Maps of Halo's multiplayer levels are up at Truth and Reconciliation. Overhead views of maps, lots of helpful hints. Hurray! Head on over if you've got nothin' else to do like me! There's also some new human vehicle concept art. Thanks HBO for that last tip.

Icrontic, the web site that's already taken their Xbox apart in hopes of hacking it up to do neat things, has posted an Xbox vs. GameCube opinion piece. The result? Nintendo by a nose:

It's your cash, and it's your opinion that matters. For that reason you need to decide which console to buy on your own. I can only guide you so far. Microsoft's Xbox has the superior hardware, but I believe Nintendo has superior games. I enjoy Super Smash Brothers: Melee on the GameCube far more than I enjoy Halo on the Xbox. They are both great games, and both the best games on their respective system, but one has the Nintendo touch, and that's something Microsoft can't match.

I'm not sure this proves much other than that there are Nintendo people... and everybody else. I suppose gameplay means a lot, but after a few screenshots of the day-glo Smash Brothers I find it hard to imagine myself playing it for more than five minutes. But then I'm not a Nintendo person.

Thanks VoodooExtreme.

There's a story at FunXbox that states Microsoft is now saying that 1.1M Xbox consoles have been shipped to retailers (note: this does NOT mean sold ).

Microsoft Corp. today announced that Microsoft Xbox video game system has surpassed the 1 million mark in shipments, with 1.1 million units sold-in to retailers. These sell-in results build on the spectacular Xbox sell-through rate for the system's first two weeks of launch.

The article cites Microsoft but there is no direct link to any press release or other media outlet.

UPDATE: Ferrex on RHL and Tobin here at Rampancy gave us a link to the Microsoft press release at PRNewsWire.

One of the things cited as refreshing, if not actually innovative, about Halo is the fact that it doesn't depend on the usual key-door-boss sequence that has plagued the shooter genre since Doom. It seems not everyone feels the same:

Despite the exciting multiplayer modes, Halo does have a clink within its shiny coat of armor, the lack of a final boss. Even with its nerve-racking race-to- the-finish dash to your ship at the end of the game, Halo still should have had a final confrontation with a boss. Half-Life had one, so did Doom. Defeating the last boss in any game is its own reward. It would have been frosting on an already sweet mountain of a cake, but perhaps Bungie wanted to break away from the norm by straying away from that gaming cliche? Only they know for sure, and they ain't talking!

One thing is for sure; Halo is a cinematic pleasure rollercoaster without the guardrail. Armed with an engaging plot, hours of intense legendary battles, and an arsenal of intergalactic weapons, this aria of a space opera helps to define the next generation of first person shooters for years to come-- or until Halo 2.

The 'Lost Hours' column at Coming Attractions gave Halo a 9 out of 10, but did note that the Spartan cyborg looks a lot like the Doom marine, at least in terms of color.

Thanks to Louis Wu at HBO.

It's been lost in all the hype over this holiday season's console wars, but the reigning king of the living room is still Sony and the PlayStation-- both versions, in fact.

IGN has a story that puts sales of the PS2 and PS1 combined pretty close to the numbers being claimed for the Xbox and the GameCube-- not bad considering the PS2 was last year's big winner, and the PS1 is long in the tooth indeed:

According to SCEA's internal sales data, there were more than 317,000 PlayStation 2 units and 100,000 PS one consoles sold through to consumers during the week of November 19, with PS2 sales being up 62% from the previous week. Meanwhile, during the week of November 26, there were more than 321,00 PS2 units and 100,000 PS one units sold.

The current console battle is really a battle for second place.

Someone named bunnie has apparently already taken Xbox hacking a step further than anyone else so far. He removed the box's surface-mounted BIOS chip and installed a socket so that he could replace it with a standard PC BIOS chip.

Then, he downloaded the contents of the Xbox's BIOS chip and posted them on his web site, along with pictures and instructions on how he did it.

Within 12 hours he got a call from Microsoft (mp3, edited for content), and the BIOS file is now removed. However, his page also points out that while the Sony vs. Connectix case set a precedent that allows for reverse engineering, it does not allow free distribution. So if you want to follow his instructions and have your very own Xbox ROM BIOS file, you can, you just can't get a copy of his.

Thanks Slashdot for the story.

Voodoo Extreme's poll asking for your pick for console game of the year has ended and Halo absolutely swept the competition with 47% (1928) of the votes.

There is now a new poll asking which game has the best graphics of 2001. Halo is winning with 23% (1098) of the votes, but Return To Castle Wolfenstein is only 88 votes behind. Go vote, and vote often!

About that Halo PDF guide for IGN Insiders we reported yesterday. Claude Errera let us know that it is indeed the Halo walkthrough at IGN Guides, minus the screenshots.

If you still want to check it out, HBO has reported that IGN is allowing public access to its Insider content starting this evening and for the next 24 hours.

CORRECTION:: According to IGN Insider, only five articles will be unlocked for the public, none of which are Halo related.

Master_Chief (where do you suppose he got that name from?) of Xbox Xtreme has written a short but sweet Halo review. It describes Halo as [non-stop] action based around combat, combat and more combat and mind blowing . Overall, Halo scored 9.5 out of 10. (Thanks HBO)

Xbox City has reviewed Halo and found it to be a great game. So great, in fact, that it received the X Factor award; an unexplained title apparently given to the Xbox's best games. Halo scored 4.8 out of 5. (Thanks HBO)

Xbox Gamers's own Akuma has written a Halo review. The game was praised for its immaculate sound and gameplay as well as in all other reviewed criteria. Xbox Gamers scored Halo 9.9 out of 10. (Thanks HBO)

Krillian Hex of Xbox Gaming got a hold of Halo and gave it an extremely positive review:

The game never gets boring. It will have you playing for hours upon hours, days upon days. The game doesn't have a very unique story line, but when played, the gameplay is more than what you expected. The AI is incredible. You will have enemies duck, or even run away from you if you killed all there teammates. Your troops will back you up and deploy specific tactics in order to win. They don't just run in with guns blazing- if they know they are outnumbered, you will have to sniper to clear as many enemies as you can before you are spotted.

As pointed out in numerous reviews, Halo's story doesn't seem to be its strong point, which is contrary to what we expected from Bungie. Nonetheless, Halo scored 98% overall. (Thanks HBO)

Interestingly enough, PC Magazine has reviewed the Xbox version of Halo, though it is an extremely short article:

If the Xbox has a killer app this is it. Halo is simply the best action game to surface since Half-Life was released for the PC in 1998. Stunning 3-D graphics, an epic sci-fi storyline and tense shoot-em-up action all make Halo a compelling and memorable game experience. Trapped on the artificial ring world of Halo, you must battle past waves of hostile aliens while trying to unravel the mystery of Halo.

PC Magazine scored Halo 5 out of 5. (Thanks HBO)

Byron Hinson at ActiveXbox has posted a Halo review, and he gives the game a 95% rating:

What can I say? Graphically Halo is miles ahead of any other console game released today. Sound wise again I have to say, I haven't really heard such a great range of voices, sound effects or Dolby 5.1 in any other game ever. Gameplay can become a little repetitive but in saying that, I enjoyed every moment playing Halo and if you play all of the different difficulty levels then you are going to be treated to different endings.

The only negative points in the review included some framerate slowdowns, level repetitiveness, and I want Halo 2. Which I suppose isn't really a criticism.

Tom's Hardware has a nice feature on the console wars, talking about the battles between videogame systems all the way from Atari's Video Computer System up to the Xbox and the GameCube. Thanks to Noctavis who pointed it out on RHL.