Microsoft recently filed a complaint with the National Arbitration Forum in order to get the domain name halo4beta dot net (don’t visit the site, it’s a phishing scam). The site claims to offer Halo 4 beta access, but it’s in fact just a way of scamming users. It’s not the first time we’ve seen something like this, and it’s good that Microsoft is taking swift action. Unfortunately, this being the Internet, it can be quite difficult to track down the owner and operator of the domain.

Flickr user “Nick Brick” knows a thing or two about LEGOs, judging by the looks of his creations. The man specializes in recreating Halo weapons in LEGO with astounding accuracy and visual detail. For instance, the Halo Reach SRS99 rifle, pictured above. Be sure to check out more photos of his full arsenal on Flickr.

Halo 4 on the PC might be a possibility, according to a new rumor emerging from developer 343 Industries. The rumor comes from an “inside source” sent to DigitalBattle, suggesting that 343i has a “team looking into the possibility of porting Halo 4 to the PC” and that Microsoft is interested in this in order to “breathe life back into Games For Windows Live”. While 343 has yet to release a PC game, many developers from the defunct Pandemic studio left for 343, developers with a lot of PC experience (Pandemic shipped some 10 PC titles over the years) — so 343 definitely has the capacity and talent to work on the PC platform.

Halo hasn’t seen a Windows PC release since Halo 2 back in 2004. Since then, it’s been an Xbox 360 exclusive, even Halo Wars, an RTS, was only released on the Xbox 360.

Naturally, take this rumor with a grain of salt. Halo has been a system seller for the Xbox 360 over the years, and even if we see a Halo 4 PC release, don’t expect it to be simultaneous with the Xbox 360. Perhaps a year down the line, 2013, we might see Halo 4 on the PC. Might.

Halo is one of the most popular FPS franchises currently on the market. If you have an Xbox 360 you’re sure to know that there are currently 4 different titles on the market starting with Halo: CE and ending with Halo: Reach. However, if you’re been paying attention to the news you’ll also probably know that there are two more titles coming out dubbed Halo: Anniversary Edition and Halo 4.

Halo 4 is pretty self explanatory but Halo: Anniversary Edition may be a bit more puzzling to those who aren’t familiar with the game. In the shortest way possible, Halo: Anniversary Edition is a remade version of Halo: CE. But, before you get too upset, make note that the game is essentially the exact same game but with updated graphics and the ability to play online co-op. Yes, I know, it’s a bummer that they didn’t put online multiplayer into the game but what would be the point of Halo 4 if they did, am I right?

Anyways, we’ve heard quite a bit about the Anniversary Edition with even more coming out just about everyday. The latest news is that the original Halo soundtrack will be remade in its entirety for the new game. Pretty awesome and it’s sure to be a nostalgic day when Halo: Anniversary Edition drops on November 14th of this year.

Halo is one of the biggest video game franchises of all time and definitely a contender for the biggest franchise on the Xbox 360 in general. However, if you’ve been paying attention you’ll know that Bungie pulled out of Halo’s development not too long ago handing the project off to 343 Studios. Well today is E3 and one of the biggest announcements to come from the conference so far is Halo 4.

That’s right, Master Chief and Cortana will be returning in Halo 4 which is set for release sometime next year. Unfortunately there hasn’t really been much information to go by regarding what exactly the game will include so we’ll have to keep you posted on that front.

Who’s excited?

On the Xbox 360 one of the biggest exclusives is the Halo franchise from Bungie. The Halo series has seen 4 different titles starting on the original Xbox with Halo: Combat Evolved and reaching to the Xbox 360 with the most currently release Halo: Reach. While Halo: Reach is Bungie’s last Halo title they have developed a series of DLC packs for the game before shipping off duties to 343 Industries.

One of these DLC packs it the Defiant Map Pack which just so happened to recently hit Xbox Live. If you’re not familiar with the map pack, this features three brand new multiplayer maps along with new achievements worth a collective sum of 150 Gamerscore points priced at 800 Microsoft Points.

For those of you that have already downloaded the map pack, how are you liking it?

One of the Xbox 360′s most popular exclusives is none other than Bungie’s Halo franchise. While the franchise is set tpo live on, Bungie has jumped ship following the release of Halo: Reach. Luckily, for diehard Bungie loyalists, the company has gotten around to releasing a few map packs for the game but it seems that the Defiant map pack (set to drop on March 15th) will be the last Halo: Reach DLC released by the company.

This, of course, doesn’t mean that there will be no DLC left at all as in their announcement, Bungie mentioned the hand off of the Halo franchise to Microsoft and 343 Industries – the studio set to work on future Halo titles. Then again, there is no way to confirm that 343 Industries will still be releasing map packs for Halo: Reach once they’re in full control but it’s nice to dream, isn’t it?

One of the biggest exclusives that Microsoft currently posses for their Xbox 360 console is none other than Halo. Created by Bungie, the Halo franchise has amassed 4 different titles with Halo: Reach being the studio’s last. However, just because Reach is their last game doesn’t mean Bungie is going to neglect it. In fact, we’ve kinown for quite some time that Bungie would be releasing a new map pack for the game dubbed the Defiant Map Pack – however, we haven’t been able to pinpoint exactly when it will drop.

Luckily, Bungie has just come forth to let us know that the Defiant Map Pack for Halo: Reach will be made available on the Xbox Live Marketplace come March 15th for 800 Microsoft Points. Included in the map pack are three brand new maps dubbed Condemned, Highlands and Unearthed – three levels that any diehard Halo fan won’t want to miss.

We’ll remind you again on the 15th when the Defiant Map Pack goes live.

via kotaku

While the entire Halo series has seen massive sales numbers hardcore gamers generally agree that the original, Halo: Combat Evolved, was the best. Unfortunately, seeing how it was a launch title for the original Xbox back in 2001, Halo 1 did not ship with any official support for online multiplayer via Xbox Live – this feature wasn’t introduced until the release of Halo 2 come 2004. There are unofficial ways of tricking your Xbox by way of applications like Xbox Connect but it really doesn’t compare to the traditional Xbox Live experience.

Luckily, rumors have just surfaced today that say Saber Interactive, the folks behind TimeShift, have been hard at work on a remake of Halo: Combat Evolved complete with a 1080p resolution, 3D support and an engine entirely different than the one that ran both Halo 3 and Reach. However, it will not be the original game with a boosted resolution – something that most Halo diehards long for.

If these rumors pan out the Halo: Combat Evolved remake is said to be dropping on on November 15th, 2011 – the 10 year anniversary of the game’s original release.

via joystiq

Bungie has released an infographic of Halo Reach, showing all the cool numbers the game and its many players have achieved over the past three months.

It shows that over 1.3 billion games have been played, with 33 billion kills in 24 thousand years of gameplay. Yeah, we get it, Bungie, Halo Reach is a popular game. You can find a bigger version of the infographic here.