Play Halo over the Net

Early-adopters of Microsoft's Xbox may have established how to play Halo over the Internet, and while we can't test this theory for ourselves, we thought we would reprint it so that anybody zealous enough to have imported an Xbox can give it a go. Firstly, you need an Xbox, a network hub and a PC connected to the Internet (preferably over a broadband connection). Give your Xbox an IP address along the lines of 192.168.0.*, where * is any number other than 1 not already taken up by a device on your network. Set the subnet to 255.255.255.0 and point the gateway and DNS addresses to 192.168.0.1. Your PC's IP address should be 192.168.0.1. Depending on the operating system, this next bit may vary, but using Windows XP or 2000, go to Network Connections and create a new Virtual Private Networking (VPN) connection. Put a placeholder IP and username / password in for the time being, but agree to share the connection over the network your PC shares with the Xbox. The reason for all this is simple. Halo requires that any Xbox it connects to be on the same subnet as itself. That means that any Xbox on the same network as another will be able to connect, but as far as the Internet is concerned it's lost at sea. Not so if you fool it with a VPN connection, however. Find someone willing to play Halo with you, and establish the VPN connection we created before with them, filling in their IP address and a mutually acceptable username / password as required. As far as the Xbox is then concerned, you will be on the same network, and all bets are off. As we said at the outset, we have no evidence that this works at all, other than some reports on an Internet bulletin board, but the theory is sound. Good luck too all and sundry that attempt this, and let us know if you succeed! Related Feature - Xperience