Ever since Xbox Live for WP7 was announced we've been dreaming up cross-platform gameplay scenarios, and the first is finally coming November 15th — 343 Industries will introduce an update for its Waypoint app on WP7 Mango devices that will allow Xbox 360 players to access multiplayer features for Halo: Reach or Halo: Anniversary. It's called ATLAS, or "Advanced Technical Assault System," and it will offer real time in-game intel, including player movements, weapon locations, and terrain detail. The app will also allow players to send custom challenges to friends and earn in-game points for completing them. CJ Saretto, lead producer for Halo Waypoint, told GameSpot that the developers "tried to imagine what a Spartan in the field might actually have if they had an assisted system from the future." We guess they figured future soldiers would be glancing down at smartphones in the heat of battle. 

You're not totally out of luck if you don't have a Windows Phone, because 343 has also detailed some Kinect features for Halo: Anniversary — for instance, by yelling out "grenade" your avatar will automatically toss one out. There's also an "Analyze" mode which allows players to scan certain creatures or objects in the environment and add them to a library. Players can then use gesture controls within the library to examine models of things they scanned and get more information on them. 343 also says that you'll be able to yell out "classic" or "remastered" to switch between the original and updated graphics on the fly. Of course, we're reserving final judgment until we actually suit up for some bonafide multiplayer action — the potential for nearby friends to yell out "grenade" at inopportune moments seems way too tempting.