The Arbiter in the next Halo game? 

This has been a question I’ve been mulling over and have discussed with friends and other gamers.

When last we left the Arbiter in a Halo game, he was at the memorial for fallen soldiers on Earth. In the novels however, he’s been written into the current Kilo-5 trilogy of books. With the last one still to come out, it seems apparent he will once again have a role in the trilogy.

The questions becomes, is Thel Vadam (the current Arbiter’s real name) killed in this lastest book? If so, then this event sets it up nicely for Jul M’dama to take over as the new Covenant leader.

If however, he is not killed in the next book, then does he have a place or reason to be in the next Halo game? Beyond long time fans have a bit of nostalgia for the character, is he necessary to the story? Before answering that, we need to look at what 343 has done with the story of Halo since they took over for Bungie.

Before Halo 4 came out, it was becoming increasingly clear that 343 decision makers wanted their own take on the Haloverse. They made some significant changes in the direction of the story as well as the look of certain elements, the Forward Unto Dawn for example. Not to mention the curiously absent Brutes. Yes, I know, there was the Great Schism in the Covenant after the end of the human/covenant war. Still there could have been a place for Brutes. That’s not the crux of this article, but it is worth mentioning.

See, 343 wants to not only make their mark in Halo, looking from the outside in, it seems they wanted Elites to take the forefront again as enemies in Halo. This leaves no room for the Arbiter to appear in the next game. Why? Well simply put, if he’s aligned with the UNSC then where would he be inserted into the game? A cut scene maybe, but that certainly would not quell long-time fans thirst to PLAY as him in the games again.

Also, let’s take into account that the Storm faction of the Covenant, of which Jul M’dama leads, was not the main enemy in Halo 4. Rather that was the Didact and his army of Prometheans. While Jul did take center stage during the events of Spartan Ops, with Spartan Ops all-to-early demise, the likelihood of Elites becoming the main enemy again is decreased. This doesn’t mean it won’t happen, just that if the story is taken along an expected route, they won’t be as big of a factor in the next game. This further demonstrates why the Arbiter won’t be in the next game.

Personally, do I want to have “Arby” back in a Halo game? An emphatic YES! However, giving this some real thought, seeing the direction of the story in Halo 4, reading the events of the Kilo-5 trilogy and now better understanding 343’s plans for the franchise, as much as I don’t want to say it, I do not expect the Arbiter to be in the next game. Certainly not as a playable character.

At this point, any argument I could give for the Arbiter to be in the next game would be skewed by nostalgia, rather than a real need to have him in the game. That is unless Jul M’dama becomes the NEW Arbiter…hmmm….

What are you’re thoughts on this? Would you like to see the Arbiter back in the next game? If so, give me your reason(s) why he should be in. Hit that “REPLY”. If you’re not yet signed up for the blog, then please register so you can reply. All you need to do is send me an e-mail at [email protected] with your desired screen name AND a password you want to use for the site. I’ll get you registered pronto and you can start replying.

-Sal