Glug… we’re DROWNING in desktops! Evilbum sends us not one, not two… FIVE new ones for our Wallpaper section. Go get ’em.

Gah! First it’s ascii art in html format… now it’s ascii art as… ART! Well, desktops, anyway. Blizzard turns in a pair of desktop images for our Wallpaper section, and for good measure throws in the Halo logo, in binary code. (You’ll find that last in our Logos section.)

Not satisfied with yesterday’s ascii logo, [SE]X-Com has submitted an even more elaborate image: the Halo marine. (427K) God help us…

The Sci-Tech section of CNN.com looked at consoles yesterday in the article, ‘Which new game console should you buy?‘ Nine editors from Gamepro.com looked at the available options… recommendations for a Dreamcast came, disturbingly, from MORE THAN ONE OF THEM. Despite this, it was fun to read their views of the Xbox – most thought Halo was a solid plus for the platform, though one was skeptical:

Are you willing to take a risk on a brand-new, unproven game system (Xbox) with a large variety of unproven game titles (Amped, Fuzion Frenzy, Halo, etc.) or do you choose the granddaddy of video gaming and buy Nintendo’s GameCube […]?

Guh. Star Dingo has it right:

I have spent more time with the Xbox, and realize that I find myself willing to commit unspeakable acts in order to play more Halo.

Go read the whole thing – laugh at some of it, and realize that in the outside world (the world of CNN readers, as opposed to hardcore gamers), the Xbox has a tough road ahead. Thanks to Lophan for the heads-up.

First up – it seems like the IGN Insider Multiplayer Guide mentioned yesterday has been opened to the public. Go check it out here – and don’t say they never gave you nuthin’. (Thanks to Erick Delgado for the heads-up.)

A couple of threads over on the TeamXbox forums suggest that Halo is beginning to show up in retail kiosks – one in Orlando, FL and another in Exton, PA (both in Babbages stores) have playable versions. Gameplay reports are always welcome. 🙂

Rampancy.net uncovered some more details about the Halo Strategy Guide, due soon from Prima Games. Prima has a listing for it now (they didn’t in August when we first noticed this)… the release date is unchanged (November 11), but the book’s gotten longer (160 vs the previously reported 144 pages). Bigger is better, right? It’s $14.99… but hey, strategy doesn’t come cheap!

Hehe – [SE]X-Com, editor over at Socket Error, sent in a Halo logo… well, you just gotta see it. (136K) The time some people have…

Philip Palermo submits a pair of images he rendered with TrueSpace 5 (they took about an hour each). Pretty nice work… We’ve placed them in the Miscellaneous Art section, but these are more or less the right size for a small desktop (800×578 or so each).

W00t! Heads-up kudos to Cesar, from TeamXbox – Xbox.com has put up an information page about the Xbox Odyssey (which TeamXbox mentioned last week) – one of the photos shows an ENORMOUS plasma screen, running Halo… if you live in (or near) San Fransisco, LA, San Diego, or Phoenix, GET YOURSELF INTO THIS THING. (It’s coming to 40 cities – this is just the first leg.)

IGN Insider has posted a Multiplayer Halo Guide (or at least the first part of one) – it’s only available to Insiders, those who pay the subscription fee for their premium service. (Insider access costs $10/3 months or $20/year, but there are several ways of getting it free.) 13 multiplayer maps are described, with a screenshot of each one in action. Apparently, one of our forum-goers decided to post the text from this article on our forum. For future reference – we’d rather this didn’t happen. Hopefully, IGN will release this information on their non-subscription site in the not-too-distant future.

Thanks to Bob Blandeburgo, who pointed out a new Halo preview at Gamers.com – it’s a good read. The control scheme is described in detail, for those who have been curious, and there aren’t any spoilers, for those trying to avoid too much information. They complain about the standard thing PC gamers complain about – lack of mouse and keyboard support – and they mention framerate stutters, though they point out that they have a pre-gold release of the game… generally, they liked it. Also included are 25 screen captures, many showing areas not seen before. These are 640×480; it’s clear, however, that these were grabbed from a 320×240 movie and blown up to double-size. However, they’re still worth a look; some are just plain fun.

Speaking of new sites, Nartin Spitzenberg points out that Halomedia (also German) is now online. Nice design!

[lw]Reicheraltermann sends in a pair of desktops for our Wallpaper section – pretty nice to look at. One of them advertises a Halo site (German) we’ve never heard of: haLoXpEriEnCe.multipalyer.de (not fully online yet, it would appear). In any case, check out the images!

[SE]X-Com, from Socket Error, turns in another desktop image for our Wallpaper collection. Neon…

The Halo SETI Marines take a hit from the loss of Luke Brannon… but charleya and Int_21 continue their astounding crunching rates, nearly making up for the slackage in the rest of the team. Total crunching is down significantly – are YOU helping find the Covenant, before they find us? Check the 7 day stats to see!

Thanks to CubanB, who noticed more Halo commentary at VoodooExtreme; seems Apache finished it this weekend, and he’s

sticking with my “best first person shooter ever” statement, as the game kicks ass from start to finish.

He goes on to explain why. In case you weren’t already having trouble waiting…

Today’s Penny Arcade news rant has Tycho wondering whether someone who really HATES the Xbox could sit down and do a solid review – he’s afraid that the good news is coming from people who were already convinced, and the negative press is coming from people who have a grudge against Microsoft, or the Xbox, or SOMEONE. It’s a good rant. (Thanks to Forensic and Bachus for the heads-up… seems a post Matt Soell made on our forum made the rant.)

Djoey.154 has created a new Halo Winamp skin; we’ve stuck it in our Miscellaneous Art section. (We don’t really have a ‘downloads’ section…) Pretty nice looking!

Thanks to Zypper, who pointed out a Halo review from the IGN Xbox boards written by the IGN DVD editor, ManaByte. I’ll refrain from quoting from it, since my favorite snippets would inflame some regulars here… go read it for yourself.