It appears that Protestant churches around the country are using Halo 3 as a recruiting tool to draw in young congregants. This comes despite it’s violent subject matter and mature ESRB rating. Naturally, this development has many churchgoers in an uproar, but supporters argue that Halo is an effective tool in “reaching the elusive audience of boys and young men”–a crucial demographic. So, if you want old people, set up Bingo night. If you want young people, set up a Halo 3 tournament.

Does the fact that Halo 3 helps recruit young men into the congregation justify it’s use in church? According to James Tonkwich, president of the Institute on Religion and Democracy–”If you want to connect with young teenage boys and drag them into church, free alcohol and pornographic movies would do it. My own take is that you could do better than that.” Not necessarily buddy, I like your first idea.—Sean Fallon

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An official press release has confirmed that Bungie has emerged from puberty and is now leaving the Microsoft nest in order to become a man. As the press release puts it, Bungie is set to”embark on a path to become an independent company.” However, like most parent, child relationships, Bungie will keep in contact. Microsoft’s Shane Kim noted: “While we are supporting Bungie’s desire to return to its independent roots, we will continue to invest in our Halo entertainment property with Bungie and other partners, such as Peter Jackson, on a new interactive series set in the Halo universe.”

So, it appears that as long as MS can still suckle at the Halo teat they will have no trouble getting over the loss.—Sean Fallon

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If you played a lot of Halo 3 over the weekend (like I did) you may have noticed a peculiar glitch with regard to Master Chief. Whenever he gets stepped on by a Scarab, Chief gets stretched out and thrown into the air. I didn’t notice the glitch personally, but then again I don’t suck enough to get stepped on. More pictures of the effect are available after the jump.
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The chill of winter might be slowly leaving its icy grip behind, but it’s never too early to start preparing for next winter. And what else would a geek use other than a radiator with a clock in it? This Tubor Mirrored Radiator is the complete definition of geek-chic.

Its mirrored surface contains a back lit panel which creates a halo-like glow around itself, creating an illusion of warmth. Even better, the Mirrored Radiator runs off of both water and electricity, depending on your energy wiring and is available in two sizes. Oh, and don’t forget about the digital clock! — Andrew Dobrow

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The fallout was inevitable. What else could you respect from a game trailer that glorifies the slaughter of mass amounts of people and the theft of their vehicles in the streets of a New York City-esque Liberty City? Politicians are almost as hyped up about the GTA IV trailer as tech blogs were the last few days. We suppose the anger is justified, but we hate the idea of gaming being exploited for political gain. *cough, cough* Tipper Gore *cough cough*

NYC councilman Peter Vallone says “Setting Grand Theft Auto in the safest big city in America is like setting Halo in Disneyland”. Halo in Disneyland you say? Now, that’s a good idea! A spokesman for Mayor Bloomberg also spoke out saying that the Mayor condones no game where cops are killed or injured. Well, that’s just odd. Take Two Interactive remains quite on the subject, retaining their duck and cover PR strategy. — Andrew Dobrow

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According to Peter Moore, head of the Interactive Entertainment Business division of Microsoft (pictured above), the production team of the Xbox 360 is already working on the follow-up for the popular gaming console. Moore says that Microsoft is looking into what processors will be available around 2011-2012, a sign that this will be around the time of the next 360 release.

Could we be looking at the Xbox 750? With terrabyte technology? The thought is exhilarating, yet very unknown as of now. This would put the life of Xbox 360 at about 6-7 years, much longer then the Xbox’s 4 years of fame. Though, with Gears of War and Halo brand building up suspense for upcoming releases, while still working on the fame of former releases, the Xbox 360 might continue to sell well for the next few upcoming years. Will Moore now get a tattoo advertising this too? — Andrew Dobrow

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If you wind up buying one of these Valentine’s Day Halo tee shirts, be prepared for the, “Who’s Master Chief? Is that some Native American thing? I thought you were Italian.”

This is how you know whether the person you are talking to has any knowledge of any video games within the last 5 years. Now, don’t expect the ladies to come flocking around when you wear this, but if your current girlfriend likes Halo, this could be a sweet (humorous) present. Just make sure that you don’t forget to send those flowers and that box of chocolates (or whatever sends the message you want to send). –Nik Gomez

Valentine’s Day Halo tees for you and your female AI construct [via Joystiq]

So what if Gears of War has taken over the Xbox360 scene as of late. The name of Halo still holds a warm and fuzzy place in every die-hard Xbox fan out there. That is the main reason why the upcoming installment Halo 3 is receiving so much attention right now. The newest and coolest thing in Halo world? Getting into Halo 3 beta games. How would one go about doing so, you might ask. Good question. Luckily, these instructions have been released by Microsoft. Apparently they aren’t too worried about too many people getting a hold of the beta invite.

Beginning Thursday, Feb. 1, 2007, at 12:01 a.m. EST, all gamers need to do is participate in at least three hours of “Halo 2� multiplayer sessions, via Xbox Live, before Feb. 3, 2007, at 11:59 p.m. EST and then be among the first 13,333 to register at halo3.com. The “Rule of Three� program is currently planned for gamers in the 50 United States (includes District of Columbia) age 17 years and older who have access to an Xbox 360 Pro console or an Xbox 360 Core console with hard drive, a valid Xbox Live Gold subscription and the “Halo 2� game. Gamers around the world are encouraged to visit halo3.com in the coming weeks for more information on the “Rule of Three� program in their region.

Read the full press release after the jump.

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