Spencermx14 sent word of a new contest up at Halotracks – come up with the bets Mongoose-themed screenshot, win a code to the Arcade game “Poker Smash”. Full details on their forum!(Louis Wu 18:04:50 UTC)

There’s entertainment afoot!

Counting Down the Hits!

Getting Hammered.

The times, they are a-changing.

We’re going international.

Null Parameter, from XForgery, let us know about a new Infection Forging Challenge they’re hosting – you’ve got just a week to put together a cool Infection map. They’ll play entries on the night of the 14th, and the best response will win the map creator a code for the Defiant Map Pack! Not bad. Full details are in the linked forum post.(Louis Wu 16:30:57 UTC)

AngelicLionheart stopped in to announce that the artwork created by his buddy for his birthday is now available for viewing on DeviantART – pretty nice!(Louis Wu 14:48:28 UTC)

Frank O’Connor talked to Xbox360Achievements – the focus is on how 343 sees the Halo universe evolving as time goes on. Some faulty info about Bungie in there (they made several games before Halo, including Pathways into Darkness, Myth, and Oni, in addition to Marathon, and even published a couple of third-party games)… but that’s not Frank, that’s Xbox360A. Go read!(Louis Wu 14:45:46 UTC)

Greenskull whipped up Forgefest 2 – it basically highlights a couple of interesting Forge maps, showing you what gameplay looks like. Nascar looks like an entertaining Infection game, while Indiana Jones might be a blast if your friends don’t betray you on a regular basis.(Louis Wu 14:45:16 UTC)

Pepsi and E3pO over at modhalo.net have put together a rap about Halo modding, based on Dr. Dre’s ‘The Watcher’ – you can listen to it (and see the lyrics) at Pepness.com. Times, they are a changin’!(Louis Wu 14:43:29 UTC)

Over at the Grim blog, you guys might be interested in the peculiar sight that greeted me as I was driving home the other day. I did a double-take to say the least!(GrimBrother One 17:42:03 UTC)

SoiledSolution over at the BNET forums wanted to share a play-tested theory that activating the Tilt Skull actually makes the game a bit easier, specifically on Legendary or Mythic. He provides some great information and nice evidence over at his BNET thread. Go and check it out and see what you think!(GrimBrother One 17:39:21 UTC)

padraig08 visited the Steel City Con a couple of days ago, and ran across some Halo stuff for sale (along with some Firefly stuff). Fun!(Louis Wu 16:41:25 UTC)

Congratulations to Halo: Waypoint – they picked up ‘Best Audio: Other’ (for ‘The Return’) at the 9th Annual Game Audio Network Guild Award Ceremony at the Game Developers Conference last week. (Press release is here.) Halo: Reach was up for 4 awards, but didn’t take any home.(Louis Wu 16:18:55 UTC)

ANUBIS x MT told us about a new blog entry written by Audley – it covers the idea of balancing a powerful team. Go read!(Louis Wu 16:18:08 UTC)