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." Retrospective reviews on The Arbiter since Halo 2's release have been more positive. In 2021, a Polygon article stated "the Arbiter gives Master Chief a run for his money as "badass video game protagonist", and he does it in only six missions." A piece in The Escapist stated "Thel 'Vadam is the only character in the Halo games with a proper character arc" and "All told then, more than 15 years after his introduction, the Arbiter continues to hold an uneasy but influential place in the Halo franchise. When he was introduced, he expanded the series's scope with grand narrative ambition but some frustrating gameplay choices. When he was mothballed, that ambition seemed to leave with him." References External links Arbiter story page at Halo.Bungie.Org Arbiter's profile at Halo Waypoint (archived) Extraterrestrial characters in video games Fictional commanders Fictional energy swordfighters Fictional swordfighters in video games Halo (franchise) characters Male characters in video games Politician characters in video games Religious worker characters in video games Fictional soldiers in video games Fictional military strategists Microsoft antagonists Microsoft protagonists Video game characters introduced in 2004 Video game sidekicks