On-line Hosting - We've all been in an Xbox LIVE game when the host drops. It sucks. Bungie agrees and has implemented a hierarchal hosting scheme that shifts the host to the next fastest connection when the original drops. Expect this trick to be in every on-line title next year.

LAN Is Even Better - While on-line play is the major selling point of Halo 2, LAN hosts will be pleased to know that Bungie has muscled up that area as well. The LAN community has kept Halo alive for over two years and the developers are well aware of this. As a result Bungie has brought the ability to connect any combination of 2 to 16 boxes together for unprecedented flexibility in the LAN department. Hosting an eight on eight with four monitors? No problem! Four player split screen is back. But, what's this? One of your friends brought over his new plasma screen? Throw it into the mix, too. Halo 2 will let you set up each box to support the extra real estate - up to 16 boxes with full screens if you have enough space. The ability to mix and match is a hidden strength of Halo 2 that other developers should consider instead of forcing full screen one-box-per-set limitations for LAN gamers. While on-line play is great, you simply can't beat the stability and camaraderie that LAN gaming has in spades.

So, now the wait is on. It will be even harder to pass the days now that we've tasted what Bungie has to offer. We consider ourselves very fortunate to have had the ability to witness and interact with the gaming world's next Juggernaut. On November 9 planet Earth is in for one helluva game!