I owe a bit of thanks to the guys at Podtacular, the new Halo 2 podcast, for mentioning this site on their last show. I listed them as one of my favorite podcasts, along with several others, and since then, they've blown up big time. It's cool to see something start brand new and catch everyone's attention, only to take off like wildfire. I'm sure those guys are on a hell of a ride right now.

When they announced a new Podtacular clan, I joined up immediately and did what I could in the first few matches. That was a week ago. Since then, they've had to create two more clans just to accomodate all the requests they're getting. In that time, the show also flew up the charts at Podcast Alley and iTunes Music Store and they've even been noticed by Major Nelson, GamerTag Radio and Bungie themselves. Pretty cool, if you ask me.

And being a nice guy, I offered any help I could provide as a designer and come to find out that the host Foo Mo Jive is a designer himself. Not to encroach, I gladly stepped back and let them handle their business, but it's kind of cool when you have something in common with other Halo gamers (besides Halo itself).

What's even better is their ability to buck the status quo, with their follow up to all the attention being their longest show yet, well over an hour long. Of course, that drew criticism from listeners who were trying to download via dial-up (c'mon guys, DSL is on the cheap these days!), so they followed that up with a straight rip on the low-bandwidth users, Episode 4.5. Renegades, they are...

If you're looking for a fun, informal podcast dedicated to Halo 2 that discusses everything from tips and strategy to news and community, check them out.