AdReview might have had a point about absolute morons at gaming sites.

Problem was, they were talking about the wrong people.

TeamXbox is reporting that there's a demo of Oddworld on the Halo game disc; another benefit of using DVDs for storage.

TeamXbox has noted that EBGames.com is once again accepting Xbox preorders; but these orders are expected to ship on November 19th, and not on the official launch date of November 15.

Louis Wu at HBO noted that PlanetXbox has posted a hands-on review of Halo. They were particularly impressed by the size and detail of Halo's environments:

Originally, it was expected that somewhere between 600,000 and 800,000 units of Microsoft's upcoming Xbox game console would be available on the launch date of November 15. There is no longer any such official estimate, and some analysts are predicting something closer to 300,000.

Our very own Ferrex, now of Bungie Studios, has posted a message in the forum at HBO giving his own personal views of the pros and cons of the Xbox compared to PCs or Nintendo's GameCube. Some of the highlights:

Bounty is reporting at BattleGround: Halo that Electronics Boutique has begun shipping Halo preorders. It is expected to arrive Wednesday.

The last few days has seen a lot more information come out about Halo's multiplayer game types and options. First, xbox.ign.com posted Part Two of their Halo Multiplayer Guide, once again making it available only for IGNInsider subscribers.

Negative at XboxFaction has posted a short note that their site will be coming back stronger than ever and with a new design and daily updates on or before the Xbox's Nov. 15 launch date.

Final Solution Xbox has posted some scans of the Halo disc, as well as some really useful advice for playing the game, like Don't piss off Covenant Elites. Spotted by Louis Wu over at HBO.

Once again, the Xbox preorders available from Amazon.com sold out within minutes; the Xbox page at Amazon now lists November 15, the launch date, as the next opportunity to order.

IE Magazine (Interactive Entertainment) is running an interview with Ed Fries from Microsoft's gaming division. In addition to a couple of tidbits I didn't know, like the fact that Fries started with MS in 1985 as an intern, there's a short mention of Halo and other Xbox launch titles:

TeamXbox posted an interview with J Allard yesterday from the Xbox Unleashed event in New York. On the subject of online play, which comes to the Xbox next summer:

Microsoft may not break even on the Xbox gaming console until 2004, according to Morgan Stanley analyst Mary Meeker, quoted yesterday in an article at Reuters.