As this story explains, the blitz for Halo 3 is going to be absolutely insane. A spot on MNF on 12/4, a multiplayer open beta come spring 2007 (meaning November 2007, the common train of thought, could be late thinking), and... new Halo 2 maps for 360 owners? Really? That's cool, I guess... but what does it mean?

This is fantastic news to me, as I'm a big fan of Halo and, more importantly, playing Halo games online. I'm not sure I like the idea of an open beta, since it diminishes the impact of the final product, but if the SP mode is up to par it'll be a welcome chance for the retail multiplayer to be spot-on.

Commence to jigglin'!

So you better be there. 6:00PST/7:00MST/8:00CST/9:00EST

The OGU returns with curb-kicking in tow. I look forward to seeing you all there. If we have to split rooms, sort it out, whatever. I'll try to get some online in on Wednesday, toola round, see how it ticks.

As reported by GameSpot here, three more games have been added to the XBox 360's backwards-compatibility list, including Pandemic's epic Battlefield clone. It's official, kids - you no longer have any excuse not to get Battlefront II.

As GS outlines here, AstroPop is now available for download. The most recent game brought to XBox Live Arcade, Astro Pop fuses elements of colored block-matching games together with elements from Breakout and Space Invaders. The demo, of course, is free. We'll have an image up as soon as GS does; until then, we have GS' mock boxshot.

And that I'm aware of, there's no option to let color-blind or otherwise chromatically impaired persons enjoy theg ame fully. I'm wondering how many more games are going to screw the red-greens before the 360 is done. I feel for you guys.

Hot on the heels of Bejewelled clone Jungle Quest comes a game quite different from any current games on the service. In Feeding Frenzy, players control a fish that must eat smaller fishes while avoiding larger ones, who are more than willing to chomp on the player to satisfy their large appetites. Mines, poisonous foes, and paralyzing jely fish are thrown in along the way. Feeding Frenzy is 800 Points, or $10, and is, like all XLA games, available as a Demo for players to try out. It's not terribly deep, but it's a fun little diversion.

If you really really like Bejewelled 2 or just like games that involve lining up three of things, then perhaps this goal-oriented take on the classic puzzler is for you. It's not as varied as B2, but it's got a point to clearing blocks, loads of character, and one less creepy voice that shouts at you every thirty seconds, and that's no bad thing. It's 800 Points, or about $10, and should soon be followed by Astro Pop and Feeding Frenzy. And,  of course, Street Fighter II: Hyper Fighting.

The following games are being played at the following dates at the standard OGU times of:

7PM PST
8PM MST
9PM CST
10PM EST

Wednesdays - Dead Or Alive 4

Thursdays - Perfect Dark Zero

Special XBox Nights - Mondays

2/6 - Halo 2

2/13 - Battlefront II

2/20 - Rainbow Six 3?