Every time I re-watch the ending of Halo 3 I get the chills. I’m not sure what it is, but the story of Master Chief sparks emotion in me that not many movies even can. It’s like Titanic for dudes—but without the Leo and Kate car sex and class struggles. Whatever the reason is for that emotion, that strong connection that Halo makes with fans is important to Microsoft, and they want to do more with it to sell a bunch of copies of Halo 4 later this year.

So, with the goal of bringing the series to more people—longtime fans and people who have never previously played the games—Microsoft has invested more money than ever before in live action. A new live-action series, Forward Unto Dawn has been announced that will get everyone on the same page in a non-intimidating way before the launch of Halo 4. Slotted to air exclusively on Halo Waypoint and Machinima, the series will tell “an origins story that teaches you a lot of different facets of the [Halo] universe.” says Frank O’Connor, 343 Industries franchise development director.

The series is planned to launch in weekly 15-minute installments for five weeks during the time leading up to Halo 4’s release date on November 6^th 2012. More details about Forward Unto Dawn will be revealed during Comic-Con this July.

Hopefully this gets us one step closer to a full-length Halo movie.

Our exclusive Halo community giveaway, Farewell to a Legend, has come to an end. First of all, we’d like to thank all of our great Halo community partners for helping to make this possible. Halo.Bungie.Org, HaloTracker, GrifballHub, Halo4News and HaloCommunity—you guys are awesome and we thank you for making this a proper salute to FPS Freek Legendary. We hope to work with you all again later in the year!

For Farewell to a Legend we put together one of our most exciting and unique prize packages to date. One lucky Halo fan is about to receive a limited edition Halo: Reach Xbox 360 console bundle, a rare Master Chief vs. The Flood commemorative WETA statue and a pair of FPS Freek Legendary signed by Master Chief himself, Mr. Steve Downes!

Without further ado, the winner of all this great swag is Mario Torres! We’ll be contacting you via the email address you provided very soon.

As promised, we’re also sending an extra token of thanks to the site(s) that went above and beyond to spread the word to their communities—HaloTracker.com and Halo.Bungie.Org. You guys were so close in the end we felt both of you deserved a little something extra—so you both get an autographed picture of Master Chief to do with whatever you like. It pains me to see these autographed photos leave my desk (where they’ve been hanging out for the past few weeks making my workspace much more epic) but at least I know they’ll be going to a loving home. Congratulations!

There are still a few FPS Freek Legendary’s left in stock so get them while you still can.

The pilot episode of the fan made Halo: Helljumper series hit YouTube last week. If you didn’t know, Helljumper is a short series of films that follows the life of one human ODST from his enlistment in the UNSC before the Human-Covenant War to around the Fall of Reach. The series, which is a spin-off of the Tobias Brickell Halo: Evolutions – Essential Tales of the Halo Universe short story “Dirt” was teased late in 2011 to a very captivated Halo audience.

In the first episode, main character Gage Yevgenny has just been saved from a losing firefight by a rookie soldier on the colony of New Jerusalem. Instead of letting the Rookie complete his rescue, Yevgenny forces him to listen to his story of the war, so that hopefully he doesn’t repeat the same mistakes. This prompts  a series of flashes into Yevgenny’s past that’s littered with cool special effects, an  evoking musical score and some rather awkward acting and dialogue—“You coming on to me, Soldier?” and “Excuse me, miss, do you happen to have a map… ‘cause I’m lost in your eyes” are a couple of my personal favorites.

Bad acting aside, it’s a cool concept that represents the highest form of video game love.

The next episode is due out on February 15^th.

Yesterday we asked FreekNation to vote: What game are you most looking forward to this year?

Some of your answers were disturbing (Hello Kitty Online), intriguing (Kinect Porno) and just plain racist (I am a Muslim). Rising to the top were most of the games you’d expect to see—but in an order that was somewhat surprising.

Here are the top 5 most anticipated games according to you:

• Grand Theft Auto 5 – 266 votes
• Halo 4 – 81 votes
• Next Call of Duty – 65 votes
• Diablo III – 47 votes
• Mass Effect 3 – 41 votes

This poll was given via our Facebook page, revealing the most anticipated game for 2012 is Grand Theft Auto 5. And I would have to personally agree. Rockstar Games’ premiere franchise is always something to get excited about. What surprised me, though, was the order of the next two.

Knowing you guys like I do, I surely thought the next Call of Duty would have beaten out Halo 4. I clearly misjudged you and I’d like to know why. Is it because a new CoD comes out every year and you’re finally getting sick of it? Is it because MW3 hasn’t been out very long and it’s still “new enough” for you? Is it because it’s been so long since you’ve seen your beloved Master Chief and can’t wait to kill Covees correctly? What is it? Leave a comment and let me know before I question even more about myself.

Spike TV has announced today the nominees for the big Spike TV Video Game Awards show that will be taking place Live on December 11, 2010 at 8PM ET/5PM PT on (wait for it)… Spike TV.  Sort of surprisingly, Bioware’s Mass Effect 2 looks like this year’s Uncharted 2, with ten nominations.  Everyone’s favorite western, Red Dead Redemption trails close behind with nine.  Halo: Reach and Call of Duty: Black Ops each have seven.

Here’s the full list of nominees:

Game of the Year

• Call of Duty: Black Ops
• God of War III
• Halo: Reach
• Mass Effect 2
• Red Dead Redemption

Studio of the Year

• BioWare
• Blizzard Entertainment
• Bungie Studios
• Rockstar San Diego

Best Xbox 360 Game

• Alan Wake
• Fable III
• Halo: Reach
• Mass Effect 2

Best PS3 Game

• God of War 3
• Heavy Rain
• Modnation Racers
• Red Dead Redemption

Best Wii Game

• Donkey Kong Country Returns
• Kirby's Epic Yarn
• Metroid Other M
• Super Mario Galaxy 2

Best PC Game

• Fallout: New Vegas
• Mass Effect 2
• Sid Meier's Civilization V
• Starcraft II Wings of Liberty

Best Handheld Game

• God of War: Ghost of Sparta
• Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker
• Professor Layton and the Unwound Future
• Super Scribblenauts

Best Shooter

• Battlefield: Bad Company 2
• BioShock 2
• Call of Duty: Black Ops
• Halo: Reach

Best Action Adventure Game

• Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood
• God of War III
• Red Dead Redemption
• Super Mario Galaxy 2

Best RPG

• Fable III
• Fallout: New Vegas
• Final Fantasy XIII
• Mass Effect 2

Best Multi-player

• Battlefield: Bad Company 2
• Call of Duty: Black Ops
• Halo: Reach
• Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty

Best Individual Sports Game

• EA Sports MMA
• Shaun White Skateboarding
• Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11
• UFC Undisputed 2010

Best Team Sports Game

• FIFA Soccer 11
• Madden NFL 11
• NBA 2K11
• MLB 10: The Show

Best Driving Game

• Blur
• Modnation Racers
• Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit
• Split/Second

Best Music Game

• Dance Central
• DJ Hero 2
• Def Jam Rapstar
• Rock Band 3

Best Soundtrack

• Def Jam Rapstar
• DJ Hero 2
• Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock
• Rock Band 3

Best Song in a Game

• "Basket Case"
• "Black Rain"
• "Far Away"
• "GoldenEye"
• "Won't Back Down"
• "Replay/Rude Boy Mashup"

Best Original Score

• God of War III
• Halo: Reach
• Mass Effect 2
• Red Dead Redemption

Best Graphics

• God of War III
• Heavy Rain
• Kirby's Epic Yarn
• Red Dead Redemption

Best Adapted Video Game

• Lego Harry Potter: Years 1-4
• Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game
• Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions
• Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
• Transformers: The War for Cybertron

Best Performance By A Human Male

• Daniel Craig as James Bond (Blood Stone 007)
• Gary Oldman as Sgt. Reznov (Call of Duty Black Ops)
• John Cleese as Jasper (Fable III)
• Martin Sheen as Illusive Man (Mass Effect 2)
• Nathan Fillion as Sergeant Edward Buck (Halo Reach)
• Neil Pattrick Harris as Peter Parker/Amazing Spider-Man (Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions)
• Rob Wiethoff as John Marston (Red Dead Redemption)
• Sam Worthington as Alex Mason (Call of Duty Black Ops)

Best Performance by a Human Female

• Dame Judi Dench as M (Blood Stone 007)
• Danica Patrick as Danica Patrick (Blur)
• Emmanuelle Chriqui as The Numbers Lady (Call of Duty Back Ops)
• Felicia Day as Veronica (Fallout New Vegas)
• Jennifer Hale as Commander Sheppard (Mass Effect 2)
• Kristin Bell as Lucy Stillman (Assassin's Creed Brotherhood)
• Tricia Helfer as Sarah Kerrican (Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty)
• Yvonne Strahovski as Miranda Lawson (Mass Effect 2)

Best Downloadable Game

• Costume Quest
• Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light
• Monday Night Combat
• Scott Pilgrim vs. The World

Best DLC

• BioShock 2 "Minerva's Den"
• Borderlands "The Secret Armory of General Knoxx"
• Mass Effect 2 "Lair of the Shadow Broker"
• Red Dead Redemption "Undead Nightmare"

Best Independent Game

• Joe Danger
• Limbo
• Super Meat Boy
• The Misadventures of PB Winterbottom

Most Anticipated Game

• Batman: Arkham City
• BioShock: Infinite
• Gears of War 3
• Portal 2

You can start complaining now.

Do you like Halo: Reach?  Do you have an iPhone?  Do you like getting great Apps for free?  Our friends, the creators of the fantastic Virtual Coach series for iPhone, have created an App that every Halo: Reach player should check out.  And the makers have been cool enough to give us 10 free download codes to gift to you guys.  The first 10 people to tell us why they must have this App get a code!

From iTunes:

1.99 GETS YOU THE MOST ADVANCED HALO APP ON THE MARKET!

-Want to get better at Halo Reach? HRVC can do that!
-Want to track your aggregate stats and medals? HRVC can do that!
-Want to chat with gamers around the globe? HRVC can do that?
-Want to have birds eye view of each map with weapon spawns? HRVC can do that!
-Want to draw set ups on the maps? HRVC can do that
-Want to time power weapons? HRVC can do that!
-Want to track your ten game K/D and Win/Loss? HRVC can do that!
-Want to read strats and tips from pro players? HRVC can do that!
Plain and simple HRVC has every feature a gamer could need.

Why buy a separate app for a weapon timer, one for tracking stats, and one for maps? HRVC has it all for the price of 1.

Featuring the GAMER LOUNGE. The first Halo Reach iPhone GPS Based chat room. The Gamer Lounge is the Social Network for gamers! Need to find players for your team? Looking for a scrim? Trying to recruit for your clan? Looking for the latest tips and tricks? The Gamer Lounge has it all.

Halo Reach Virtual Coach is the first Halo Reach app on the market for competitive gamers. Ready to have the edge over your opponents in Halo Reach? HRVC is for you. Whether you’re a newbie or a seasoned vet we have the information and tools that you need to become a better player.
Halo Reach Virtual Coach features:
- Strategies for every aspect of the game from professional players and the developers
- High Definition bird’s eye view of each map including weapon locations
- Route Tracer that allows you to draw rush routes and game plans on your phone screen with your finger tip
- Ability to track all of your Halo Reach stats with HaloCharts.com in-app
- The Gamer Lounge. A GPS based chat room that allows gamers to meet and chat by location.
- MLG Weapon Spawn Timer
- 10% off of KontrolFreek Grips

We are always adding new updates, all for free!
The Virtual Coach Series is designed by competitive gamers, for competitive gamers.

Preview on iTunes: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/halo-reach-virtual-coach/id372822095?mt=8

A beverage company out of Colorado, Dixie Elixirs & Medibles, has a new line of pot-infused sodas that will purportedly serve as a ‘refreshing and equally potent’ alternative to smoking cannabis.  Dixie Elixirs advertises their new line of ‘soda pot,’ which comes in 9 flavors (including extra strength watermelon!) as ‘convenient, discreet and potent.’  Yup, nothing says discreet like a giant pot leaf on the label.

The organic beverages are available now for ‘patients’ with prescriptions for medical marijuana in the 14 states where that’s legal.