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Arbiter (Halo)
Encyclopedia
Arbiter is a fictional ceremonial, religious, and political rank bestowed upon alien Covenant Elites in the Halo
science fiction universe. In the 2004 video game Halo 2
, the rank is given to a disgraced commander as a way to atone for his failures. Although the Arbiter is intended to die serving the Covenant leadership, the High Prophets, he survives his missions and the Prophets' subsequent betrayal of his kind. When he learns that the Prophets' plans would doom all sentient life in the galaxy to extinction, the Arbiter allies with the Covenant's enemies—humanity—and stops the ringworld Halo
from being activated. The Arbiter is a playable character
in Halo 2 and its 2007 sequel Halo 3
; a different Arbiter appears in the 2009 real-time strategy
game Halo Wars
, which takes place 20 years before the events of the main trilogy.
The appearance of the Arbiter in Halo 2 and the change in perspective from the main human protagonist Master Chief
to a former enemy was a plot twist Halo developer Bungie
kept highly secret. The character's name was changed from "Dervish
" after concerns that the name reinforced a perceived United States versus Islam
allegory in the game's plot. Award-winning actor Keith David
lends his voice to the character in Halo 2 and 3, while David Sobolov
voices the Arbiter of Halo Wars.
The Arbiter has appeared in three series of action figures and other collectibles and marketing in addition to appearances in the games. Bungie intended the sudden point of view switch to a member of the Covenant as a plot twist
that no one would have seen coming, but the character in particular and the humanization of the Covenant in general was not evenly received by critics and fans. Computer and Video Games
derided the Arbiter's missions as "crap bits" in Halo 2. Conversely, IGN
lamented the loss of the Arbiter's story in Halo 3 and missed the added dimension the character provided to the story.
(2004) and Halo 3
(2007) is voiced by Keith David
, a New York actor. David noted that he enjoys voicing complicated characters who have a past. To make an impact with voice acting, he says, is difficult—"it's either good acting or it's bad acting". David is not a frequent video game player, but stated that he has become more known for his work as the Arbiter than for his film and other voice roles.
The Arbiter changed very little during development, as the overall appearance of the alien Covenant Elites had been designed and developed for the previous game, 2001's Halo: Combat Evolved
. The only substantial difference between the Arbiter and other Elites is ceremonial armor seen in early concept sketches and which appeared in the final design. During Halo 2s early developmental stages the character's name was "Dervish
", a name from the Sufi sect of Islam
. Out of context, Microsoft Game Studios
' "geocultural review" consultants found nothing wrong with the name. However, as Tom Edwards, a consultant who worked with Microsoft during the review noted, "within the game’s context this Islamic-related name of 'Dervish' set up a potentially problematic allegory related to Halo 2
s plot—the [United States]-like forces (Master Chief
/Sarge) versus Islam (the religious Covenant, which already had a 'Prophet of Truth' which is one synonym for Mohammed). Since this incident was not long after the September 11, 2001 attacks
, sensitivity to the name remained high, and the character's name was changed to the "Arbiter".
In an interview with MTV
, Halo developer Bungie
's former content manager Frank O'Connor said that the inclusion of the Arbiter as a playable character in Halo 2 was supposed to be a "secret on the scale of a Shyamalan
plot twist" and explains that Bungie was able to keep the public uninformed about this until the game's release, to the point that O'Connor never even considered including it on the weekly development updates posted at Bungie's webpage. O'Connor also stated that Bungie "had some other things that were secrets within secrets" and claimed that there was material related to the Arbiter that was kept secret during the development of Halo 3 because "There is an aspect of the Arbiter's character that is still secret to this day and will remain so for a good reason." Story director Joseph Staten
said that the purpose of introducing the Arbiter was "to offer another, compelling point of view on a war where telling friend from foe wasn't always clear-cut. We knew we had a trilogy on our hands, so we were looking past the shock of playing as the enemy [to the events of Halo 3
].
The Arbiter in the Halo trilogy, Thel 'Vadamee, was previously a Supreme Commander in the Covenant fleet, having commanded the ships that follow the human vessel Pillar of Autumn to the ringworld Halo during the events of Halo: Combat Evolved
. A Prophet orders the Autumn not to be destroyed outright, lest the ring be damaged; this hesitance allows the humans to land on the ring, coordinate a resistance, and ultimately destroy the ring to stop the spread of the parasitic Flood. In the aftermath
of the incident, the commander also loses a Covenant ship to UNSC forces, resulting in the annihilation of a Covenant invasion force heading for Earth. As Halo 2
begins, the Covenant High Council brands the Commander a heretic for letting the ringworld—which the Covenant consider a sacred relic—be destroyed. He is stripped of his rank and branded. Though his public execution is soon to follow, he is spared by the High Prophets; the Hierarchs give the disgraced Commander a chance to lead troops once again by becoming the Arbiter.
The Arbiter's first mission is to silence a renegade Elite who has been preaching that the Prophets have lied to the Covenant. The Arbiter is then sent to retrieve the "Sacred Icon" from the library on the newly discovered Delta Halo, in order to activate the ring and bring about the Great Journey, the Covenant's concept of salvation. Though he retrieves the Icon, the Arbiter is betrayed by the Chieftain of the Brutes, Tartarus; Tartarus reveals that the Prophets have given him and his race carte blanche to massacre the Elites and replace them in the Covenant caste system. Though the Arbiter is believed dead, he is rescued—along with his nemesis, the human soldier Master Chief
—by the parasitic Flood intelligence Gravemind
. Gravemind reveals that the Great Journey actually spells doom for all sentient life, and sends him to stop Tartarus from activating the ring. In the process of stopping the Brute, the Arbiter and his Elites forge an alliance with the humans Miranda Keyes and Avery Johnson, and the Arbiter slays Tartarus, halting the firing of the ring. The unexpected shutdown of Halo triggers a standby sequence, which the Arbiter learns has made all the Halo installations ready to fire remotely from a place known as the Ark.
during cooperative gameplay
(the second player in a game lobby controls him), the game's story never switches to the point of view of the Arbiter, as in Halo 2. For much of Halo 3, the Arbiter assists human forces in their fight against hostile Covenant forces. After the Flood arrive on Earth, the Arbiter persuades Rtas 'Vadum not to glass the entire planet to quell the infestation. Along with a group of humans and Elites, the Arbiter follows the Prophet of Truth's forces through a slipspace portal to the Ark, where he kills the Prophet. The Master Chief decides to activate the Halo under construction at the Ark to destroy the local Flood while sparing the galaxy at large; the Arbiter helps to retrieve the artificial intelligence Cortana
so that the installation can be fired. During the escape, the ship he and the Master Chief are on split in two; while the Master Chief is presumed lost, the Arbiter crashes safely to Earth. After attending a ceremony honoring the dead, the Arbiter and the rest of the Elites leave for their homeworld.
times ten." The characterization stemmed from a desire to make the Covenant more basically "evil" in order to provide a good guy-bad guy conflict. Parts of the Arbiter's backstory before the game's events are explained in a tie-in graphic novel, Halo Wars: Genesis. The Elite, Ripa 'Moramee, was given the rank after he fought and lost a campaign against his own clan.
was given the task of developing a Halo 3 line of action figures, and a sculpt of the Arbiter was released in the second series of figures after the game's release in July 2008. A large-scale, non-articulated Arbiter figure was produced by McFarlane as part of the "Legendary Collection".
Alternatively, publications like Gamespot
thought that while the Arbiter and Covenant side added "newfound complexity to the story", it distracted the player from Earth's fate; a panel of Halo 2 reviewers argued that though the decision to humanize the Covenant by the introduction of the Arbiter was welcome, the execution in-game was lacking. The missions where the player controls the Arbiter were described as "anything but easy" and occasionally "boring", due to the lack of human weapons to balance the gameplay. A review performed by Computer and Video Games
described the time that the player controls the character as "[those] crap bits when you play as an alien Arbiter" and listed this as one of Halo 2s flaws. Reviewer Jarno Kokko said that while he did not personally dislike playing as the character, the idea of "people disliking the concept of playing on the other side in a game that is supposed to be the 'Master Chief blows up some alien scum' show" was a plausible complaint. Among some fans, the character was reviled.
The reception of the Arbiter's elimination as a main playable character in Halo 3 was similarly mixed. Hilary Goldstein of IGN decided the change took away the "intriguing side-story of the Arbiter and his Elites", in the process reducing the character's role to that of "a dude with a weird mandible and a cool sword". Likewise, Steve West of Cinemablend.com stated that the one important event in the game for the Arbiter would be lost on anyone for whom Halo 3 was their first game in the series. IGN's reviewer took issue with the poor artificial intelligence (AI) of allies in the game, and singled out the Arbiter in particular; "The Arbiter makes me question why the Elites were ever feared in the original Halo," Hilary Goldstein said. Describing the AI of the character, Goldstein felt players could "enjoy watching your supposed equal getting shot in the face repeatedly and generally making himself utterly useless. What is the point of sticking you with an AI compatriot if all he's good at is respawning?" The New York Times
Charles Herold found that in comparison to Halo 2, where the character played a central role, the Arbiter in Halo 3 was "extraneous". On the opposite end of the spectrum were reviewers like G4tv
, who argued that the Arbiter was more likeable, not to mention more useful, as an AI sidekick instead of the main player. In a list of the top alien characters in video games, MSNBC
placed the Arbiter at the number two ranking.
Halo Warss cinematics and voice acting were widely lauded, although one reviewer wrote that the characters were stereotypical and unlikeable. Dakota Grabowski of PlanetXbox360 considered the Arbiter the most confusing character in the game's story. Conversely, GamePro
listed the Arbiter as one of the five best things about the game, saying that while it was a different character than the Arbiter seen in Halo 2 and Halo 3, he was "like an alien Jack Bauer
amped up on [drugs]".
Despite the resistance to the character, Bungie staff defended the character's introduction. "I'd much rather experiment and do something surprising, and not have everybody appreciate it, than just turn the crank and do another alien war movie with a space marine," said Halo 2 design lead Jaime Griesemer. Community lead Brian Jarrard attributed some of the fan backlash to a discord between the game's marketing and the actual gameplay. "I think, even more so than playing as the Arbiter, the thing that people were disappointed with and angry about is that they were promised this experience, through the marketing, of being really backs against the wall, Earth's under siege, we're going to do all we can to save our home planet... In reality, the game only had two missions that actually did that." Referring to Halo 2s cliffhanger ending, Griesemer said, "I think if we'd been able to finish that last couple of missions and get you properly back on Earth, a lot of the reaction would have been placated."
Halo (series)
Halo is a multi-million dollar science fiction video game franchise created by Bungie and now managed by 343 Industries and owned by Microsoft Studios. The series centers on an interstellar war between humanity and a theocratic alliance of aliens known as the Covenant...
science fiction universe. In the 2004 video game Halo 2
Halo 2
Halo 2 is a first-person shooter video game developed by Bungie Studios. Released for the Xbox video game console on November 9, 2004, the game is the second installment in the Halo franchise and the sequel to 2001's critically acclaimed Halo: Combat Evolved...
, the rank is given to a disgraced commander as a way to atone for his failures. Although the Arbiter is intended to die serving the Covenant leadership, the High Prophets, he survives his missions and the Prophets' subsequent betrayal of his kind. When he learns that the Prophets' plans would doom all sentient life in the galaxy to extinction, the Arbiter allies with the Covenant's enemies—humanity—and stops the ringworld Halo
Halo (megastructure)
Halos are fictional megastructures and superweapons in the Halo video game series. They are referred to as "Installations" by their AI monitors, and are collectively referred to as "the Array" by the installations' creators, the Forerunners...
from being activated. The Arbiter is a playable character
Player character
A player character or playable character is a character in a video game or role playing game who is controlled or controllable by a player, and is typically a protagonist of the story told in the course of the game. A player character is a persona of the player who controls it. Player characters...
in Halo 2 and its 2007 sequel Halo 3
Halo 3
Halo 3 is a first-person shooter video game developed by Bungie for the Xbox 360 console. The third installment in the Halo franchise, the game concludes the story arc begun in Halo: Combat Evolved and continued in Halo 2...
; a different Arbiter appears in the 2009 real-time strategy
Real-time strategy
Real-time strategy is a sub-genre of strategy video game which does not progress incrementally in turns. Brett Sperry is credited with coining the term to market Dune II....
game Halo Wars
Halo Wars
Halo Wars is a real-time strategy video game developed by Ensemble Studios and published by Microsoft Game Studios for the Xbox 360 video game console. It was released in Japan and Australia on February 26, 2009, in PAL territories on February 27, and in North America on March 3...
, which takes place 20 years before the events of the main trilogy.
The appearance of the Arbiter in Halo 2 and the change in perspective from the main human protagonist Master Chief
Master Chief (Halo)
Master Chief Petty Officer John-117 is a fictional character and protagonist of the Halo fictional universe, created by Bungie. Master Chief is a player character in the trilogy of science fiction first-person shooter video games Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 2, and Halo 3 and will appear in the...
to a former enemy was a plot twist Halo developer Bungie
Bungie
Bungie, Inc is an American video game developer currently located in Bellevue, Washington, USA. The company was established in May 1991 by University of Chicago undergraduate student Alex Seropian, who later brought in programmer Jason Jones after publishing Jones' game Minotaur: The Labyrinths of...
kept highly secret. The character's name was changed from "Dervish
Dervish
A Dervish or Darvesh is someone treading a Sufi Muslim ascetic path or "Tariqah", known for their extreme poverty and austerity, similar to mendicant friars in Christianity or Hindu/Buddhist/Jain sadhus.-Etymology:The Persian word darvīsh is of ancient origin and descends from a Proto-Iranian...
" after concerns that the name reinforced a perceived United States versus Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
allegory in the game's plot. Award-winning actor Keith David
Keith David
Keith David Williams , better known as Keith David, is an American film, television, voice actor, and singer. He is perhaps most known for his live-action roles in such films as Crash, There's Something About Mary, Barbershop and Men at Work...
lends his voice to the character in Halo 2 and 3, while David Sobolov
David Sobolov
David Sobolov is a Canadian voice actor. David began his creative career as a french horn player in pit orchestras and small ensembles, then studied acting in New York with the legendary Sanford Meisner at The Neighborhood Playhouse...
voices the Arbiter of Halo Wars.
The Arbiter has appeared in three series of action figures and other collectibles and marketing in addition to appearances in the games. Bungie intended the sudden point of view switch to a member of the Covenant as a plot twist
Plot twist
A plot twist is a change in the expected direction or outcome of the plot of a film, television series, video game, novel, comic or other fictional work. It is a common practice in narration used to keep the interest of an audience, usually surprising them with a revelation...
that no one would have seen coming, but the character in particular and the humanization of the Covenant in general was not evenly received by critics and fans. Computer and Video Games
Computer and video games
A video game is an electronic game that involves human interaction with a user interface to generate visual feedback on a video device. The word video in video game traditionally referred to a raster display device, but following popularization of the term "video game", it now implies any type of...
derided the Arbiter's missions as "crap bits" in Halo 2. Conversely, IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
lamented the loss of the Arbiter's story in Halo 3 and missed the added dimension the character provided to the story.
Character design
The Arbiter in the video games Halo 2Halo 2
Halo 2 is a first-person shooter video game developed by Bungie Studios. Released for the Xbox video game console on November 9, 2004, the game is the second installment in the Halo franchise and the sequel to 2001's critically acclaimed Halo: Combat Evolved...
(2004) and Halo 3
Halo 3
Halo 3 is a first-person shooter video game developed by Bungie for the Xbox 360 console. The third installment in the Halo franchise, the game concludes the story arc begun in Halo: Combat Evolved and continued in Halo 2...
(2007) is voiced by Keith David
Keith David
Keith David Williams , better known as Keith David, is an American film, television, voice actor, and singer. He is perhaps most known for his live-action roles in such films as Crash, There's Something About Mary, Barbershop and Men at Work...
, a New York actor. David noted that he enjoys voicing complicated characters who have a past. To make an impact with voice acting, he says, is difficult—"it's either good acting or it's bad acting". David is not a frequent video game player, but stated that he has become more known for his work as the Arbiter than for his film and other voice roles.
The Arbiter changed very little during development, as the overall appearance of the alien Covenant Elites had been designed and developed for the previous game, 2001's Halo: Combat Evolved
Halo: Combat Evolved
Halo: Combat Evolved, frequently referred to as Halo: CE, or Halo 1, is a first-person shooter video game developed by Bungie and published by Microsoft Game Studios. The first game of the Halo franchise, it was released on November 15, 2001 as a launch title for the Xbox gaming system, and is...
. The only substantial difference between the Arbiter and other Elites is ceremonial armor seen in early concept sketches and which appeared in the final design. During Halo 2s early developmental stages the character's name was "Dervish
Dervish
A Dervish or Darvesh is someone treading a Sufi Muslim ascetic path or "Tariqah", known for their extreme poverty and austerity, similar to mendicant friars in Christianity or Hindu/Buddhist/Jain sadhus.-Etymology:The Persian word darvīsh is of ancient origin and descends from a Proto-Iranian...
", a name from the Sufi sect of Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
. Out of context, Microsoft Game Studios
Microsoft Game Studios
Microsoft Studios is the video game production wing for Microsoft, responsible for the development and publishing of games for the Xbox, Xbox 360, Games for Windows and Windows Phone platforms. They were established in 2002 as Microsoft Game Studios to coincide with the release of the Xbox, before...
' "geocultural review" consultants found nothing wrong with the name. However, as Tom Edwards, a consultant who worked with Microsoft during the review noted, "within the game’s context this Islamic-related name of 'Dervish' set up a potentially problematic allegory related to Halo 2
Halo 2
Halo 2 is a first-person shooter video game developed by Bungie Studios. Released for the Xbox video game console on November 9, 2004, the game is the second installment in the Halo franchise and the sequel to 2001's critically acclaimed Halo: Combat Evolved...
s plot—the [United States]-like forces (Master Chief
Master Chief (Halo)
Master Chief Petty Officer John-117 is a fictional character and protagonist of the Halo fictional universe, created by Bungie. Master Chief is a player character in the trilogy of science fiction first-person shooter video games Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 2, and Halo 3 and will appear in the...
/Sarge) versus Islam (the religious Covenant, which already had a 'Prophet of Truth' which is one synonym for Mohammed). Since this incident was not long after the September 11, 2001 attacks
September 11, 2001 attacks
The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks (also referred to as September 11, September 11th or 9/119/11 is pronounced "nine eleven". The slash is not part of the pronunciation...
, sensitivity to the name remained high, and the character's name was changed to the "Arbiter".
In an interview with MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
, Halo developer Bungie
Bungie
Bungie, Inc is an American video game developer currently located in Bellevue, Washington, USA. The company was established in May 1991 by University of Chicago undergraduate student Alex Seropian, who later brought in programmer Jason Jones after publishing Jones' game Minotaur: The Labyrinths of...
's former content manager Frank O'Connor said that the inclusion of the Arbiter as a playable character in Halo 2 was supposed to be a "secret on the scale of a Shyamalan
M. Night Shyamalan
Manoj Nelliyattu Shyamalan,known professionally as M. Night Shyamalan, is an Indian-born American screenwriter, film director, and producer known for making movies with contemporary supernatural plots that climax with a twist ending. He is also known for filming his movies in and around...
plot twist" and explains that Bungie was able to keep the public uninformed about this until the game's release, to the point that O'Connor never even considered including it on the weekly development updates posted at Bungie's webpage. O'Connor also stated that Bungie "had some other things that were secrets within secrets" and claimed that there was material related to the Arbiter that was kept secret during the development of Halo 3 because "There is an aspect of the Arbiter's character that is still secret to this day and will remain so for a good reason." Story director Joseph Staten
Joseph Staten
Joseph Staten is a bestselling American writer born in San Francisco, California. The son of a theologian, Staten originally planned on becoming an actor, but dropped the idea in college...
said that the purpose of introducing the Arbiter was "to offer another, compelling point of view on a war where telling friend from foe wasn't always clear-cut. We knew we had a trilogy on our hands, so we were looking past the shock of playing as the enemy [to the events of Halo 3
Halo 3
Halo 3 is a first-person shooter video game developed by Bungie for the Xbox 360 console. The third installment in the Halo franchise, the game concludes the story arc begun in Halo: Combat Evolved and continued in Halo 2...
].
Halo 2
Presented in Halo 2, the rank of "Arbiter" is bestowed upon a Covenant Elite by the Covenant leadership—the High Prophets—during a time of "extraordinary crisis". The Arbiter acts as the "Blade of the Prophets", undertaking highly dangerous missions to preserve the Covenant. It is expected that these soldiers will die in the course of their duties. Although it was originally a rank of great honor, it later became a rank assigned to disgraced or shamed Elites that nevertheless possessed great martial skill, both as a means to have them serve the Covenant, and as a convenient means of disposal after their assigned suicidal missions.The Arbiter in the Halo trilogy, Thel 'Vadamee, was previously a Supreme Commander in the Covenant fleet, having commanded the ships that follow the human vessel Pillar of Autumn to the ringworld Halo during the events of Halo: Combat Evolved
Halo: Combat Evolved
Halo: Combat Evolved, frequently referred to as Halo: CE, or Halo 1, is a first-person shooter video game developed by Bungie and published by Microsoft Game Studios. The first game of the Halo franchise, it was released on November 15, 2001 as a launch title for the Xbox gaming system, and is...
. A Prophet orders the Autumn not to be destroyed outright, lest the ring be damaged; this hesitance allows the humans to land on the ring, coordinate a resistance, and ultimately destroy the ring to stop the spread of the parasitic Flood. In the aftermath
Halo: First Strike
Halo: First Strike is the third novel in the Halo series and the second Halo novel written by Eric Nylund. Published in 2003, it serves as a bridge between the events of the video games Halo: Combat Evolved and its 2004 sequel Halo 2...
of the incident, the commander also loses a Covenant ship to UNSC forces, resulting in the annihilation of a Covenant invasion force heading for Earth. As Halo 2
Halo 2
Halo 2 is a first-person shooter video game developed by Bungie Studios. Released for the Xbox video game console on November 9, 2004, the game is the second installment in the Halo franchise and the sequel to 2001's critically acclaimed Halo: Combat Evolved...
begins, the Covenant High Council brands the Commander a heretic for letting the ringworld—which the Covenant consider a sacred relic—be destroyed. He is stripped of his rank and branded. Though his public execution is soon to follow, he is spared by the High Prophets; the Hierarchs give the disgraced Commander a chance to lead troops once again by becoming the Arbiter.
The Arbiter's first mission is to silence a renegade Elite who has been preaching that the Prophets have lied to the Covenant. The Arbiter is then sent to retrieve the "Sacred Icon" from the library on the newly discovered Delta Halo, in order to activate the ring and bring about the Great Journey, the Covenant's concept of salvation. Though he retrieves the Icon, the Arbiter is betrayed by the Chieftain of the Brutes, Tartarus; Tartarus reveals that the Prophets have given him and his race carte blanche to massacre the Elites and replace them in the Covenant caste system. Though the Arbiter is believed dead, he is rescued—along with his nemesis, the human soldier Master Chief
Master Chief (Halo)
Master Chief Petty Officer John-117 is a fictional character and protagonist of the Halo fictional universe, created by Bungie. Master Chief is a player character in the trilogy of science fiction first-person shooter video games Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 2, and Halo 3 and will appear in the...
—by the parasitic Flood intelligence Gravemind
Gravemind
The Gravemind is a parasitic intelligence in the Halo universe. While only one Gravemind is ever seen in the games, the title is given to the final stage of Flood evolution. The Flood is a highly-infectious parasite which is released several times during Halos story...
. Gravemind reveals that the Great Journey actually spells doom for all sentient life, and sends him to stop Tartarus from activating the ring. In the process of stopping the Brute, the Arbiter and his Elites forge an alliance with the humans Miranda Keyes and Avery Johnson, and the Arbiter slays Tartarus, halting the firing of the ring. The unexpected shutdown of Halo triggers a standby sequence, which the Arbiter learns has made all the Halo installations ready to fire remotely from a place known as the Ark.
Halo 3
While the Arbiter remains a playable character in Halo 3Halo 3
Halo 3 is a first-person shooter video game developed by Bungie for the Xbox 360 console. The third installment in the Halo franchise, the game concludes the story arc begun in Halo: Combat Evolved and continued in Halo 2...
during cooperative gameplay
Cooperative gameplay
Cooperative gameplay is a feature in video games that allows players to work together as teammates. It is distinct from other multiplayer modes, such as competitive multiplayer modes like player versus player or deathmatch...
(the second player in a game lobby controls him), the game's story never switches to the point of view of the Arbiter, as in Halo 2. For much of Halo 3, the Arbiter assists human forces in their fight against hostile Covenant forces. After the Flood arrive on Earth, the Arbiter persuades Rtas 'Vadum not to glass the entire planet to quell the infestation. Along with a group of humans and Elites, the Arbiter follows the Prophet of Truth's forces through a slipspace portal to the Ark, where he kills the Prophet. The Master Chief decides to activate the Halo under construction at the Ark to destroy the local Flood while sparing the galaxy at large; the Arbiter helps to retrieve the artificial intelligence Cortana
Cortana
Cortana is a fictional artificially intelligent character in Bungie's Halo video game series. Voiced by Jen Taylor, she appears in Halo: Combat Evolved and its sequels, Halo 2 and Halo 3, in the prequel and epilogue of Halo: Reach, as well the novels Halo: The Flood, Halo: The Fall of Reach, ...
so that the installation can be fired. During the escape, the ship he and the Master Chief are on split in two; while the Master Chief is presumed lost, the Arbiter crashes safely to Earth. After attending a ceremony honoring the dead, the Arbiter and the rest of the Elites leave for their homeworld.
Halo Wars
Taking place 20 years before the events of Halo: Combat Evolved, Ensemble Studio's Halo Wars features a different Arbiter from the character seen in the trilogy. Lead designer David Pottinger described Ensemble's Arbiter as a "mean guy. He's Darth VaderDarth Vader
Darth Vader is a central character in the Star Wars saga, appearing as one of the main antagonists in the original trilogy and as the main protagonist in the prequel trilogy....
times ten." The characterization stemmed from a desire to make the Covenant more basically "evil" in order to provide a good guy-bad guy conflict. Parts of the Arbiter's backstory before the game's events are explained in a tie-in graphic novel, Halo Wars: Genesis. The Elite, Ripa 'Moramee, was given the rank after he fought and lost a campaign against his own clan.
Merchandise
Following the release of Halo 2, Joyride Studios released an Arbiter action figure. This particular model was reviewed by Armchair Empire's Aaron Simmer as a "great translation of the source material into plastic". Simmer described the figure's dimensions were in proportion with other figures released by the studio, and praised the level of detail in the armor and weapons, but found fault with the neck articulation and design. Other aspects mentioned were its compatibility with the Master Chief's action figure and its durability. Several models of the Arbiter are featured in the Halo ActionClix collectible game, produced as promotional material prior to the release of Halo 3. McFarlane ToysMcFarlane Toys
McFarlane Toys, a subsidiary of Todd McFarlane Productions, Inc., is a company started by Todd McFarlane that makes highly detailed models of characters from movies, comics, musicians, video games, and sport figures...
was given the task of developing a Halo 3 line of action figures, and a sculpt of the Arbiter was released in the second series of figures after the game's release in July 2008. A large-scale, non-articulated Arbiter figure was produced by McFarlane as part of the "Legendary Collection".
Critical reception
The reception of the Arbiter as a playable character in Halo 2 was mixed; O'Conner described the Arbiter as the most controversial character Bungie had ever created. The character was described as a "brilliant stroke of a game design" because it provided an unexpected story line but also offered the player new options by allowing stealth gameplay. Several publications enjoyed the added dimension to the Covenant by having the Arbiter as a playable character.Alternatively, publications like Gamespot
GameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
thought that while the Arbiter and Covenant side added "newfound complexity to the story", it distracted the player from Earth's fate; a panel of Halo 2 reviewers argued that though the decision to humanize the Covenant by the introduction of the Arbiter was welcome, the execution in-game was lacking. The missions where the player controls the Arbiter were described as "anything but easy" and occasionally "boring", due to the lack of human weapons to balance the gameplay. A review performed by Computer and Video Games
Computer and video games
A video game is an electronic game that involves human interaction with a user interface to generate visual feedback on a video device. The word video in video game traditionally referred to a raster display device, but following popularization of the term "video game", it now implies any type of...
described the time that the player controls the character as "[those] crap bits when you play as an alien Arbiter" and listed this as one of Halo 2s flaws. Reviewer Jarno Kokko said that while he did not personally dislike playing as the character, the idea of "people disliking the concept of playing on the other side in a game that is supposed to be the 'Master Chief blows up some alien scum' show" was a plausible complaint. Among some fans, the character was reviled.
The reception of the Arbiter's elimination as a main playable character in Halo 3 was similarly mixed. Hilary Goldstein of IGN decided the change took away the "intriguing side-story of the Arbiter and his Elites", in the process reducing the character's role to that of "a dude with a weird mandible and a cool sword". Likewise, Steve West of Cinemablend.com stated that the one important event in the game for the Arbiter would be lost on anyone for whom Halo 3 was their first game in the series. IGN's reviewer took issue with the poor artificial intelligence (AI) of allies in the game, and singled out the Arbiter in particular; "The Arbiter makes me question why the Elites were ever feared in the original Halo," Hilary Goldstein said. Describing the AI of the character, Goldstein felt players could "enjoy watching your supposed equal getting shot in the face repeatedly and generally making himself utterly useless. What is the point of sticking you with an AI compatriot if all he's good at is respawning?" The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
Charles Herold found that in comparison to Halo 2, where the character played a central role, the Arbiter in Halo 3 was "extraneous". On the opposite end of the spectrum were reviewers like G4tv
G4tv.com
G4tv.com, also known as G4tv: The Show or simply G4tv, is a weekly video game talk show that aired on G4 and was produced by Laura Foy. The questions and polls used on the show were from the G4tv.com discussion forums live chatroom and were on any topic concerning games or the technology of gaming...
, who argued that the Arbiter was more likeable, not to mention more useful, as an AI sidekick instead of the main player. In a list of the top alien characters in video games, MSNBC
MSNBC
MSNBC is a cable news channel based in the United States available in the US, Germany , South Africa, the Middle East and Canada...
placed the Arbiter at the number two ranking.
Halo Warss cinematics and voice acting were widely lauded, although one reviewer wrote that the characters were stereotypical and unlikeable. Dakota Grabowski of PlanetXbox360 considered the Arbiter the most confusing character in the game's story. Conversely, GamePro
GamePro
GamePro Media was a United States gaming media company publishing online and print content on the video game industry, video game hardware, and video game software developed for a video game console , a computer, and/or a mobile device . GamePro Media properties include GamePro magazine and...
listed the Arbiter as one of the five best things about the game, saying that while it was a different character than the Arbiter seen in Halo 2 and Halo 3, he was "like an alien Jack Bauer
Jack Bauer
Jack Bauer is the main protagonist of the American television series 24. His character has worked in various capacities on the show, often as a member of the fictional Counter Terrorist Unit based in Los Angeles, and working with the FBI in Washington, D.C...
amped up on [drugs]".
Despite the resistance to the character, Bungie staff defended the character's introduction. "I'd much rather experiment and do something surprising, and not have everybody appreciate it, than just turn the crank and do another alien war movie with a space marine," said Halo 2 design lead Jaime Griesemer. Community lead Brian Jarrard attributed some of the fan backlash to a discord between the game's marketing and the actual gameplay. "I think, even more so than playing as the Arbiter, the thing that people were disappointed with and angry about is that they were promised this experience, through the marketing, of being really backs against the wall, Earth's under siege, we're going to do all we can to save our home planet... In reality, the game only had two missions that actually did that." Referring to Halo 2s cliffhanger ending, Griesemer said, "I think if we'd been able to finish that last couple of missions and get you properly back on Earth, a lot of the reaction would have been placated."
External links
- Arbiter Story Page at Halo.Bungie.OrgHalo.Bungie.OrgHalo.Bungie.Org, often referred to as HBO, is a fansite created in 1999 by Claude Errera and two associates as a news site for the Bungie video game Halo: Combat Evolved. The site was started in 1999 as Blam.bungie.org based on the project's development name before it was called Halo...