I have to say I disagree with you partially. I think the Halo CE storyline is one of the best Sci-Fi plots in gaming alongside Half Life 1. Just like Halo 2 HL2's plot was too complicated.
They mentioned that in the real game, there will be a maxium of 16 players but I'm not sure about the Beta. I do know that there will be 2 player splitscreen though.
I live in Surrey near London. It's not bad, quite a few chavs (my bike got stolen from behind my house). It's pretty damn expensive though. And why is there need for 11 estate agents?!?
I've been playing some of the later Arbiter levels on normal and I just realised how much fun they are. The difficulty setting is perfect. Those levels are great for training.
I think war games can provide a fun experience, but like you said, they are not the best place to go if you're looking to find out about the true horrors of war. I don't think war games will ever be able to simulate a war properly.