Host (player) – A player’s system contains the server being used.

Host (dedicated) – Not part of any player’s machine, has better bandwidth, normally seen with mmog (massive multiplayer online games)

In all reality host plays a large role in games. It can be the difference between a shotgun shooting like a sniper or a squirt gun. As well as the fact it is almost always required to cheat. Halo again becomes a good example. The host player has the ability to grenade jump, has more powerful weaponry and sadly can standby. This is one reasoning “bridging” became popular. You could pick who received host with a simple crossover cable connection to a computer and the right program.

The only way to remove host is to provide dedicated servers. This is normally more costly though the experience is much nicer. An example of this being used in console form is Counter strike that allowed players to use a second Xbox as a dedicated host allowing more players to be in the game at a time. Another example is with the MMORPG Final Fantasy for the Xbox360 which charges an additional 12.50 dollars a month for use of their servers. In the end host advantage is annoying. But not annoying enough that I would pay money to remove it.

On a different note, i'm looking into a few Halo2 easter eggs for my next post