Razorback spent about a month brushing up on digital art (sorry) – the first attempt at digital painting makes a pretty gorgeous desktop. Check it out in our Wallpaper section.

A couple of images from Tru7h – another mode of transportion tossed to the curb by Bungie, and an ad for the Halo shotgun. You’ll find both in our Miscellaneous Art section. Super-quick update: As I was posting those, another image came in… It’s Christmas on Halo. Finally, a decent use for that energy sword! Check out Blade’s work here, or see all three in this update at this link.

Another pair of large, spoiler-rich banners from Sir Jivealot – they’re in our Banners section. (I still haven’t found time to overhaul the section… apologies for the large loading times.)

Subnova regular 2 and 2 make 5 has recorded a cool little clip of… SuperGrunt. In his own words:

Very few know the awesome power of flight given to all grunts. I however have managed to convince one of them into showing it off without the helpful nudge of explosive fragmentation grenades. He didn’t know I had a camera underneath my trenchcoat, so now all can see the hidden power of grunts.

The movie is 412K (it’s only 3 seconds long), and 320×240… but 2 is working on a higher-res version, for anyone interested in using this clip in a Superman-themed music video. Contact him (or us) for more details.

cHigiRi pointed out a Halo review we missed – back in February, the Swedish site Telenordia looked at Halo and decided it was great. We’ve added it to our Reviews database.

Whoknew dropped off a Banshee-flavored desktop… pick your poison. You’ll find it in our Wallpaper section.

Sir Jivealot has sent in a monstrous, spoiler-laden banner for our Banners collection… this might be the one that forces an overhaul of the section. (Not today, though.)

Quiet pre-Christmas weekend… just a couple of Fan Fiction bits:

• Through Your Enemies Eyes, part 2, by Jahan
• Hunter Interview, by Gasmask

Take a look… it’s not often the offering is this light.

hipboyscott points out a Halo 2 preview he’s written at ZTGameDomain.com – this one’s full of Halo: CE spoilers, but speculates on what’s in store for the story in Halo 2. Take a look!

Psyrixx, of The Psyjnir Complex, dropped us a note that the website will be down later today, Saturday, for ‘rather serious maintenance’. (Personally, I’m guessing it has something to do with the sticky buns he’s been eating while the server case has been open…)

Gamers.com has put up a Halo 2 preview. It’s a word-for-word reprint of the 2-page spread that came out in the Winter 2002 issue of Xbox Nation magazine (we won’t be able to bring that to you until January 21, when this issue is no longer on the stands), and most of the information has been seen before… but there are a couple of interesting tidbits. It states (rather than suggests, as other previews have done) that the Master Chief will be visiting another Halo… and it mentions an overhaul of the Human pistol. Go read it! Thanks to Andrew Katz for the heads-up.

The French Halo site Halo Game has had a complete overhaul – and what a pretty design it is! There are still a few bugs to be worked out, it seems (some of the links don’t work, and the movies are hosted on an ftp server that’s currently down), but that’s just teething pains… the big work was the site redesign. Check ’em out!

A very cool drawing from Covenant – a pair of blue MCs. (For some reason, they scream ‘Oni’ at me… not sure why.) Check ’em out in our Miscellaneous Art section.

Before I forget – there are a pair of new mirrors for the recently released ‘Holiday’ video – Rampancy.net (thanks, Vec!) and customsex have both put up copies. This is a good thing, because mythica will be moving soon, and will be down for a bit to make the transition. Links can be found on the Mirrors page.

In honor of the upcoming holiday, mnemesis has tipped the proverbial hat to the Battle Cat, a longtime Bungie fan who, once upon a time, wrote a heartwarming Christmas tale. tBC has never made the transition from Marathon to Halo, so mnemesis took it upon himself to update the tradition. Many thanks to Evil Otto, supplier of cool screenshots to desperate fans everywhere. Don’t forget the razzleberry dressing!

Lots and lots and lots of new Fan Fiction:

• A Fresh Start, part 2, by Simon James
• Taking Tritus, part Two and Stranded at Home, part 1, by Dispraiser
• The Sheol Project, by Blindside
• Wings of Death, part 17, by el_halo_diablo
• After the Fall, part 1, by Glenny
• Fallen Angel, part 1, by Gruntkiller/Covert
• Force 81, part II, by NobleWard

Whew! That’s a lotta words.

A couple of cool sketches from Tina C. (including a Christmas one), and a very nice composite by Ross Mills (would easily serve as a desktop image, but I was working on Miscellaneous Art, so…) – all can be found in the Miscellaneous Art section.

Lophan points out that the January 2003 issue of PC Magazine lists Halo as one of the best products of 2002 (yes, even though it was an Xbox exclusive for the entire year). Their description of the game is a little odd:

“As the Master Chief, you can shoot with semiautomatic pistols, rocket launchers, and assault rifles. At the same time, you can raid underground labs and rescue fallen comrades. Prepare yourself for a major story twist in the middle.”

But hey – press is press, and it’s actually something for a PC magazine to vote a console game ‘one of the best products of the year’. It’ll probably win again for 2003, since it’ll be a PC game during that year…

stupid silence dropped off a desktop showing characters he thinks he’ll see again. You’ll find it in our Wallpaper section.

Noctavis found another OSX boot image from Jonathan Chapman – you can download it from ResExcellence. (Older boot images from Chapman can still be found in our Miscellaneous Art section…)