Flugelmeister is back with a new blog entry at The Secrets Within, this time looking back at the importance of Halo 2. An excellent read, go check it out!(GrimBrother One 21:55:11 UTC)

Halo Action Figure Theater has a new comic up – good to see St. Paddy’s Day still being celebrated in the future!(Louis Wu 19:45:29 UTC)

munky-058 thinks the schwag available in the Bungie Store is a bit limited… and he wants your help in coming up with some clever new options. What’s in it for you, you say? Looks like maybe a Defiant Map Code! Read his post, see what he’s looking for, and then submit your designs for a chance to win.(Louis Wu 19:07:29 UTC)

If you swing by MasterCheifn’s DeviantART gallery, you’ll see a BOATLOAD of pan cam shots of Reach. Gorgeous.(Louis Wu 15:24:48 UTC)

CruelLEGACEY Productions is back at it again, this time with a Defiant Map Pack Achievement Guide. Having trouble with those 3 new Achievements? Definitely give this a watch to see if there is something new you can do!(GrimBrother One 15:18:20 UTC)

Justin Kolberg sent word that there’s been a new update for the Android version of his Reach Service Record mobile app – many bugs fixed. Swing by and grab a copy if you’ve got an Android phone! (They can’t easily troubleshoot via the Android Market comments, so if you run into trouble, contact them directly.)(Louis Wu 15:11:23 UTC)

Avcracy let us know that Firelight Studios is hosting a machinima contest – simple guidelines, nice prizes. Swing by the post for full details! (Louis Wu 13:57:25 UTC)

ZZoMBiE13 watched Anoj’s Firefight-based Top Ten, saw the teabagging Jackal… and couldn’t help himself. (Louis Wu 13:53:35 UTC)

Jack and Geoff are back together with Achievement HORSE 15 – some really awesome looking maps in this round. (Just queued up the Half Pipe for download…) Lots of fun – go watch! Thanks, trappeddark1. (Louis Wu 13:53:02 UTC)

BlueNinja has kicked off a Community Spotlight feature on his panorama-drenched blog, Views from the Edge – HaloGAF’s MrBig is the first under the glow. Gorgeous shots! (Louis Wu 13:52:12 UTC)

Look who decided to show up and actually play HORSE this week! You know you want to learn!

All maps available right here! Enjoy!

Sup!
Here’s another Homefront video for you. This one shows where to find the 10 hidden items in the first level of Homefront. Collecting all 61 throughout the game will net you the “Historian” Achievement.

Yeah, so remember when we mentioned that Bungie cares? Check their front page right now – they’re selling wristbands to raise money for Japanese tsunami victims. All of the proceeds from their sale, plus all of the profits from the whole Bungie Store until April 30, go to aid efforts. Buy yourself one!(Louis Wu 21:42:39 UTC)

We heard from Joshua Stark, the manager of Frags Out Of Love – this group is currently running a Halo marathon for charity. They started this morning, 8 am MST, with Halo – and they’re going to continue through Halo 2, Halo 3, ODST, and Reach. They’re expecting to be playing for 40+ hours, and money collected by watchers will be donated to Child’s Play. Swing by their website to follow the live stream – and toss ’em a few bucks!(Louis Wu 21:39:45 UTC)

We need your help.

More awesome panos from BlueNinja – go see.(Louis Wu 21:04:07 UTC)

It’s cold and rainy outside, so ElzarTheBam continues to trawl the internet, scooping up tasty Halo morsels for your dinner plate. EvilAvatar has 5 Defiant codes – post in this thread on their forum, and Friday they’ll pick 5 winners at random.(Louis Wu 21:01:34 UTC)

Frankie noticed that Toys R Us has a bit of a typo going on the page selling a pair of adorable Halo Minimates… but MAN I’d buy a Mister Chief if someone made one. In fact, I’d buy a dozen. Update: That Grim… always makin’ me look bad! (I’d feel less embarrassed if the timestamps on these two posts weren’t almost half an hour apart… I’ve got no excuse at all for missing his update.)(Louis Wu 20:56:31 UTC)

In news not noticed by ElzarTheBam, Frankie found something over at the Toys R Us website that made me inappropriately excited. An ad for a Mister Chief MiniMates figure. Unfortunately, it was just a typo, but a cool little addition to any Halo collection nonetheless. Join us in lamenting what could have been…(GrimBrother One 20:30:18 UTC)

NowGamer also published a review of the Defiant Maps – their biggestripe was cost. Thanks (again), ElzarTheBam.(Louis Wu 18:32:04 UTC)