We’ve got a barrage of quick, life-affirming stories for you today; nothing earth-shattering, but consider it a general list of Things you should Know.

First, we have Chewer confirmation that the Halo 2 map pack which was released-ish recently is finally functioning reliably. Many users were experiencing issues (psychiatric definition included) with downloading and accessing the maps, but it appears Bungie and Microsoft have quietly addressed the problem. Bang a gong! (If you’re curious, these problems originated because the map pack wasn’t distributed via the Live Marketplace, but rather through the Halo 2 in-game content download system. Por que? Who knows.)

This will probably gain traction somewhere. Some anonymous source says Sony’s planning on a new console generation in as little as eighteen months! Probably not an out-and-out hoax, but rather a little speculation gone wrong. The changes mentioned are minor hardware issues, and, as we’ve seen with Nintendo and Microsoft both lately, renovations do not a new console make.

The next bit is mostly movie news, but… Uwe Boll’s Postal gets a positive review. Maybe it works like this: decent game gets Bollerized into shitty movie, ergo shitty games gets Bollerized into decent movie. The man’s not a director, he’s a damn inverter.

Okay, now it’s just getting hard to keep track of all the upcoming games for the Xbox Live Arcade. (As and ye shall receive, I guess.) Double Dragon is headed for release next week. And speaking of the XBLA, I’ve been pimping Settlers of Catan for a long time. Yesterday I played it for a long time, and was content. I kinda wish the mechanics allowed for multiplayer on the same console, but there’s no good way for that to happen. I guess I just need to send my wife to live with someone who has their own 360.

Sony announces more titles PlayStation to download to your PS3 or PSP. 1up has the full list, which finally contains some real winneres, like Syphon Filter and Wipeout. (Oh, and proof-read your articles, 1up editors, said the kettle to the pot.)

Have a great weekend, and don’t take any wooden nickels.