R.net reader Mark Diller wrote in to let us know about an E3 wrapup article at Salon-- and it mentions Halo and the Xbox front and center. Just not in a good way:

Finally, providing that one could rip one's eyes away from protruding bust lines, who will prevail in the console wars? Last year, I was sure that Xbox's dominance was predetermined. But now, I'd say the odds lean slightly toward Nintendo, whose games generated the best buzz -- especially Miyamoto's Pikmin, a kind of Japanese cousin to Black & White, only more accessible. By contrast, Halo, Xbox's vaunted killer app, seems like just another variation on the already popular Tribes 2 -- and, more ominously for Microsoft, features a helmet-wearing protagonist without a name, or even a face. (This in a market where identifiable personalities, like Crash Bandicoot or Mario, are key to a console's branding.)

Normally comparisons between Tribes 2 and Halo draw choruses of troll from the Bungie faithful, and I suppose Salon won't be immune to this treatment. As for the helmet... I don't know, I always kind of identified emotionally with nameless, faceless cyborgs. Maybe it's just me.