Out of all the next-gen games I've played this year, Forza Horizon is hands down one of the best looking and best optimised. So it's nice that there's an appropriate Xbox One X bundle, but it's not the only good bundle available.

Today on Highlight Reel we have surprise sticky grenades, twitch-controlled kills, rude replays, and much more!

Don't really want to do any work on a Monday morning? Well, we've got you sorted: load up an important-looking spreadsheet, but keep this open in another tab and watch the world's best Halo teams go head to head.

If you needed proof that 343 Industries were going to support Halo 5 in the wake of its release, look no further.

Firefight, now called Warzone Firefight, was revealed at today's Halo World Championships.

It's like Firefight, only better. I'm assuming.

Every year for the last eight years, Gamers For Giving charity has hosted a Halo tournament in the United States' Midwest. It's a tournament that runs as part of a wider LAN party designed to raise funds for Gamers Outreach, which uses video games and equipment to provide threapy and some downtime for hospitalised children.

But this year the charity LAN won't have a Halo component, and that's all thanks to Halo 5: Guardians.

Video: The Covenant's best warrior has been a bad arse in the Halo games, but not nearly the bad arse he's being in his appearance in season three of fighting game Killer Instinct.

The "mainstreaming of esports" is continuing, with ESPN saying this week that they will broadcast parts of the Halo Championship Tour event at the X Games in Aspen on the main network at the end of the month, while streaming it on WatchESPN. It's a move that will give the surprisingly low-profile Halo competitive scene a chance to connect with an audience on a huge network, while also giving ESPN the chance to showcase a game that its viewers can connect with.

Today teams from North America, the UK and various other places will vie online for a spot in the regionals and a shot at the $US2 ($3) million 2016 Halo World Championship prize pool paid for by REQ-hungry fans.

It's introduction in Halo 3 was massively welcomed by the community, so not having Forge available at launch was a small bone of contention for many fans. But in their latest major patch, 343 Industries today confirmed that the content creator mode is back in the game -- along with a basic File Browser to boot.

If you've been holding off on picking up a gaming-related Christmas present -- specifically a console or a game -- then EB's Mad Monday sale will probably tip you over the edge. There's some offers here that are too good to ignore. Let's check them out.

Say what you will about Halo 5 overall, but if there's one thing Microsoft and 343 did not screw around on, it was putting together a roster of very talented concept artists to work on the game.

The Halo series is a multi-faceted one. It's known for its multiplayer, both competitive and otherwise, but across the course of multiple games it's also rich with lore and set in a broad, well-developed universe.

Today, The Junglist takes an in-depth look into what's going on in the Halo universe in the lead up to Halo 5: Guardians.

I've been thoroughly enjoying Halo 5's arena mode.

My favourite part? Probably the new abilities and the options it creates to get hit, evade, and outsmart your opponents. To me that's always been the key to a good Halo game.

This one particular kill does an incredible job of showing that. It's insane.

Headshots are great, but Halo 5 is all about Backshots. Halo 5 is manageable when on normal or even heroic difficult. But when you crank things up to Legendary, it's a difficult ball game.

In this video, The Junglist has a few suggestions on how to best approach Halo 5: Guardians when things get tough.

Today on Highlight Reel we have corpse grenade kills, the Star Wars "Canon", very illegal wrestling moves, nice villages, and much more!

This was another hotly contested Kotaku Australia competition. You guys and girls managed to make me properly laugh out loud more than once.

But winners have to be chosen.

What am I playing this weekend? Probably Halo 5: Guardians. Yeah. Most likely a bunch of that.

Spending the last week in Melbourne in the lead up to PAX Australia was great.

Only negative: I haven't played anywhere near enough Halo 5: Guardians.

Halo 5: Guardians is the first time I haven't loved a Halo game. Though, thankfully, the latest chapter in the sci-fi shooter universe has a few things going for it.