Halo 3 4 player co-op is a reality!

I am not surprised and had my fingers crossed on this aspect of Halo 3. You have to give it to Bungie, they take their time and make a complete game. The 1 player game seems to have the longevity of the multiplayer. Well sort of, It will be a lot of fun to play with 4 people even though I anticipated some of the remaining Spartans from the novels to return for this final game. Perhaps they do in later missions...only time will tell. My only complaint is that only 1 person can be a Spartan and everyone else is stuck as an elite. Minor complaint though. Below is some more information on the 2 new characters directly from Bungie's post:

"Split-screen co-op is as ever, limited to two players per screen – but they can if they wish join two other friends online or via System Link.
For fictional reasons, we decided to avoid Halo’s slightly surreal compromise of two identical Master Chiefs and rather, use this opportunity to expand the Halo universe just a little bit. Player one will control the Master Chief, player two will control the Arbiter and players three and four will get the chance to control two brand new Elite characters.

Allow us to introduce them:
PLAYER 3 (Sangheili)
Name: N’tho ‘Sraom Affiliation: Fleet of Retribution/Special Warfare Group/Special OperationsHistory: N’tho ‘Sraom is the youngest member of his Special Operations unit and is one of a growing number of human sympathizers amongst the Sangheili youth. He is a fairly typical young male adult Sangheili—he began compulsory military service at the end of adolescence, and remains unmarried with no close, non-familial relationships outside of his martial order. N’tho Sraom refused to stand idly by while the Prophets replaced Sangheili units with Jiralhanae packs, and now bears deep resentment toward those Sangheili politicians who landed his kind in their current predicament.
Although N’tho ‘Sraom’s romanticized nationalism is emblematic of all Sangheili, he has developed a healthy respect for humanity—not for their physical abilities or martial prowess, but for their audacity and resolve.PLAYER 4 (Sangheili)
Name: Usze ‘TahamAffiliation: Fleet of Retribution/Special Warfare Group/Fleet SecurityHistory: Although Usze ‘Taham was born into a respected merchant family he was fathered by Toha ‘Sumai—one of the preeminent swordfighters of this age. Usze graduated with honors from the top War College in the Iruiru region of Yermo, Sanghelios (a distinction he shares with Rtas 'Vadum). Shortly after receiving his first post within the Covenant Navy he was offered a place on the Prophets’ Honor Guard but he declined citing “lack of practical experience”. In truth, he had no desire to be part of a largely ceremonial unit, and at the end of his third combat tour, Usze ‘Taham again refused the post—even though his superiors warned him such behavior could be misinterpreted as apostasy.
Since that time Usze has evaded countless punitive actions, at least two assassination attempts, and served with distinction for two additional tours before the Schism. Following the dissolution of the Covenant, he was approached by the Ascetics to become one of their liaisons within the Navy.
Every player will have identical abilities – only their appearance and weapon starts are different (Elites will start with Carbines versus Battle Rifles for example, depending on the mission). "