Next Generation Online has posted an interview with Bungie's Nathan Bitner, a frequent poster on the Halo forums. Focussed on development, it's a great read--here's an excerpt:

One of our goals is that there be aspects to this game that surprise players long after they've begun playing. A player in a multiplayer game will watch one of his teammates firing his pistol, and will notice for the first time in three months of play that the slide on their pistol pops back with every shot. They'll watch their jeep bounce over a hillside and note the independent suspension on all four wheels. Immersion is a word that has been so overused as to lose its meaning, but the Halo world will be one that is so detailed and realistic, it would be fun to explore even without an enemy.

A year seems far too long to wait now... defintely check this one out.