Action Game. (It was nominated for Best of Show and Best Original Game, as well.) In 2001, the Xbox version was nominated for Best Action Game (but lost out to Rogue Squadron 2). In 2002, it wasn’t nominated for anything (Bungie didn’t even show up at E3 2002, really). For 2003, nominees were announced yesterday… and the Halo franchise garnered a hefty handful of nominations. Halo 2 is in the running for Best of Show, Best Console Game, and Best Action Game, and Halo PC is in the running for Best PC Game. Winners will be announced on June 10. Good luck to Bungie and Gearbox!

Fan Fiction offerings light this week so far…

• Prelude, by Cpt Crapper
• Chapter 01: Fallen Angel, by Cpt Crapper
• Pax the beginning part 3, by Boa
• Last Stand, by Reiyou

Go read ’em…

Stuntmutt looks at the perils of game magazine publishing in the latest One One Se7en.

An entertaining Halo LAN practice gets highlighted in today’s MacHall. Thanks to Slith for the heads-up.

During the Fanfest at E3 recently, some Bungie employees participated in a question and answer session with fanfestgoers. There was a lot of joking, a bit of horseplay, and some good answers. The session was over half an hour long, so we can’t exactly bring it to you in video format… but the transcript of the evening is finally ready for reading. Check it out in our Miscellaneous section.

Our Screenshots database just got an infusion of 89 shots, all released over the past three weeks. If you’re looking for a Halo screenshot (Halo: CE, Halo 2, or Halo PC), and it’s on the net, you’ll likely find it here. (This is probably a decent time to point out the (relatively) new sorting feature of the page; you can restrict your view to one flavor of Halo.)

A few days ago, Doggone created a set of icons for the HBO-XBL Gamertag page corresponding to several games we didn’t have listed; took a little while to find the time to add them, but you should now be able to identify yourself on the list as playing these games.

Another entry into the Biggest Halo Fan contest recently held by Bungie came from Brian Josselyn, aka Blackstar. Production quality is pretty high… you’ve already seen the winner (Red vs Blue’s Public Service Announcement), another finalist (Elan Sleazbagano’s BHFC), and Maverick’s Halo Creations… now check out Blackstar’s Ultimate Halo Fan vid. 21.2 mb, 320×240, QuickTime. (The original was bigger, and the credits more readable – blame me, not Brian, for this version.)

That Weasel, always lookin’ to cause trouble, has mirrored three recent films at That Weasel Television:

• Halo Creations by Maverick J
  • WMP9 (27.3 mb)
  • QuickTime (21.2 mb)
• Master Chief’s Pro Skater by goatrope and SniPeR
  • QuickTime (7 mb)
• Silent Cartographer Speed Run by Vern Shields
  • QuickTime (23.1 mb)

Now, you may THINK he’s being kind and generous… but what’s his real motive?

Now you can add more movies to HBO and hose more bandwidth. 😉

See? He doesn’t care about us at all. Go download some movies – maybe we’ll add another one in the morning.