Bungie are no longer the developers of the Halo franchise, but as one door closes another, in the form of 343 Industries' Halo 4, opens. Before bidding so long, farewell, auf Wiedersehen, adieu to the Halo franchise, Bungie have released one last statistical overload.  Amongst the multiplayer stats (over 208 billion games played), are some co-op Firefight stats - 29 Billion kills, 350,405,511 games played, 12.8 Trillion points earned.  Check out Read More and open the gallery for a tiny version of this Halo stat orgy.  Or better yet, follow this link for the full image! 

This is one of those news posts that has that meta co-op element to it along side a real co-op element.  If it's been a while since you've played some Halo Reach, you might want to jump back in, as this year marks the 6th year for the Halo FLAG tournament.  Fight Like a Girl is a charity fund raising tournament where players compete against each via Xbox Live and raise money for Breast Cancer and Cervical Cancer research.  

A new title update has been launched for Halo: Reach!  Who cares (I hear you ask) when Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary is out November 15th?  Apart from the millions of people still regularly playing the game, co-op fans should also take note.  Some of you may remember the co-op controversy at launch, when owners of HDD free 360s could not play the game in co-op.  This has finally been fixed in the latest patch, along with a multitude of other tweaks and twiddles designed to draw Reach and Anniversary together.

This week we look at the bonding of a father and his son over a series - Halo. Sure Halo might not be the most family friendly game, after all, its rated M, but Marc will make the case on how it'll promote a healthy relationship in your family - and best of all - some great co-op play.

If there is anyone in the audience that hasn't tried out the latest in the Halo franchise, now's your chance to go at it with your buddies. Halo Reach has finally unleashed its free-to-play demo on Xbox Live. The Demo includes campaign mission "Long Night of Solace," a competitive multiplayer map, and a co-op firefight map for free.

Take a look at your gaming collection. No, not just the shelf by your TV - the whole collection. Is it neglected? Is it collecting dust? Why do you still have it? The Battlefield Report gets shaken up with some food for thought.

Microsoft is looking for a few willing participants for their new Xbox 360 System Update Preview.  By "a few" they mean "multiple thousands," so you actually have a decent chance of making it in.  Basically, participants will be previewing updated Xbox 360 Dashboard features.  You can see all the details over at Major Nelson's blog, or you can go straight to the sign-up via this link.  Participants will receive a copy of Halo: Reach for their troubles, as well as "other possible rewards."

This weekend we're going to be firing up Halo Reach, not just for old times sake, but to check out the new Defiant Map pack and its new Firefight co-op map, Unearthed.  We'll be playing with the folks from 343 Industries and racking up as many Covenant kills as possible.  

Halo: Reach came out way back in September of last year.  Since then it has seen numerous free updates that have balanced and tweaked the gameplay.  Map packs are a different story.  These cost money, and the going rate for the Halo franchise has been ten bucks for three maps.  The Noble Map Pack DLC came out near the end of last November, and sadly, no co-op-friendly Firefight maps were included.  Tomorrow, March 15th, marks the release of the Defiant Map Pack DLC, and this time, a brand-spanking-new Firefight map is part of the deal.  We got our hands on the new co-op map called Unearthed and here are our impressions on how it stacks up.  

For those of you who hate going outside, refuse to accept physical mail, and love being six months late to the party (and no, I'm not talking about PC gamers), Halo: Reach is coming to Games on Demand March 15th.  Halo: Reach earned our prestigious Co-Op Game of the Year award. The price is not yet posted on Major Nelson's blog, which means it's sure to rankle some gamers.  I don't know about you, but I hate being rankled. 

We've just been tipped off that Amazon has put Halo Reach's special editions on sale for one day only.  This means you can get the normally $150 Legendary Edition for $60, or the normally $80 Limited Edition for $40.  Halo Reach supports a four player co-op campaign and the four player co-op Firefight mode.  It also received our Co-Op Game of the Year in 2010 award.

Microsoft and 343 Industries have announced the second map pack for Halo Reach.  Titled the Defiant Map Pack, spartans will gain access two three new multiplayer maps, one of which is playable in Firefight, for 800 .  The previous map, the Noble Map Pack, didn't contain any co-op Firefight maps - so this is a welcomed addition for co-op gamers.

It's been a few months since we've had an official Halo Waypoint Co-Op Night.  The Co-Opticrew needed some time off to recharge and the holidays certainly played its part.  But we're back this week and plan on digging into the game we gave our Co-Op GOTY award to last year - Halo Reach!

This week, Sam and Tally play some Halo: Reach, co-op-linking New York to Britain. Lag ensues, witticisms are made, Spartan logos are poked fun at, and (of course) much dying occurs.

Jim and I made plans to play together last night, and I logged in a few minutes early, comparing our game lists in order to find a good match.  I had been hankering for some Monday Night Combat, but a large patch to be downloaded sank that ship before it even sailed.  So, back to Plan A, which, as you could likely surmise from the title, was Halo Reach.  I started a Firefight match, joined by the magic of Xbox Live to Jim as well as by couch to my 9 year old son, and the Covenant killing began.