ElzarTheBam noticed a short bit on Xbox360Achievements – Frank O’Connor talks about the passing of the Halo baton. He remembers the transition in August as being ‘pretty seamless’ (I’d say ‘relatively smooth’, myself; I remember some glitches), and he points out that the Halo engine is owned by Microsoft (not really a newsflash, but nice to have something to point at if people ask). Now they just have to bring it home!(Louis Wu 16:00:41 UTC)

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This week, we have JVB on the show, the previous co-host of Podtacular. Unfortunately, there was an issue with the recording, so a lot of the one-on-one conversation we had at the beginning of the show was lost. In a nutshell, JVB has continued to put out the Post Game Report over at Talking About Games, he has, since leaving Podtacular, he has started The Bad Dudes Lifecast and his own solo podcast. He is also the community manager over at Entertainment Consumers Association. We also have late guest hosts Kete from The Running Riot and Rukizzel from the Waypoint forums. The remaining of the show that we managed to record includes us talking about the latest Halo Bulletin, which we plan to do on a weekly basis on future episodes. Finally, we talk about the multiplayer maps we will see in Halo CEA. Enjoy

It’s time for another dip into the mailbag for Arby ‘n’ the Chief. Highbrow humor at its most sophisticated! Thanks again, robofin117. (Louis Wu 20:16:07 UTC)

Elliott Fitzgerald sent word that the Flashover Gaming League has been launched; it’s a gaming center in Kathleen, GA, that’s expanded into online tournaments. What it offers that MLG and the NGL don’t are extra game modes like Racing and Big Team Battle – go see what they can do for you! (Louis Wu 20:15:46 UTC)

CruelLEGACEY wrote up his impressions of the TU Beta playlist – go see what he likes and doesn’t like. (Louis Wu 20:15:04 UTC)

Postmortem has written a new article for the Forward Unto Dawn series called ‘Beyond the Frontlines’ – you can read it on our forum, or read it on the FUD website. It’s a discussion of time travel, and its potential use in Halo – go see what you think!(Louis Wu 14:07:12 UTC)

Kevin D. stopped in to say that he’d taken the audio from the Halo movie parody script read by Nathan Fillion and Clare Grant (we mentioned it last week) and filmed a machinima with it. Go watch.(Louis Wu 14:05:03 UTC)

Over at NeoGAF, Epyon MX pointed out some cool pixel art from JUNKBOY – makes a nice wallpaper for your smartphone!(Louis Wu 14:02:54 UTC)

Fails of the Weak continues its spotlight on silly in-game choices – it’s all about Geoff’s laughter. Watch it on YouTube or AH.com. Thanks, BWO Lone Wolf. (Louis Wu 14:01:42 UTC)

Another Data Drop is live at Halo Waypoint – go read Red Flag (and Bravado) intel from ONI! Thanks, CaneCutter.(Louis Wu 20:04:31 UTC)

Remember that story we mentioned a couple of days ago, about a MS press kit talking of a Halo movie coming soon? Yeah, well, as you might have guessed… it wasn’t accurate. Thanks, Beckx.(Louis Wu 14:58:02 UTC)

Leviathan dropped off another piece for the Fistful of Arrows Adjunct – this is backstory about Emile, and his out-of-the-ordinary helmet. That Levi is thinking about ways to explain some of the more confusing parts of Halo canon speaks strongly to his love for the universe! Go check out this fascinating page.(Louis Wu 13:33:37 UTC)

Paul Ference sent us a link to Skulls for Tots – from what I can understand, they’re planning to raise money for Child’s Play by playing Halo marathons (co-op, Legendary) – and to keep things interesting, the more money they get, the more skulls are activated. They’re doing a test run on Halo: Reach tonight at 6:30 CST – stop by their live stream and watch! (Louis Wu 13:32:32 UTC)

Shadow8P dropped in to announce an update to his Halo: Reach Stat Checker – now it shows Grifball stats, and lets you look at more stats at once. Windows-only. Go grab a copy! Update: dang, it’s already up to 1.2! Now it has a new screen that doesn’t rely on scroll bars. Take a look!(Louis Wu 13:27:57 UTC)

OXM UK has put together an article about what was cut from Halo Wars during development – one of the big things was splitscreen gameplay. Unfortunately, the actual article is behind a paywall (you can download it for a fee – if you’ve got a credit card with a UK billing address). Thanks to ElzarTheBam for the heads-up. (Louis Wu 13:27:17 UTC)

Attack of the Fanboy has an article from someone who hated Halo for all the wrong reasons (without ever having played it), but then came around after actually trying it. A fine moral is included. (Louis Wu 13:26:42 UTC)

The War (or War) train continues with Issue Number 11 hitting your virtual shelf today. The situation ‘escalates’ between our two Corporals, and only one may be able to make the final charge. Check it out! Thanks to Firestorm12 as always for letting us know.(GrimBrother One 21:16:30 UTC)