CVG has the disappointing news, originally reported in the pages of EGM, that
online co-op play will not be available when
Halo 3
launches this September. In the game the second player would play the
part of the Arbiter character, but fans will only be able to complete
the campaign cooperatively via LAN or split-screen. Bungie stated the
possibility still exists online co-op could be patched in at a later
date, but significant hurdles stand in the way of the feature:
"'We're
not dumb,' says Bungie's Frank O'Conner. 'We know that people want it
and we're trying to make it happen. I think the biggest problem for us
for online co-op is that we have a situation where you can be in a
Warthog with five troops, almost a mile away from the other player.
That's a significant challenge. And there's lots of design things you
could do to prevent that from happening, but they would make it not
feel like Halo anymore. If we can make it happen in a way that works
well, we will - and if it works badly, we won't.'"