Servers are holding up well to demand for the ODST cutscenes (we’ve served almost a terabyte of ’em since Sunday afternoon), so we’re turning on the next batch of HD versions in the Cutscene Library. NMPD HQ, Kikowani Station, and the start of the end of the game… go get ’em! (Some people are reporting playback issues on the HD versions – both WMP9 and QuickTime – and the common factor, so far, seems to be Vista. If you’re seeing stuttering framerates on playback of the HD versions, and you’re NOT using Vista, can you let us know? This assumes, of course, that you’re trying this out on a machine that can generally handle HD video.) (Louis Wu 12:18:52 UTC)

One One Seven has updated his Halo Networking Guide on Bungie.net (significantly) – and we’ve mirrored the changes here in the local copy. This is absolutely worth a read, if you’ve ever cursed at Halo lag or wondered whether the other team just cheated against you. Now with more networkety goodness! (Louis Wu 12:11:36 UTC)

Red vs Blue Recreation Chapter 17 is now live – since when did mortal danger seem so funny? While Lopez, Simmons and Donut try to stay alive at Valhalla, the rest of the crew learns new things about Church (and tries to say alive) at Sandtrap. Watch it. It will make you laugh. (Louis Wu 12:10:04 UTC)

io9 put together their list of the top 10 Greatest Space Zombies of all time – the scary part of the Halo universe made the list. Thanks, c0ld vengeance.(Louis Wu 12:05:16 UTC)

Pete Cooper stopped by again last night, with MORE pictures of the new M7/caseless SMG prop for his Operation Chastity movie. That’s one nice-looking gun! (Louis Wu 12:04:26 UTC)

Did you enjoy playing Grifball this weekend, during its Double XP moment in the sun? Do you like looking at pictures from similar games? If so, jump over to Bungie.net – today’s Tag and Release feature is all about Grifball. Bam!(Louis Wu 18:23:13 UTC)

A couple of movies for you, thanks to urk and Bungie’s Comm Chatter: Master Chief was caught dancing on film at a Saints game, and Funny Halo 3 Production released their 7th collection of dumb stuff. Go watch! (Louis Wu 18:22:47 UTC)

kilaMOMjaro sent word that it’s time for the 2nd annual HALOween Zombies Charity Tournament (proceeds to benefit Be the Match Foundation, a registry for bone marrow donors with the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society) – swing by the PraetoriaGuard site for details. (If you’re registered on their site, you can check out the tournament forum. The games played are Zombies and Halloween (aka Michael Myers). Prizes include signed ODST and REACH posters from Bungie and copies of Left4Dead2 from Valve… and candy. Lots of candy. What are you waiting for?(Louis Wu 17:23:47 UTC)