Overswarm's Not So Common Sense Guide hosted over at HBO has received a number of new updates; complete details are in the post by Louis Wu.

TeamXbox has a feature on the Xbox 360's probable launch lineup; the games that will make it, those that won't but should, the ones you might not know about, and a category called "where the hell is" games. The article begins by mentioning Halo:

Halo. Perhaps the most important launch title of all time. You could easily argue that there have been better console launch titles, but it's hard to discount how important Halo has been to the success of the Xbox. Face it - launch titles can make or break a console. Launch titles also set the tone for the system, giving gamers a pretty good glimpse at what to expect in the future. Put a bad taste in a gamer's mouth with a paltry, unimpressive launch lineup, and hear them all mutter "Dreamcast 2" under their breath.

However, strangely enough, Halo 3 is mentioned on only two the six authors' lists. Nate puts Halo 3 down under "won't make launch but should have":

Despite the fact that the words "launch" and "Halo 3" have never been in the same sentence with one another doesn't change the fact that playing the Xbox 360 on launch day with no sign of the series that made the original big black box what it is today just doesn't feel right.

Matt puts Halo 3 on his "where the hell is" list:

So my question is where the hell is Halo 3? At this point, nothing has been said aside from rumblings on message boards, and whispers of secret room meetings. So will we see Halo 3 on the 360? I don't doubt it, it's too much of a flagship series, but c'mon, lets start seeing some details already.

(That sums up my opinion as well: Gates' bravado over releasing Halo 3 in time to spoil the PlayStation 3's launch sounds like a great idea, but it's a poor substitute for having the Master Chief riding shotgun for the new console himself on launch day--Ed.)

For various reasons it's been hard for me to keep up with news posting lately; many thanks to trav himself (formerly Sistimatic) for picking up the slack. Here are some recent items of note:

• Film Force carries supposed confirmation of the Fox-Universal Halo movie deal. Meanwhile, IGN posts some comments from their staff and Halo fans on what should be in the Halo movie. (The list makes Baby Jesus cry--Ed.)
• BDGamer says the Xbox 360 launches this December in Japan; earlier reports have cited 20 games at launch in that market, which will be key for Microsoft this time around, as it was quite weak for the Xbox compared to Europe and North America.
• Xbox365 says Microsoft's Robbie Bach is being brought on board the Windows Media Player 11 team to take on Apple' iPod/iTunes dominance in the online music arena. (No, this is not a joke. Or maybe it is--Ed.)
• Wil Wheaton's blog talks about what game voice talent sought from their recent lobbying, but didn't quite get.
• Major Nelson points out a How Does Bungie.net Work case study at MSDN.
• Kotaku suggests that Blizzard's World of Warcraft MMORPG might be ported to Xbox 360. (A welcome addition to fill the gap left when True Fantasy was cancelled--Ed.)

East Bay Express has a story called The Buzzmakers about 4orty 2wo, the studio responsible for the ARG (Alternative Reality Gaming) marketing promotions for the film A.I. (The Beast) and Halo 2 (The Haunted Apiary/I Love Bees).

There's a lot of detail in this nine-page story, including how staffers spent months tracking down working payphones.

So, Microsoft lets the bomb drop this week that the Xbox 360 will be backwards compatible-- sort of. That "sort of" should include Halo and Halo 2, according to Newsday via HBO. But as they look backwards to look forwards, is Microsoft reaching far enough back for owners of the original console? This is the latest of Narc's Retorts.

As the world bathes in the offwhite glow of the Xbox 360, take a moment to ponder one of the hidden sources of the Xbox's rise from unknown quantity to major player, as a sometimes-partner, sometimes-rival of Microsoft's gives an unintended boost to the company's fledgling game console.

Mike Miller has brought his fantastic Halo 2 Legendary Walkthrough to a close with a video-laden page on The Great Journey. If you've played the game all the way through but haven't read this series yet, then do yourself a favor and check it out. If you're still stuck somewhere trying to beat Legendary, swallow your pride and look for some tips. Louis Wu posted a link to this at HBO.

Sistimatic has written the latest of Rampancy's series of Halo 2 Impressions. This one covers the indoor/outdoor snowdrifted Flood-fest that is Quarantine Zone.

The Art of Controller Tossing, the latest Making of a Spartan article by Furiont at Tabula Rasa, touches on the value of knowing when to hold 'em, when to fold 'em, when to walk away, and when to run, vis a vis lowering the number of times you die in a Halo 2 match.

Having finally gotten online, I've just now gotten around to discussing my favorite topic related to Internet gaming: the scourge of lag. Of course, the broadband-only Xbox Live service is designed not to have any, but under extreme circumstances there is still some lag to deal with. The first part of the High Ping Bastard's Guide to Halo 2 is on how choosing the right weapon for when you're playing on a not-so-fast connection.