Triplex Virus writes to let us know that a new Halo site has come online – Random Vector is devoted to tricks, hacks, and wishes for the mythical Halo 1.5. Check ’em out for some fun pics!

Thanks to Brian Towne, who has mirrored both the large version (33 MB) and the small version (16 MB) of Phear X’s Halo music video (this is the Silent Cartographer film, set to Rob Zombie’s Dragula) at Mythica.org. Check ’em out, if you didn’t get ’em via Hotline!

Another Gameplay Tip – it’s common knowledge that the pair of Banshees on the natural bridge on the Assault on the Control Room level are worth grabbing… but now you have access to a short video showing you what is probably the fastest CONSISTENT way of doing so. (Yes, you can run out there and grab it under the noses of the Elites… but every once in a while, you’ll be outrun, and boom, down you go.) Mark Levin has created a Banshee Boost video – check it out on the Gameplay Tricks page of our Tips and Tricks section.

Another pair of stories have found their way into our mailbox – Albino Joe sends us an interesting viewpoint on a contentious portion of the Halo story (don’t read this if you’re not up for spoilers), and Gasmask sends in part 4 of his Strange Tale saga. Check ’em both out (along with almost 250 other pieces) in our Fan Fiction section!

Walkthroughs: Neogamer has updated his Halo FAQ/Walkthrough to version 0.9 (it’ll be bumped to v1.0 when he finishes his Multiplayer stuff) – it’s available at GameFAQs, among other places. Also at GameFAQs (same URL, even) is a new Walkthrough by R.K. Raja – it contains most of the info from the Halo manual, plus a walkthrough/strategy guide. The element both of these are missing (in fact, that every guide I’ve seen so far is missing) is a discussion about the different strategies that work on different difficulty levels – most walkthroughs seemed to be aimed at those playing on Normal. While this makes sense – most folks LOOKING for a walkthrough are playing on Normal – it would be really nice to see an in-depth, well written guide showing how to get through certain areas on Legendary, for example. Ah, well – one can dream, can’t one?

Phear X has created another music video, and is looking for hosting, as well. It’s pretty standard Halo gameplay (there’s some fun stuff at the end) set to Rob Zombie’s ‘Dragula’. While I’m loath to discourage new creative material, this video has a few issues;

1. It’s pretty big (there are two flavors, a 33 meg version and a 16 meg version – it’s 3 and a half minutes long)
2. Unfortunately for Phear, the subject material has been done – a LOT; it concentrates on the beach scene of Silent Cartographer, and there are literally dozens of movies that came out of E3 using similar footage
3. It’s not very high-quality video (this is due to the capture source, a digital camcorder – it’s acceptable, but nowhere near crisp)

All that said, we’d be happy to facilitate the mirroring for anyone who wants to help out. Drop us a line if you’re able to help, and we’ll get you the movie. (Part of the reason for elaborating here was to make it clear that if you want to make a movie for the community, you should consider finding a niche. Aaron Suhr did that admirably – his footage was fantastic, in terms of its novelty. Video is too big, and bandwidth costs too much, for folks to want to host a lot of the same-old, same-old.) Update: Both flavors (well, the big one right now, the small one very shortly) have found their first mirror on the Psyjnir Complex Hotline server. Go take a look!

Another shout-out to genohunter – he’s dropped off a pretty positive 6-page Halo review from the January 2002 issue of Joypad, a French Console mag. Yes, it’s in French. Check it out in our (soon to be finished… hopefully) Press Scans section. (Okay, it’s true – it’s the only article in the new format. They’re coming – really!)

For those who haven’t noticed, the Halo Story page has finally kicked into high gear. (Blame me – they were waiting on some scripting work.) The submissions have been piling up,but they’re beginning to pare down that backlog! Check it out, and add your own speculation!

genohunter points out a pair of French Halo reviews – one from Consoles-France.com (posted on Christmas day, of all days), the other from GameTeam Xbox. Both were quite positive – 95% and 9.5/10, respectively. These have been added to our Reviews database.

Fanatic drops off a swirly, digital image for your desktop – you’ll find it in our Wallpaper section.

Psyrixx writes to let us know that The Psyjnir Complex has a new hotline server – you can find it at 216.229.182.74. No login/password needed… check it out! Update: Geez, guess I should read ALL my mail. The Halo Music Video released yesterday can now be found on this Hotline server – if the other mirrors are not giving you joy, try this one!

After a few months of waiting for new artwork, Chris Cox has decided to submit the next two chapters of his ‘The Wanderers’ series – you can read them separately, here and here, or you can read the whole series in one shot. Don’t forget to leave him feedback! The Fan Fiction page continues to grow…

Eep – new poll at Bungie.net, and we missed the start! ‘What is your favorite section of the Halo Tru7h and Recon site?’ Go vote! (Only 100 folks have, so far…)

Thanks to Mark Levin, who’s overhauled our FAQ – there are still a few questions to add, but the info, by and large, is very up-to-date. You’ll also find that there’s quite a difference between the spoiler and non-spoiler versions of the FAQ – for those who haven’t played Halo, and want to experience it without the taint of knowing what’s coming, the FAQ contains general information, but nothing that will ruin the game for you. For those who’ve already played through Halo, there’s quite a bit more info; gameplay tips, extra info, and so on. Check it out!

More mirrors for the music video (this one’s definitely worth watching):

• Aaron Suhr’s mac.com space
• Omnicon (thanks, B_Sharp!)
• *Ar-Isildur’s home hotline server (last resort; slow)

I love you guys…

A few days ago, Cal sent in a number of pretty nifty shots taken on Sidewinder. Some of ’em just make you go ‘hmm…’ Well, they got lost in the shuffle… but we unburied them. Check ’em out! They’ve been added to the rapidly growing Tricks page… which is going to need a better navigation system, and soon. (The backlog of tricks submissions is currently running in double digits… apologies. For those in the queue – be happy you’re not in the Gameplay Tips queue, which is even longer! I gotta find some serious updating time…)

The first mirrors for Aaron Suhr’s music video are up – they’ll get swamped fast, due to their alone-ness, but there should be more coming. (If you can help, write us.) Thanks to Beorn, who provided two different mac.com download sites (Site 1 and Site 2). Enjoy!

Aaron Suhr has made a pretty amazing Halo music video – Bush’s ‘The People That We Love’ has been accompanied by a fantastic collection of clips of… well, you gotta see it. Unfortunately, it’s 15 megs, and we simply don’t have the bandwidth for it. Aaron doesn’t, either – so we’re begging for volunteers; anyone with a big pipe and a big heart, drop us a line, we’ll get you the movie and let folks know of the mirror sites. Thanks!

[HELL]-genohunter writes to point out a pair of Halo previews on two French sites; Nihon-fr and MaxoeGames.com. Both are quite positive. There’s also word of Halo stories in both the January 2002 Joypad (console gaming) and Joystick (PC Gaming) – scans of the Joypad article will be coming soon. Halo is taking over the world!

Tom Murphy sends in the first installment of his new series, ‘Casualties of War‘. So far, it has nothing to do with Halo… but we’ll cut him a little slack. Check it out in our Fan Fiction section!