 The reception of the Covenant as enemies in Combat Evolved was generally favorable . The ability to experience the storyline of Halo 2 from the Covenant perspective was described as a " brilliant stroke of game design " . Allowing the player to assume the role of an Elite was described as providing an unexpected plot twist , and allowing the player to experience a " newfound complexity to the story " . In addition , some reviewers thought that this provided the series with a significant plot element — IGN referred to it as the " intriguing side story of the Arbiter and his Elites " — and its elimination in Halo 3 was pointed to as responsible for reducing the role of the Arbiter within the series plot . In 2010 IGN ranked Covenant 26th in the " Top 100 Videogames Villains " . 
