The Interactive portion of SXSW (The South by Southwest Music and Media Conference) kicked off this weekend in Austin… and the boys from the 405th were there to celebrate. Swing by and see some funny pics! Thanks, Adam.(Louis Wu 13:23:23 UTC)

Monday’s comic roundup:

• The Catfish stopped in Saturday with word of 2501 Episode 27 (Under The Dark Forest).
• Elnea posted Halo Action Figure Theater 160 (Beware the Ides of March).
• TTL Demag0gue stopped by this morning with word of Reclaimer 166 (Arrival).

Light update!(Louis Wu 13:22:16 UTC)

Looks like Halo 3 has been relabeled as a ‘Classic’ title; according to this story at MCV (in the UK), it’s been officially dropped to £19.99 there, and a quick glance at retailers in the US show that its retail price here is in the $35-40 range, as well. Not bargain-bin prices… but definitely cheaper!(Louis Wu 13:18:40 UTC)

The Halo Wars website has kicked off a Developers Blog (interesting, since the developers have been disbanded), and the first entry is an article about Halo Wars ranks and skill levels. Give it a read! Thanks to Planet Halo for the heads-up. Update: There’s also some entertaining reading over at Graeme Devine’s personal blog – he calls it fan fiction, but it was written ‘to support the story and help the team get the vibe of what it was like to be on “Spirit of Fire”.’ Thanks, sharpsniper99.(Louis Wu 13:14:00 UTC)

I’ve never really been a fan of screenshot montages; it never seemed like the right medium for that sort of content. Maybe that’s just because I never saw one done in a way that really caught my imagination. MLG Slush sent word that he’d finished a screenshot montage called ‘Beautiful’, and I must say… it’s really, really nicely done. Great shots, great editing. Most of the screens were taken by his brother, Chilaxing, and the overall effect has changed my mind about screenshot montages. (Or maybe it just raised the bar some more.) You can find this at Eve-Films, but he’s also put up a copy at WeGame.com, and for those in a hurry, it’s available on YouTube.(Louis Wu 12:48:53 UTC)

Kral, from Halo.fr, let us know about the first episode of WTF (What the French), a sort of Halo 3 Fails for French players. (Failure is universal, it seems; you might not understand the titles, but the gameplay is pretty straightforward.) (Louis Wu 16:39:08 UTC)

Hawty McBloggy found what is probably the wrongest custom action figure… evar. Seriously.(Louis Wu 15:10:22 UTC)

The Halo 3 Fails series continues – I’m not sure if they specifically picked some bad luck examples for this thirteenth episode… but many of the ‘Fails’ are really just awful luck. (Some are totally legitimate failures – the Rat’s Nest splatter attempt(s) made me laugh a lot.) Thanks once again to Chris10023 for the heads-up. (Louis Wu 15:09:29 UTC)

StrengthInFaith wasn’t happy that the Halo Bible site set up last year died… so he’s started over. The concept is that only information that’s been confirmed as canon will be collected – and all information will be referenced. This is only as good as the community can make it – so if you want it to succeed, stop by and help him out!(Louis Wu 15:08:36 UTC)

urk highlighted a couple of ‘marble mazes’ yesterday – been more than a year since we saw one of these!(Louis Wu 15:06:28 UTC)

We’re a little later than we’d planned – but the winner in the HBO: Legendereh contest has been chosen. Congratulations to Boltstriker – Domino picked him at random from the nearly 2500 entries we got. And thanks, Domino! Because of you, all the Legendary-required playlists just got bigger pools!(Louis Wu 20:50:56 UTC)

Last week, we mentioned a story about Microsoft getting sued for patent infringment that involved code that was supposedly used in Halo games. Apparently, the suit has already been settled… neither side is disclosing details, but Microsoft said it was “an amicable agreement”, and PalTalk “is quite pleased with the outcome,” according to one of its lawyers. Over… and done.(Louis Wu 13:47:56 UTC)

360Evolved has a review of the Mythic Map Pack up right now. Always good to get another opinion! (Louis Wu 13:42:39 UTC)

InnerRayg pointed out a site that’s selling McFarlane figures for some significant discounts – swing by if you’re in the market!(Louis Wu 13:40:56 UTC)

Another opportunity to pick up a Mythic Map code: GameDibs kicked off a contest last week, with a winner to be announced next week – looks like there’s still time to register. Swing by for details!(Louis Wu 13:37:42 UTC)

314 Tattoos is hosting a fundraiser for Idaho veterans in Pocatello today – Saturday, March 14 at noon. Details can be found in this story.(Louis Wu 13:33:28 UTC)