Where has this game been? THXers have been having a blast playing a separate cooperative mode in Call of Duty: World at War called Nazi Zombies.

While CoD’s version of Zombies is fairly scripted and doesn’t have the sophisticated "AI Director" found in Left 4 Dead, each game offers a slightly different experience based on the random events that happen; mainly the type of weapons that come out of the Mystery Box.

The game consists of up to two players locally or up to four players online working together battling against an unlimited number of waves of Nazi zombies. Players gain points by either killing the zombies or repairing boarded-up windows, which are used to remove blockages such as couches or doors inside the bunker. These points can be used to gain access to more powerful weapons than the starting handgun. Guns are bought from outlines on the walls or the Mystery Box, which gives weapons at random. Zombies continually break the boards on the windows or certain walls to gain entrance and to find and kill the players; when all players die, the game is over. Downed players can survive if another player revives them or will respawn at the end of a round with only a handgun. The game mode originally had to be unlocked upon completion of the campaign mode, but was later made available without this prerequisite.

Map Pack 2 was released on June 11th. The third map pack will be released in August 09.

Getting through the levels of Nazi Zombies is very challenging. If you don’t play the game’s economy, you won’t make it past the early rounds because you have limited ammo and guns cost points.

The game has been a refreshing blast in a time while we are heading down the homestretch waiting for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Halo: ODST, and Left for Dead 2.

If you are like me, you were excited about World at War and then put it down after nobody on your buddy list continued to play it. I liked the World at War beta because it had the same game mechanics as CoD4: Modern Warfare. The biggest difference was the styling (WWII genre items in dark gritty maps in the Pacific). The game came out and no one played. I guess Gears of War 2 stole the show. It was released a weak prior. And let’s be honest. CoD titles made by any studio other than Infinity Ward just don’t get the same following.

Zombies has been a great; especially playing with THXers like Nearsight, Midnight, Reverend, FoulBreed, The Prey, Shyzza, Brick, and Celery.

Admittedly, the only reason I will continue to play the game is because I want to keep getting to higher levels. Once I’ve gotten to a level that’s quinched my thirst for achievement, I’ll probably put this game back in the drawer.

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Peter Jackson says that nothing is happening with the Halo movie that he was supposed to be involved with. Internal politics have shut that movie down. The Halo game that he was working on, Halo Chronicles, is also dead.

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Halo Legends was announced. It’s a new anime series set in the Haloverse and will include some of the maps we’ve seen in the video game series. Five production houses in Japan (Bones, Casio Entertainment, Production I.G., Studio4 C, and Toei Animation) are making the series for Microsoft. A preview of the series can be found below or on XBOX Live. I’m guessing we’ll have to pay x00 Microsoft Points to watch each new episode. Cash cow.

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Halo Wars downloadable content (800 points) is now available. It includes 4 new maps and 4 new achievements:

MAPS
* Barrens (1v1 Map): Difficult terrain channels units into killing zones. The side that controls the Forerunner artifacts will have the advantage.
* Blood River (1v1 Map): Secure base locations on nearby cliffs overlook this naturally red-tinged river. The soldiers that fought over its two narrow crossings gave the river its name, which has since taken on a greater meaning.
* Glacial Ravine (3v3 Map): A snow-topped mountain range forms a natural barrier that cuts this region in half. Control of the two energy walls at the narrow central pass often determines the outcome of the battle, though clever use of the Sentinel Factories may play a role as well.
* Memorial Basin (2v2 Map): The high ground in the middle offers good cover for infantry, while the generally open terrain transforms organized battle plans into bloodbaths.

ACHIEVEMENTS
* Tour Coming Through: Hot drop 50 squads to your Covenant Leader in a single game on Memorial Basin (30 points)
* Never Leave a Man Behind: Finish a game with 5000 net resources contributed to your teammates on Barrens (15 points)
* Drain Cleaner: Kill 20 enemy squads with a continuous Covenant Leader Power on Memorial Basin (30 points)
* Killjoy: Disrupt 5 active Leader Powers in a single game on Blood River (25 points)

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Microsoft has filed for a trademarking of 343 Industries and we don’t know what that means. It obviously seems Halo-related. US Pat Office

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Microsoft has many Halo job openings. Microsoft has many Natal job openings. Microsoft is working on Halo Reach. Halo Reach may include some Natal support.

Microsoft job offerings

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Microsoft will roll out the Halo Waypoint this fall on XBOX Live. It will be a portal for all things Halo. To me, this is proof that the XBOX Marketplace is hard to navigate. However, I’m sure they’ll be some exclusive content in the Waypoint and like many other Halo titles have done, Waypoint will blaze a trail for other brands and games.