That's the question posed on the latest podcast at C|Net. With Nintendo's Wii and Microsoft's Xbox 360 vying for the spot of top dog among next generation consoles, Microsoft has to be counting on their flagship franchise, Halo 3, to provide that final push to original Xbox owners to pony up for a 360. Will it be enough? We'll know soon.

Hawty McBloggy figured yesterday should be the day everybody makes a Master Chief out of play doh, and that's the part she started with, apparently.

Thanks Louis Wu at HBO.

Music 4 Games interviews Bungie maestro Marty O'Donnell about the soundtrack for Halo 3, and the news is all good for fans: more music, better fidelity, more orchestral arrangements and a more interactive feel this time around, not to mention another two disc soundtrack set due out sometime.

The latest Bungie Podcast is up and ready for your listening pleasure (and your mom's); get it from Bungie.net or from iTunes. (Editor's Note: I don't see it available in iTunes yet, but I'm sure it'll be there soon.)

Play.tm reports that images of Halo 3 retail discs have been seen online. Of course, they're no good to owners of unmodified consoles, and modified consoles are of no use on Xbox Live, but still...

IGN talked to Tyson "Ferrex" Green about the Halo 3 multiplayer map, Isolation.

Digital Journal interviews Bungie environmental art lead Mike Zak about the challenges of designing the incredibly detailed environments of Halo 3.

Up for grabs on Bungie.net or XBLM is the latest and greatest ViDoc yet, Cinema Paradiso. It shows off amazing Forge and Saved Film footage, and maybe a couple new armor permutations as well.

UPDATE: There is also a local copy in the movie database.

Achronos notes that although the Bungie.net reboot is done, the Halo 3 sections will remain offline until this weekend.