I love Halo. The games, books and music all lead to a ridiculously epic experience. Whether you love it or hate it, you can’t argue with the fact that whenever Bungie brought something to the table, they went big rather than going home.

Starting on Friday May 14, 2010 until Monday May 17, 2010 anyone with an internet connection and a copy of Halo 3: ODST can play the beta. If you don’t own ODST you can still play Halo 3 online without an Xbox Live Gold account for these three days. All tier access will open up at 9am PDT (12pm EDT).

You can also help out by playing either Halo 3 or Halo 3: ODST on Wednesday (January 20, 2010) or Thursday (January 21, 2010). All you have to do is wear a special emblem while in the game to contribute. For every 1,000 players that wear this symbol Bungie will donate $1,000 to the American Red Cross. Bungie will donate up to $77,000 to help those in need in Haiti.

Dubbed the “WCG USA Halo 3: ODST Locked and Loaded Tournament,” 24 teams will compete for cash and prizes. The first-place team will share $2,000, second place winners receive Samsung digital cameras (model not indicated) and third place winners will receive Samsun monitors (models were not indicated). Teams consist of four players each and it will be a best-of-three format. The first 24 paid and registered teams will get to compete (so hurry).

McFarlane Toys recently announced the second wave of Halo Odd Pod figures, its 2009 San Diego Comic-Con figure and a small slew of other Halo-themed figures and figure-related products.

The Odd Pod figures are hand-painted, stand 4 inc. tall and are individually boxed. Each has curled hands and comes with an accessory they can hold.

The company’s 2009 San Diego Comic-Con-exclusive item will be a 6 in. Toys “R” Us Grifball Spartan in a clamshell package.

Also being released July 2009 are

Microsoft is offering a new bundle for people who haven’t already taken the plunge and bought a Xbox 360 . Available in May 2009, the Xbox 360 Game of the Year bundle will be hitting retail shelves in North America.

The bundle will include a Xbox 360 Elite console, Halo 3 and Fable II for $399.99. The standard retail price for an Elite console alone is currently US$399.99, Halo 3 sells for $39.99 and Fable 2 still has a $59.99 price point (that’s about $100 in savings).

The Xbox 360 Elite is the beefiest of all Xbox 360 consoles. It comes with…

Just got a message from my friend Zach Wigal of Gamers Outreach Foundation about an upcoming video game convention, Gamers 4 Giving, a charity event to be held at the Eastern Michigan University Student Center located on 900 Oakwood Street in Ypsilanti, Michigan (USA), starting 2 p.m. on February 27, 2009, and ending March 1, 2009. This year’s Gamers 4 Giving event will focus on raising funds to catapult the GOF 2009 community initiatives.

Events include a “300 MAN LAN” party PC tournament, Super Smash Brothers Brawl and 2vs2 Halo 3 Tournament.

Gamers Outreach Foundation is…

It’s no secret that people are cutting back. Unemployment, foreclosure and all sorts of other calamities are befalling families across the US, so it’s no surprise that for many people, entertainment is taking a backseat. Midway and EA are just two of the companies facing some serious losses.

Now is the time when companies have to rethink how they market games. Video game developers and publishers have to rely on casual and multiplayer games. While what TIME says holds true, that is that people will rely on forms of entertainment that will provide the best…

Another tragic and unthinkable story with a relation to a violent video game has just surfaced in the news. The trial for Daniel Petric began December 15, 2008. Over a year ago, on October 20, 2007, when Daniel was 16, he killed his mother and tried to kill his father – all because they didn’t want him playing Halo 3.

Daniel’s parents, New Life Assembly of God minister Mark Petric and his wife Susan (pictured at right), didn’t want Daniel playing Halo 3 and forbade him to buy it. Daniel didn’t listen, and around a month before the attack snuck out and bought the game. His parents found out he bought it on his own, and confiscated the game. Mark then placed Halo 3 in a lockbox, where he also happened to keep the family’s handgun.

Daniel managed to get the key when his father was unaware. He took both the gun and game. He shot his mother in the head, arms and chest and his father in the head. Luckily, his father’s wound wasn’t fatal. Daniel then tried to frame his father, and tried to force his dad to hold the gun so it would look like a murder-suicide…

Halo fans may have another item to add to their holiday wishlist – the Halo Trilogy – The Complete Original Soundtracks boxed set. Sumthing Else Music Works’ has just announced that the five disc release, which also comes with four tracks from Halo Wars will be available both in stores and for download on December 2, 2008. Amazon‘s currently listing the set for $26.99. If you search for Halo at Sumthing Digital, the Halo soundtracks are $9.99 each, so the boxed set ends up being a pretty good deal.

The Halo Wars special DVD that’s included with this set may be the most appealing to fans. It not only has four unspecified tracks from the forthcoming Xbox 360 real-time strategy game set in the Halo universe, but it also shows the recording session where the Halo Wars theme was created and the opening “Five Long Years” movie that will appear in Halo Wars.

The contents of the pack are pretty standard, aside from the Halo Wars special DVD. There are four CDs…