Gamasutra has a great article about a study that used biometric feedback to measure how much various action games (including Halo 2) engaged players – go see what drives us to play! (Seems like risk plays a pretty big part in how much reward we perceive, and Halo does a decent job at balancing things.) There’s a summary of the article here, and the full piece is here.(Louis Wu 16:22:33 UTC)

Katherine ‘Vexona’ Joplin let us know that the latest issue of the ‘405th Source’ magazine was released yesterday – it’s a monster 36-page PDF, chock-full of articles, artwork, fan fiction, and more. There are great shots from the fan filming session that took place in Austin a couple of months ago (we mentioned it here), spotlights on a couple of talented members of their community, guides for building… it just goes on and on. (A planned interview with Tobias Buckell was postponed until the next issue because of Buckell’s recent health issues – they, like we, wish him a speedy recovery!) More details, and a download link, are available on the 405th forum. Absolutely worth the download! (Louis Wu 14:44:47 UTC)

Looks like Games Magazine (a UK-based publication) has a cover story on Halo 3: ODST (though it went to press before the name change, if the cover shown by Kotaku is any indication) – in contrast with Halo 3, you will be shuttled among a series of memorable characters, rather than kept in a faceless, mysterious super-soldier you can pour your own personality into. Sounds fun!(Louis Wu 14:25:34 UTC)

Tied the Leader had the chance last week to talk to Tim Dadabo – it was a group interview, of sorts, with XerxdeeJ and Dweezle (and OboeCrazy) asking their own questions, along with questions contributed by their community. Dadabo, the voice of 343 Guilty Spark (among many other roles) held forth on voice acting, inspiration, gaming, and classic rock. It’s 23 minutes, 21 mb, mp3 format, and you can listen to the results on their site. Thanks, Dweezle! (Louis Wu 14:19:04 UTC)

Bryan Simon is going to be doing a live concert of his Halo 3 material next week – mark the date! December 11 4 pm PST, check out this Ustream page for all the goodness! (Louis Wu 14:17:49 UTC)

Heh – Dojorkan wrote a parody song that someone seriously needs to put to music. If the lyrics don’t sound familiar to you, you can find the original here. (Louis Wu 14:17:19 UTC)

IGN has put up yet another faceoff article – this time it’s Gears of War 2 vs Halo 3. They gave Gears the nod for graphics and story, but felt that Halo 3 was stronger in other categories. Metalingus627 found this one. (Louis Wu 14:16:11 UTC)