XMixMasterX noticed that the Halo Interactive Strategy Game (originally released about a year ago – it’s been in our news a few times) is now available at a deep discount ($12, down from its original $45) at Best Buy. It’s up to you to decide if it’s worth it at that price.(Louis Wu 13:57:34 UTC)

Previews based on Campaign play are starting to appear – we saw two new ones this morning. Both of them looked at the same level (NMPD HQ) – neither contains story spoilers. IGN’s article (thanks, DancingJesus) summarizes how gameplay in the campaign actually works, and then discusses the level, with a focus on how gameplay is different between Halo 3 and ODST. WorthPlaying’s article (Thanks, Adam) focuses more on how the level is laid out, and discusses the voice acting (and AI) of the non-player denizens of this world. (It also has a summary of the new Mythic multiplayer maps.) Go read ’em – and get psyched! ODST drops in 11 days.(Louis Wu 13:01:06 UTC)

CaptainTony pointed out a bit of ODST fanart he discovered at the Military Photos forum – done by someone who wasn’t much of a Halo fan before ODST was announced. Pretty cool!(Louis Wu 13:00:40 UTC)

As we mentioned yesterday, the most recent GameTrailers TV has a feature on the making of the live-action ‘We Are ODST’ short. It’s only a couple of minutes long, but you get a good look at the props they created for this film, and it’s fun to see the ‘set’ (a strip mine in Hungary) without its trappings. Go watch! (ODST segment starts at about 12:45.)(Louis Wu 12:58:27 UTC)

Hawty McBloggy let us know that this week’s Friday Caption Fun is a little different; rather than have you come up with pithy one-liners about an in-game screenshot, she’s provided a passel of pictures snapped at PAX – shots of her with various community members. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to make people laugh with your interpretation of events. This newspost will self-destruct in five seconds. Good luck.(Louis Wu 12:57:46 UTC)

TTL Demag0gue stopped in with word of Reclaimer 215 – Noise in the System. Reclaimer learns more… but time is running out. (Louis Wu 12:57:16 UTC)

FassinTaak made a connection I’ve never seen before – but it’s intriguing. There are definite similarities between the story of the Rookie in Halo 3: ODST… and the story of the player in Bungie’s first shooter, Pathways into Darkness. My mind is reeling! (Louis Wu 12:55:15 UTC)

GrimBrother One noticed a small tidbit at Kotaku – Stephen Totilo pointed out that Joe Staten described the size of the Halo Bible (the backstory document(s) that help Bungie and its friends keep track of the Halo universe) as 12-13 inches “if it was all printed out and stacked up”. (For reference, a standard 500-sheet ream of paper is 2 inches tall.) (Louis Wu 12:54:27 UTC)

Six new pieces for you in this week’s Fan Fiction update – new authors, meaty text. Go read!(Louis Wu 12:53:00 UTC)