...the lazy do news roundups. Here's what didn't quite manage to slip past us in the past few days, hours, or even weeks:
After three levels of action on Earth, Halo 2 does two unexpected things: it takes the Master Chief away from humanity's homeworld unexpectedly, and it places the player in the size 14 horseshoes of The Arbiter, the once-disgraced Covenant Elite commander blamed for the destruction of Installation 04 now tasked with impossible missions that his Prophet Hierarch leaders believe-- and perhaps even hope-- will claim his life.
Once we've been treated to the first surprise, that the Master Chief, now aboard In Amber Clad, is following Regret's ship through slipspace as he flees Earth, Halo 2 immediately hits us with the second. At the end of the opening cutscene of The Arbiter, where Prophets Truth and Mercy give the disgraced Elite commander from Halo a temporary reprieve from his ordered execution by serving as The Arbiter; a special position occupied by hundreds, if not thousands, of Elites before him in times of crisis. The position even comes with a retro suit of armor.
The big news in this week's What's What Weekly Update by Frankie over at Bungie.net isn't who's playing Halo 2, it's who won't be playing Halo 2 anymore. Frankie says that Bungie has just banned thousands of players for cheating, network exploits, foul language or player abuse.
And on a side note, the latest Halo Babies comic explains why some of those people might have been banned...
No doubt smarting from serious wounds to their pride from previous Humpday Challenges, Bungie this week decided to knock down some senior citizens trying to cross the street on walkers challenge the Geezer Gamers to some Halo 2.
You want the news? We can't handle the news! Wait, that didn't come out right...
More additions to HBO's Halo 2 Dialogue Databank, submitted by SaloX. Thanks Louis Wu at HBO.
Frankie bursts this bubble right off the bat, as well as giving an update on technical and administrative progress in curbing online cheating, in the latest What's What Update at Bungie.net. The Rumor Control column at GameSpot turned out to be right; they considered this rumor bogus.
At the Halo Story Page, Mnemesis interviewed Bungie's Joe Staten on the Halo storyline, setting to rest some old debates, such as who really released the Flood, where the other SPARTANs are and whether or not it's important, the relationship between the Forerunners and the Flood, and time travel. Joe also adds some information about the HSP Timeline. A must-read.