In a sad, but not unexpected move, Microsoft has finally killed the Halogen Halo RTS project. Halogen, a fan created real-time strategy game based on the Halo intellectual property, has been under development for nearly three years. Now, due to a request from Microsoft the cease development, the project has stopped, and its creators promise that the project website will be pulled within the week. From the tone of the farewell letter posted on Halogen\'s site, you can tell that this is a long-expected development, but a sad one nonetheless.

Halo 2 has remained a favorite on Xbox Live even for Xbox 360 owners, and Bungie has continued to maintain a lively community website and roll out improvements. Inspired by a recent posting on the Bungie News blog, Shawn takes a look at the current state of Halo 2 cheating: Bridging, standby, boosting? What is this crazy talk? Welcome to the twisted world of Halo 2 cheating.

According to Nintendo.com, which was partially off-line for part of the morning, Nintendo has kissed the Nintendo Revolution name goodbye. Say hello to the Nintendo Wii, the new and final name for Nintendo\'s next home console. We here at GamesFirst did a double take for each of the two ii\'s, and even have one editor still convinced that the Nintendo site has just been hacked and that this will be cleared up by the afternoon. However, after the website came back up with all the appropriate links in place, it looks like this is official. The Nintendo Wii is here to stay, and the Nintendo Revolution is gone forever. All shall bow before the Wii.

Koei\'s latest historical Asian brawler is heading to PSP in the very near future. Samurai Warriors: State of War has gone gold and is in production as you read this. In addition to announcing the impending launch, Koei also sends word of a revamped website for Samurai Warriors: State of War. The new site is sized and optimized for the PSP\'s small screen web browser. That is a nice touch for PSP owners, who can browse the web with the browser included on the handheld gaming system. Get more details about Samurai Warriors here.

The PSP hacking scene is difficult to keep a handle on, even as a web-based magazine, where we can publish articles regularly covering the latest development. In the past month several new tools and utilities have come out that any PSP enthusiast has already read about on any one of a number of good PSP hacking, mod and homebrew websites. So when GF! received two new books about hacking the PSP, we were skeptical that they could possibly be as good as a quality website, but hoped they could at least be more detailed, better organized, and feature more helpful illustrations for some of the basics of PSP hacking. We first looked at Dave Prochnow\'s PSP Hacks, Mods and Expansions. Boasting on the book\'s cover includes both a \"Money Saving Coupons\" emblem and a laundry list of tips that begins with \"The Top 10 UMD Movies\" and \"Which Are the Top 10 Games Worth Buying?\" We embarked with a happy outlook: Heck, we didn\'t even realize there were 10 games worth buying on the PSP... Check out Shawn\'s review here.

The website for the Xbox 360 modchip known as LiThIuM I.C.E. went live in the early hours of January 7th, 2006. While there\'s nothing there yet to cast much additional light on the chip or its creators, one comment on the site does include a date: January 31st, 2006. Is this the release date, or an extension of the two-week pre-order date mentioned on InfinityMods.com? It\'s hard to say. The site also includes information on the chip\'s development time-line, and reseller policies. We\'re all holding our breaths waiting for the site to finish launching, and we\'ll keep you posted.

InfinityMods.com claims to have a 360 modchip in hand, and will most likely have it available for purchase within 2 weeks. But what do they really mean by that? Turns out, the statement on their front page is somewhat misleading, since another line, deeper into their website, says, \"Preorders to be accepted within approx 2 weeks.\" So the question isn\'t whether or not there is an Xbox 360 chip, but whether or not you\'d be wise to throw in your money on a preorder for a chip you know nothing about. We take a look at all the information we have (which is admittedly very little) and attempt to make an educated guess about the legitimacy of this claim. Does InfinityMods really have a 360 chip?

On behalf of the staff of GamesFirst!, we would like to take this space to wish all of our staff, readers and colleagues a happy, happy holiday season. We wouldn\'t be here without you, and we know that. On our 10th holiday season, we are thankful for all the people who have helped make GamesFirst! what it is today. Our staff is among the best online, and we value your efforts. To our fellow websites (especially the ones who kick down the kind links), we thank you. You know who you are, and you inspire us to do better. To all of the game developers, PR reps, and publishers who work with us on a daily basis, we want to extend our most sincere gratitude. We couldn\'t do what we do without your continued support, and life wouldn\'t be as much fun without you.

And, of course, we want to wish Happy Holidays to our readers. We are proud to be able to serve you for the past 10 years, and we look forward to number 11. Without you, we\'d just be posting up articles for our mothers to read, and although they never complain about our reviews or call us idiots, GF! would feel pretty empty without you. Thanks.

Konami has announced that they will begin selling their products directly to customers via their new online storefront, KonamiStyle.com. The online storefront launches with a catalog of 75 Konami titles, including fan-favorite franchises Castlevania, Metal Gear Solid, Silent Hill, Yu-Gi Oh, and Dance Dance Revolution. The move to a direct-sales website will also open up possibilities for Konami to offer customer incentive and reward programs, which Konami hopes will help maintain a community of loyal gamers around the publisher\'s many games.

Every once in awhile we read a good feature on another website that makes us glad we still browse them thar Interwebs. In a list that we agree with a whole bunch, Retro Gaming with Racketboy ticks off the top 20 games you might have missed. Did you play Guardian Heroes on Saturn? Did you play Beyond Good and Evil? Did you play Chu Chu Rocket on Dreamcast? Have you copped a copy of Propeller Arena for DC? Check out the Racketboy list for more must-play titles from bygone days.

Matt\'s back with another bag full of the good stuff. This time through the Mailbag we\'ve got some more comments about the revolution controller (they just don\'t stop), a bit of \"debate\" about the veracity of the Giantology.net website, and once again GamesFirst! exhibits deft diplomatic skillZ and averts yet another potential international conflict. No thanks necessary. That\'s what we\'re here for.

Danc from Lost Garden ruffled a lot of feathers with his article about Nintendo\'s Revolution controller a couple months ago (as did all the greatest gaming websites). Now he\'s come out again with another sharp bit of criticism and advice for the industry: Broaden your horizons, or remain a niche form of entertainment. It\'s easy to forget about how few gamers there really are when we put ourselves into communities where everyone shares our interests. Why is there such a crisis about getting women involved in gaming? Because ultimately, the games industry cannot survive if it does not diversify, both in the people who make games and in the people who play games. Danc\'s article is an absolute must-read for anyone who truly loves games.

1UP.com has a good history of web comics dedicated to videogames. It walks through all the major players, from current videogame comic and freedom-fighting Juggernaut, Penny Arcade, to foundational titles like PvP and 8-Bit Theater. These mighty three have spun off entire genres in a fledgling industry, and many have made their rise side by side with the indy gaming website scene. Of course, there\'s no mention of Twoplayer, which has been recognized by sites like Joystiq as not totally sucking. Nevertheless, it\'s a good read and if any of the comics discussed are not on your webcomic radar, then you are really missing out. Check out the 1UP article here: Will Strip for Games: Gaming Comics Online

One of our most favorite new gaming websites (and we\'ve seen a lot of them) is The Escapist: http://www.escapistmagazine.com . The Escapist is a beautifully formatted PDF and Web zine available for free. They publish weekly, and have quickly risen to the top of the gaming journalism heap. Featuring incredibly smart and well-written articles from both well-known game journalists and newcomers, The Escapist regularly makes us really, really jealous. Their latest issue is up, and it deals with the timely topic of Women in Gaming: developers, players, etc. Check out the latest issue, and then browse their back issues for some of the greatest gaming coverage available.

Kuma Reality Games, makers of Kuma\\War, found themselves the center of international attention when a petition began circulating requesting the removal of one of their products from the web. The petition, written in Farsi, demands that a mission portraying an American attack on Iran be removed from the website and made unavailable for download. In the body of the petition, the author expresses a concern that the game is designed to measure world sensitivity to a U.S. assault on Iran. \"In my opinion,\" the petition reads, \"this is not something we can easily ignore.\" The petition, and the reaction from the Iranian press in regards to the game, has made it into the top headlines on CNN.com.