Halo’s Arbiter is the perfect counterpoint to Metal Gear Solid’s Raiden

Halo’s referee and Metal Gear Solid’s Raiden are strange bedfellows. One is a blond-haired fool who has done all the virtual reality simulations he can, and the other is an 8-foot alien with four kissable lips, voiced by Keith David. So why are we talking about them together? Because they are both key players in two of the most shocking protagonist exchanges in video game history.

But despite everything they have in common, the referee stands out as the anti-Raiden, showing players that there are more great figures in the Halo universe than just the Master Chief. While Raiden’s story is one of a hero growing in his own confidence and ability, the referee is already a capable character.

After the first Metal Gear Solid, Hideo Kojima released long trailers by Metal Gear Solid 2, all with Solid Snake, the spy protagonist of the series. But the real game came with an initial twist. Only a few hours into the game, Solid Snake “dies” and the players take control of Raiden. The real story is very complex, as Solid Snake is not really dead and Raiden is unknowingly working for the bad guys. It’s a great story, enhanced by Raiden’s personal connection to the main antagonist – the “twist” wouldn’t be as effective if Snake was the player character. But swapping Raiden for Snake remains a subject of controversy.

Bungie took this brilliant idea from Kojima, to change the player character unexpectedly like a storytelling device, and adapted it to suit his own needs. Halo: Combat Evolved released two days later Metal Gear Solid 2, but Halo 2 It came three years later, in 2004. Halo 2 It opens with a long scene that juxtaposes the perspectives of the UNSC and the Covenant. The Master Chief is being rewarded for his efforts in aura, and the elite who would become the referee are being stripped, marked and imprisoned for failing to protect the “holy ring.”

Here’s the twist: some missions in the game, players get a first look through the eyes of the referee. For the rest of Halo 2, players periodically swap between the Master Chief and the Referee, promising unique locations and perspectives throughout the entire campaign. Having you play as the “villain” gives the Covenant a lot more dimension. The role of arbiter is sacred to the Covenant, but it is also a death sentence. They are tools of the Prophets sent on sacred suicide missions. That context makes it even tougher when you, as a referee, survive the ridiculous mission you are sent on. This culminates in the moment when the Arbitrator rebels again against the Pact leading a civil war effort.

Although Metal Gear Solid 2 and Halo 2 They use the same trick, they aim for wildly different targets. Raiden makes you miss playing as Solid Snake – Snake’s proximity, disguised as “Iroquois Pliskin”, helps reinforce that feeling. Snake is essentially an ’80s action hero, with a deep voice and sex appeal. He’s also wildly competent and cool, like the Master Chief with personality and libido. Raiden is a rookie and spends the entire game whining and confused. The way Kojima makes you work with “Pliskin” (which is clearly Snake in disguise) really forces you to come to terms with how cool Snake is than Raiden. It expresses disappointment in a poignant way and it’s great.

While playing as the referee may initially suggest the same disappointment, the game passes it quickly. The first mission as a referee in Halo 2 is to track down a heretical leader and assassinate him. That is good enough. But in the second mission in the two-part arc, the Arbiter evacuates the other Covenant from their installation in the sky and then cuts the cables by keeping them afloat with his energy sword. This causes the station to begin plummeting toward the surface, reducing gravity and luring the Heretic Leader out of hiding. The Arbiter is an Elite who doesn’t care if he lives or dies, and does absolutely wild shit to prove it, making for a fun and intense game.

At the end of Halo 2, the referee is an established character with a compelling story that rivals Halo’s main arc. The Master Chief can be one of the coolest video game protagonists, but he wasn’t a great character in the first game (although this arguably helped players hold onto him as an avatar as well). Bungie does a better job of portraying Chief in the sequel, but is nearly overshadowed by the portrayal of the Inquisitor. And that is an impressive feat.

Although Raiden didn’t steal the show in the same way, his role is expanded in later Metal Gear games, unlike the Arbiter, which mostly takes a back seat in the Halo franchise. (Although the Referee’s story could apparently continue in Infinite halo.) Raiden became a ridiculous cyber ninja in Metal Gear Solid 4and finally got his own stylish action game, Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance. The referee took a secondary role in Halo 3, serving as a cooperative character, and did not emerge again until Halo 5 where he led his people against the rest of the Covenant.

No matter how they end, both characters offer the player a different perspective than they did in the early games. But while Metal Gear Solid 2The story is certainly deeper, and the character swap is more iconic, the referee shows the players that the mindless aliens who spent it all Halo: Combat Evolved Killing has its own culture, and some are as capable as the Master Chief himself.

I’m not here to argue if Metal Gear Solid 2 or Halo 2 deserves a higher place in the video game hall of fame. But the Arbiter gives Master Chief a run for his money as a “badass video game protagonist,” and he does so in just six missions.