Halo 2: Explosive new 3D screenshot

Following last month's suitably impressive , developers Bungie have released another 3D shot of the game - and this time, rather than just showing a freeze-frame, the Quicktime image shows off a Hog in the process of being blown to pieces.

And, according to Bungie, you will be able to make similar use of a wad of explosive fusion cores yourself: "It takes some setting up but it's totally possible to do it in the current build of the game," they reckon. Click on the links below (there are both large and small versions) to download the stunning screenshot.

Meanwhile, Halo 2 publishers Microsoft have announced that the game's UK release has been put back by two days, to Thursday 11 November - although it will still meet the previously-announced launch date of 9 November in the US. The slight delay isn't a sign of the PAL version of the game slipping, though.

"Game production is developing as planned," confirm Microsoft. "We have simply revised the launch date across Europe based on feedback from our retail partners."

They continue, "If we launched on 9 November we would have had to ship stock to retail by the end of the previous week. This means that retailers would have the game in stock yet not be able to officially put it on sale. The temptation to sell the game early over the weekend before the launch date could prove too strong for some European retailers, as we've seen in recent cases involving high-profile game releases." The most recent example of this would be Driv3r, which recently charted at number six even before it was officially on shelves.

So there you have it - you'll have to wait an extra 48 hours to get your paws on the Xbox game of the year. But you can at least console yourself in the meantime with this new 3D screenshot...