This is just to note that downloads of the now infamous Warthog Jump movie from Rampancy.net have just passed 17,000. And not to worry, we won't be pulling this mirror for any reason as long as there is demand.

Truth & Reconciliation has had a couple updates today, beginning with an interview with Rob McLees. Some may be unfamiliar with his name, but McLees is a veteran Bungie employee who has contributed many art and story elements to the company's fantastic game library. McLees can be thanked for creating the majority of Halo's weapons; check out the interview for loads of information about the process behind this.

As if an interview wasn't enough, the concept art section has had a seventh gallery added that features some of McLees' Flood art.

Lophan pointed out a Bloomberg story over in the HBO forum in which a company called Immersion is claiming that Microsoft and Sony are both infringing on patents it owns on force feedback technology.

While the Bloomberg story was not in evidence on their site this morning, a Reuters item was available on Yahoo; however, it does not mention Halo by name.

What's more, it appears that this suit is perhaps not as frivolous as many other infringement suits filed against major companies by smaller ones; a press release on Immersion's site notes they have reached a settlement in an earlier suit against InterAct accessories over peripherals they make for the PlayStation 2 that include tactile feedback features.

Apparently the suit follows long and unsuccessful negotiations with both companies. The firm representing Immersion against Sony and Microsoft, Irell and Manella, also successfully represented Immersion against InterAct, and was the firm that won a $120 million judgment in the suit against Microsoft filed by Stac Electronics over the illegal integration of compression routines used in their Stacker hard disk doubler software (even though that failed to save the company).

TeamXbox is reporting that the IGDA (International Game Developers Association) has announced the nominees for their 2001 Game Developers Choice Awards, which will be awarded March 19 - 23 in San Jose, CA.

Halo was nominated for Game of the Year as well as for excellence in Audio and Programming categories. Halo was conspicuously absent from the visual arts category.

Another gaming site I had no idea existed before now, Four Fat Chicks, has posted a Halo review by Dan Benge. Here's what Benge has to say in conclusion:

Halo is a classic. It's one of the best games of 2001 and a good shot in the arm for 3D shooters and the Xbox. It's another addition to the latest trend of computer games that let you use your own style. It's replayable, as the AI makes everything almost completely unpredictable each time you play it. To top it all off, the graphics are excellent.

Under the verdict in the review is a smiling star... I have no idea what it is supposed to represent (or if other games receive more than one) but the review itself is glowingly positive. So there you have it... even fat chicks like Halo.

Thanks VoodooExtreme.

By now you've certainly seen Randy Glass' Warthog launch video and may have even attempted to emulate his performance yourself. Without instruction, this may be more difficult than you would expect. Fortunately for us, RaSMG3030 has posted the twenty step guide to performing the Warthog launch in TeamXbox's forums. Some have already reported success, so give it a try and make a Kodak moment of your own.

Bungie has posted No7orius's walkthrough of Pillar Of Autumn on Legendary difficulty at Truth & Reconciliation. No7orius has beaten the level in under eighteen minutes, which is not too shabby by any means, and has written the instructions (complete with pictures) so you can, too.

HBO has finally finished setting up its press scans section, which features scans of forty magazines from all over the world. The press scans basically serve as an archive of older Halo material, such as previews and reviews, so they don't get lost in the void of time.

Randy Glass has put together various clips of him messing around with Halo's physics in the hands-down funniest video on the Internet. I'm at a loss of words, so I'll just provide you with links to the video:

• 23.2 MB: Rampancy, Oz.net, Mythica, Homelanfed
• 10.3 MB: Oz.net, Bungie.org

The video requires Apple QuickTime. (Thanks HBO)

Impressive game design or pure coincidence? Xbox.com used NFL Fever 2002 to predict the outcome of Super Bowl XXXVI and the results were nothing short of frightening. TeamXbox writes:

Xbox.com should be rolling in it if they placed any bets based on their NFL Fever 2002 based prediction for the Superbowl. In one of the biggest upsets in Superbowl history, the New England Patriots upset the St. Louis Rams 20-17, as predicted by Xbox.com.

The Super Bowl win was the first for the New England Patriots. The loss drops the Rams Super Bowl record to 1-2.

Just goes to show, that games really can reflect and recreate reality. And this is a testament to the programming of NFL Fever 2002 that the stats and attributes of the teams is dead on with the actual teams. Not only did Xbox.com predict the final score, they predicted that the last play of the game would decide the game. Very nice.

Check out the statement at Xbox.com or TeamXbox's story for more details.

There has been an awful lot of talk about playing Xbox (and other console) titles on a VGA monitor. So, to save you the trouble I've rounded up at least three solutions which may please you... even if little Timmy may not be able to get his braces this month. Funny how these things have a way of adding up, idn't it? ;-)

Or.... some would say that you could just wait for the Mac/PC version to get VGA play. Maybe, but can they avoid being spoiled to death before that time? ;-)

This also in from ConsoleWire: The NPD Group has just released information on the top-selling Xbox titles.

1. Halo - Microsoft


2. Project Gotham Racer - Microsoft


3. NFL Fever 2002 - Microsoft


4. Dead or Alive 3 - Tecmo


5. Madden NFL 2002 - Electronic Arts


6. NBA Live 2002 - Electronic Arts


7. Amped: Freestyle Snowboarding - Microsoft


8. Tony Hawks Pro Skater 2X - Activision


9. Oddworld: Munch's Oddyssee - Microsoft


10. Star Wars: Starfighter SE - Lucasarts Entertainment

There has been no final word yet on how the Xbox is selling vs. the Gamecube and now slightly aged PS2. However, the PS2 appears to have been selling the best out of the three over this holiday season, given its already established software base.

Version 1.081 of XboxGW is now available for download at Xboxgw.com. The Linux, OS X and Win32 ports are still in progress.

The documentation are of the site doesn't have new content for this version yet, so we don't know what has changed.

Louis Wu has reported another Halo review over at HBO. This one's by Phil at XboxGate, yet another Xbox site we didn't even know existed until now.

As for Halo, well, they liked it:

The graphics are simply amazing and unmatched by anything seen by a game thus far, and to go with the stunning graphics is great music that compliments the intense chaotic battles. The game’s game play is ahead of its time when looking at first person shooters, using both analog sticks. When you finished the campaign game don’t worry for multiplayer will keep the fun going for times to come. Halo’s graphics will amaze anyone at first glance. The levels are huge and extraordinary that will quickly get you exploring for more people to kill. On the outdoor levels its hard to concentrate on the mission as you look out and see a beautiful waterfall. The human characters are so detailed you’ll swear you saw wrinkles on their skin. The aliens who continuously throw themselves at your mercy are quite realistic and maybe even able to get you seeing them in dark corners around your own home.

They gave it a 5 out of 5 rating.

Marcus Lai at Gaming Age has put up an Special about how well Halo lived up to the promise of its first tech demo more than three years ago, and the verdict is that it has, and very well indeed:

From the Marine AI talk to the tightly scripted story, Bungie has created the first new next-gen classic. It's no surprise that Halo will be a franchise force to be reckoned with. Nintendo and Sony have their system sellers but their recent offerings haven't delivered above and beyond like Bungie's first Xbox effort. Because of the title's stellar gameplay, the franchise has the power to turn the tides of the videogame wars. Microsoft has a Trojan horse to move systems and it's up the company to move the title's audience past the hardcore and for Bungie to make use of every Xbox feature to show that the title can't be done anywhere else. If that happens, Xbox will have a very secure position in the console wars.

Hail Bungie. Hail Halo.

Thanks TeamXbox for the item.