No, unfortunately we're not talking about the evil parasitic lifeform from the world of Halo. This flood is all too real and it's impacted thousands of real people in the wake of hurricane Katrina. In this time of tragedy we're calling on the Bungie Underground Army to do what you can to [url=http://www.redcross.org/]help[/url] those in need.

Hurricane Katrina has decimated New Orleans and surrounding towns along the Gulf coast. If you've taken a break from playing Halo 2 and watched the news lately then you've no doubt seen the horrible aftermath of this devastating storm. It's not often that we stray from topics related to Halo but in this case we felt the need to rally the members of the Bungie Underground Army to lend a hand to help those who have suffered through this disaster. What can you do to help? The [url=http://www.redcross.org/]American Red Cross[/url] is on the front lines providing shelter, food and recovery assistance to the thousands of people impacted by Katrina. You can help out by volunteering your time or making a monetary donation to support their efforts. More information can be found at the Red Cross [url=http://www.redcross.org/]website[/url] or you can donate over the phone by calling [b]1-800-HELP-NOW[/b]. What are you and your posse doing to help? Share your stories in our [url=http://www.bungie.net/Forums/posts.aspx?postID=4631234]forum[/url] and we'll do an update to prove that gamers really can contribute to the world in a positive way! : )

As promised, the Halo 2 [i]Maptacular Pack[/i] is now available as a free download over Xbox Live. If you haven't already grabbed these five maps, what are you waiting for!? All of the maps will be required in order to play matchmaking after next weeks playlist update.

If you've been holding out on getting the last wave of Halo 2 maps your time has finally come. The [i]Maptacular Pack[/i] is now available for download free of charge and includes Terminal, Backwash, Relic, Elongation and Gemini. Please be sure to download all of the Halo 2 maps if you haven't already or you will be unable to play in matchmaking once the playlist update is released next week. In the meantime, you can find new map action in the current Rumble Preview and Team Preview playlists.

Episode 58 Officially Kicks Off Season 4...

Episode 58 Officially Kicks Off Season 4... And you will not be dissapointed, this first episode is 4 minutes 22 Seconds straight of laughter, yes, it is back and better than ever. Head over and check out the new episode [url=http://www.redvsblue.com]HERE[/url]

I want to hear about your Halo 2 Xbox live and Lan Tournaments! Please drop an email to [email]tourney@soffish.com[/email] and include tourney information such as: date and time, title, location, sponsors (if you have any) and awards/prizes. Feel free to send in your post-tourney stories and tourney updates as well!

Every week or so I will take all the tourney information I recieve and consolidate it into one news post called the "Tourney Roundup". I'll try my best to get the roundup posted every Thursday afternoon! Thanks!

Mark your calendars! September 19th is [url=http://www.talklikeapirate.com/piratehome.html]Talk like a Pirate day![/url] Arrrrr!

Just sit right there and you'll hear a tale, A tale of pimping tri-ip! (ARRH) That started from the seaside hood, Aboard this pimping shi-ip! (ARRH) Aboard this pimping shi-ip! I looked right down and I saw a fin, A fin of mermaid sea -blam!-! (ARRH) She hopped right upon my boat, And starting giving her sales pitch! (ARRH) And starting giving her sales pitch! Its been a good fortnight or two, I hope my whores don't flee! (ARRH) This tale of mine continues, Past lands and seas unknown to me-ee! (ARRH) Past lands and seas unknown to me-ee! Share your pirate and pirate pimp jokes, experiences and shanties on the [url=http://www.bungie.net/Forums/topics.aspx?forumID=10]flood forum[/url] on September 19th!

funkmon writes:

Due to the explosion of amateur machinima films, a Halo movies awards contest was created, named [url=http://rop.thatweasel.tv]Rockets on Prisoner[/url]. The 3rd annual awards are open for public voting for just two more days. Vote now in one or all of the 16 categories. [url=http://rop.thatweasel.tv/index.php?site=O&pg=V]Vote for your favorites![/url]

The voting process itself is very simple. The page lists five nominees for each of the 16 categories, and the voter picks one person to win for each of them. The winners of the awards will not only receive signed bumper stickers from the judges, but real golden Master Chief trophies (like an Oscar, but a Spartan), That Weasel fan club subscriptions, gift certificates, and potentially some Red vs. Blue DVDs and Sponsors vs. Freeloaders T-Shirts. You can [url=http://rop.thatweasel.tv/index.php?site=O&pg=V]vote for your favorite Halo Movies here[/url], and find out [url=http://rop.thatweasel.tv/index.php?site=O]more information about the history, the prizes, the judges and whatnot here.[/url]

The [url=http://www.penny-arcade.com/pax]Penny Arcade Expo[/url] (PAX) kicks off today in Bellevue, WA. There are a few specific points of interest for Halo fans including appearances by Red vs. Blue tonight and an ongoing Halo 2 tournament culminating in a match against Team Bungie tomorrow afternoon. If you live in the area, swing by to say hello and check it out!

The Penny Arcade Expo looks to be better than ever this year with more gaming goodness than you could possibly handle in a 3 day period. Tons of tournaments ranging from Halo 2 to card games will be taking place along with special industry panel discussions, hands-on game demos and even musical performances. Tonight, the guys from Red vs. Blue will be providing some entertainment and mingling with fans. Tomorrow, members of Team Bungie will be stopping by to play an exhibition match against the winners of the PAX Halo 2 tournament around 1:30 PM. Stop by and watch our guys try to represent and feel free to give Frankie a hard time. For more details about PAX including a full roster of activities for all three days, head over to the Penny Arcade [url=http://www.penny-arcade.com/pax]website[/url].

[url=http://www.bungiefansonline.com]Bungiefansonline.com[/url], a bungie fansite created by two long time and somewhat respected bungie.net forum members ([url=http://www.bungie.net/Account/Profile.aspx?uid=26396]psyched[/url] and [url=http://www.bungie.net/Account/Profile.aspx?uid=219812]snowmanaxt[/url]), has recently launched!

Check it out and tell these jokers what you think. Keep in mind that their site is very new and still smells a bit. (the grand opening party got a little freaky) Additionally bungiefansonline.com has many of the features you would expect from any respectable bungie fansite. News, polls, and forums are all present. The BFO crew is also in the process of setting up a [url=http://www.bungiefansonline.com/index.php?pg=tourney05]Myth Tourney[/url]! Bungie.net members don't do positive things for the old school community often...so plan on attending! :P

mrsmiley writes:

[url=http://www.halobabies.net]HaloBabies.net[/url] hit their 100th strip today after 2 years of hilarious Halo-based comic strips! Check out [url=http://www.halobabies.net/comics/100]strip 100[/url] today, along with 3 new desktop images themed after the strip!

HaloBabies.net is based off of the beloved April fools joke that was crafted by Bungie Lead Artist, Lorraine McLees. It has been going strong for 2 years, with a steadily increasing fan base. Be sure to swing by the [url=http://www.halobabies.net/forum]forum[/url] after you check out the new strip, and see what kind of art our members have to offer!

Ghandi 2 writes:

Sometime in the coming weeks, a Myth tournament will be hosted on MariusNet. It is open to anybody who has Myth 2, is willing to be civil, and wants to have fun playing Myth. Read all about it and sign up [url=http://www.bungie.net/Forums/posts.aspx?postID=4569014]here[/url].

So what are you waiting for? Sign up now! Good Luck to all who participate and remember: Have fun!

Halo 2 arrived at one of the biggest anime conventions to the Otaku generation between August 19-21.

Otakon 2005, one of the biggest anime conventions in America, host a video game room every year. Lucky for us, Halo 2 has been making an outstanding impression for gamers everywhere. This year, Halo 2 was played on 6 large projector screens. This meant lots of invitation to watch. Tournaments were ran both Friday and Saturday, kicking off with two FFA tournaments Friday, and Team Slayer and Team Objective tournaments on Saturday. The lines to play in these events were long and saddening for those in the back of them. Here are a few pics from the gamer's point of view: [url=http://www.krazygamers.com/downloads/Otakon%202005:%20Lines%20pwning%20n00bs/otakonsaturday247.jpg] Pic1 [/url] [url=http://www.krazygamers.com/downloads/Otakon%202005:%20Lines%20pwning%20n00bs/otakonsaturday119.jpg] Pic2 [/url] [url=http://www.krazygamers.com/downloads/Otakon%202005:%20Lines%20pwning%20n00bs/otakonsaturday135.jpg] Pic3[/url] [url=http://www.krazygamers.com/downloads/Otakon%202005:%20Lines%20pwning%20n00bs/otakonsaturday134.jpg]Pic4[/url] More pictures and hopefully video will be added to [url=http://www.krazygamers.com] www.krazygamers.com [/url]

From Marathon to Halo, Pat Miller describes how Bungie has evolved the genre in the latest issue of The Escapist.

Pat Miller details the ground-breaking accomplishments of Bungie in the lastest issue of [url=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/issue/7/3]The Escapist[/url]. He details the engrossing storyline and devotion starting in the Marathon days and evolving into the Halo series. It's an excellently written article, inspiring me to stand back and give a sincere "golf-clap" to the professionals from Bungie that worked on all these accomplishments. [i]"Marathon's game design has left its mark, not only in Halo but also in the genre as a whole. While the rest of the industry was collectively soiling themselves over Doom's gritty texture maps and the totally awesome BFG 9000, the Bungie folks were quietly pioneering FPS development with things like secondary fire modes, objective-based missions instead of red keys and blue doors, plots that aren't mind-numbingly boring, and so on."[/i]

Raw skills help in racking up the kills and avoiding death and might make you a decent or even a good player. But how reach the level of a [b]great[/b] player? [url=http://halowiki.net/wiki/User:LegendaryMark ]LegendaryMark[/url] provides part of the answer in his article [url=http://h2wiki.halowiki.net/wiki/What_makes_a_great_player]What makes a great player?[/url].

Asking themselves the same question I think most people realize that things like accurate aim and snake-fast reflexes sure are important, but that they aren’t the [b]most[/b] important factor. Take two equally technically skilled players and the best one will be the one with the best strategy and tactics. But Mark wonders if it isn’t even that a technically inferior player can beat the technical master by outsmarting him. At least if the technical gap isn’t too large. Some players seem to be in the right place at the right time always. Lucky spawns? Not according to Mark. Making the opponents seem like babies (paraphrasing Overswarm) is about outthinking them, outsmarting them, outwitting them. Know the maps of course, know the [url=http://h2wiki.halowiki.net/wiki/Carney_Holes]Carney Holes[/url], know yourself and your limitations. In short, learn to think like a Pro. That means power weapon control and ability to lock down the enemy completely. Take a step in this direction by reading the article. Here: [url=http://h2wiki.halowiki.net/wiki/What_makes_a_great_player]What makes a great player?[/url].

Nedus writes:

Voice actor Steve Downes is interviewed, and touches on subjects like the Halo movie, and how he got involved with Bungie.

[url=http://tiedtheleader.blogspot.com/2005/08/visit-from-master-chief-himself.html]http://tiedtheleader.blogspot.com/2005/08/visit-from-master-chief-himself.html[/url] Voice actor Steve Downes is interviewed, and touches on subjects like the Halo movie, and how he got involved with Bungie. Its broken into three parts. MP3 format, 2-3 megs apiece.

When reading Bungie.net or HBO; You sometimes wish you could easily access information on those Halo 2 terms in the text? Now you can have all those terms highlighted and linked to their corresponding [url=http://halowiki.net]halowiki.net[/url] article.

By installing a tiny user script - The [url=http://h2wiki.halowiki.net/wiki/Greasemonkey_Web_Linker]Greasmonkey halowiki.net linker[/url] - in your web browser, Bungie.net, HBO and other Halo related websites transform. Instead of: "The Carbine hide on Ivory Tower is a perfect place for lurking with the Sword for a while." you now get: "The [url=http://h2wiki.halowiki.net/wiki/Carbine]Carbine[/url] hide on [url=http://h2wiki.halowiki.net/wiki/Ivory_Tower]Ivory Tower[/url] is a perfect place for lurking with the [url=http://h2wiki.halowiki.net/wiki/Sword]Sword[/url] for a while." (Though the "magic" links will have a visual clue telling you that it's a link produced by the script.) Clicking those links will let you read what other Halo 2 nutties have written on the subjects of Covenant Carbine, Ivory Tower and the Energy Sword. Not only that. It will let you add your knowledge to those artciles too! You find the script here: [url=http://h2wiki.halowiki.net/wiki/Greasemonkey_Web_Linker]Greasmonkey halowiki.net linker[/url]

Yesterday we ran a query to detect people who were playing a significant amount of games with known modders. As a result, several thousand players received a temporary warning ban from Halo 2 Matchmaking. "Boosting" with the help of modders is a bannable offense so you're advised to not party with people using modified content.

Since the banhammer came down hard on people using modified content on Xbox Live, a new trend has emerged - "Boosting" with modders. People are using free trial accounts and using mods to boost their friends or their main accounts as much as they can until they eventually get banned. Just because our auto-ban system only goes after the actual people who have modified content doesn't mean we don't also know about the people partying with these modders. Yesterday several thousand players were banned, all people who were found to have played a significant number of games with known reported modders. These bans were temporary - this time. But let this be a warning - if you play with people who have modified content on their box - you're at risk for being banned yourself. Whether the mods are actually being "used" or not, or if you don't intend to boost, if you continue playing with anyone who has modified content you will be flagged. The best advice - don't party with anyone who has modified content. Period. Let them take the fall.

This past weekend marked the first annual [url=http://www.2old2play.com]2old2play Chicago Lan Party[/url]. Gamers over the age of 25 met up from all across the US and Canada for the ultimate in Bungie gaming.

Tucked away in a small but accommodating conference room 30 site members gathered for Halo CE, Halo 2, beer, pizza and good times. Events started early at around 10 a.m. when members went through the awkward task of meeting each other for the first time, again. You see many of the attendees had been gaming with one another for almost 5 months on Xbox live. Putting a face to the name was a little strange at first, especially when not all voices sound the same in person. Once the pleasantries were done away with, the gaming started almost instantly. Like moths to a flame, gamers were drawn to the TV and Halo 2 as if pulled by some unseen force. The first tournament was FFA in which all members participated for Game Give-aways and bragging rights. Winners were decided by a 4 man elimination each round until only 4 remained. The final four battled it out on Warlock until our very own [url=http://www.bungie.net/Stats/PlayerStats.aspx?player=StuntDan78]StuntDan78[/url] was crowed the victor. Between tournaments members made sure to play as much Halo CE as possible. It’s not that often you get the opportunity to play Halo CE with 16 people so we took advantage of every chance. After FFA, members were picked by random selection to team up in the Skirmish tournament. By this time, beer and pizza consumption and increased and members were now in the full swing of the event... Speaking of beer, it’s funny what gaming and alcohol can do to a person. One minute you’re a calm over the hill gamer and the next you turn into a 14 year old “Timmy” hopped up on Ballz and Vodka while screaming at fellow site members in the name of Master Chief. The Team Skirmish Tournament proved to be the best example of this as many [url=http://www.2old2play.com]2old2play[/url] could be seen jumping up from there seats and yelling over their TV sets when anything of the least excitement was happening on screen. Once the tournament was through and the blood pressure returned to normal, the gaming went on till no one could stand, er, sit any longer. It was the first of what will be many events held for gamers over the hill who still love to play. We would just love to thank Bungie for creating such a great game and helping 2old2play create such a large community. Will see all the old folks next year in Chicago! [url=http://www.2old2play.com]For more media head over to 2old2play for pictures and more![/url]

[url=http://www.brokenconsole.co.uk]Broken Console Productions[/url] have created a halo 2 based machinima called "The Squadron"

[url=http://www.brokenconsole.co.uk]Broken Console[/url]s "The Squadron" is a machinima combining the comedy of [url=http://www.roosterteeth.com]"Red Vs Blue"[/url] and the action of [url=http://thecodexseries.com]"The Codex"[/url]. It has become quite popular and has been shown on the front page of [url=http://halo.bungie.org]HBO[/url] several times.

[url=http://www.bungie.net/Account/Profile.aspx?uid=922850]Wasabe[/url]'s [b]Diary of a Noob[/b] stories quickly got popular. Now the stories are saved from drowning in the Zanzibar forum. They are being archived at [url=http://www.halowiki.net]halowiki.net[/url].

The noob does all sorts of crazy stuff. And the Zanzibar community is helpful as always. Actually it is much the response from the audience that makes the stories so funny. Kinda like improvisional theater. Many readers hold the bomb episodes as favourites, but the noob de-leveling is pretty funny too! Not to forget [url=http://www.bungie.net/Forums/posts.aspx?postID=4348735]day 1[/url] where the noob has serious problems registering the Gamertag "Bob". (But "uradopted" works so he's fine.) Five days in the diary so far and they are all archived. Here: [*] [url=http://h2wiki.halowiki.net/wiki/Diary_of_a_Noob]Noob Diary Acrhive[/url]

PraetoriaGuard's latest website, [url=http://www.halo2gametypes.com]Halo2GameTypes.com[/url], is a way for the community to submit, share and vote on game variants. It offers an easy way to submit game variants as well as an easy tutorial for setting up the game variants you like on your own XBox.

This website is dedicated to the growing Halo 2 Community and the gametypes that are emerging. From Zombies to Speedball - if you’ve played it online, chances are, it’s listed here. Find out what other people think of it - and how they might tweak it. Invented your own gametype? Submit your gametype using our submission system and see how other people rate it. You can vote on any game type to increase it's popularity. The top five game variants, as rated by the Halo 2 community, are listed below. Visit us at http://www.halo2gametypes.com Keep up to date on all of PraetoriaGuard's websites at http://www.halo2webring.com

SILENCE UK writes:

Rooster Teeth confirm new series dates...

Rooster teeth have now confirmed that Season 4 will Debut on the 8.29.2005. Great news after the cliff hanger ending at the end of series 3 left all fans on tenterhooks wondering what will happen to the motly crew of spartans at the hands of the great destroyer. Check out [url=http://www.redvsblue.com]www.redvsblue.com[/url] for more info. Check out www.roosterteeth.com for more info on what the creators are up to and on there latest series STRANGER HOOD.