Machinima Mondays: ‘Arby ‘n’ the Chief’

Ever wonder what your toys do when you aren’t around? (And no, the proper response isn’t “They aren’t toys, they are collectible action figures.”) Well one Machinimist did and combined it with his love of Halo 3 to make Arby ‘n’ the Chief.

Instead of having someone from the real world voice a video game character, DigitalPh33r took a different approach when he showed the Master Chief is actually an action figure who hops on to Halo every now and then when his owner isn’t around and is terrible at it, as well as completely immature. In addition to flaming of opponents and denial of his own lack of skill, Chief tries to overcompensate with constant failed attempts of LEET speak.

And did we mention that Chief is voiced by Microsoft Sam, the in-Windows text to speech program, instead of having an actual voice actor? Surprisingly entertaining for this fact alone, it doesn’t end there for the Chief as he gets a roommate in the first episode of the series, rekindling the infamous video game odd couple when his owner receives a package containing, you guessed it, an Arbiter action figure.

Voiced by Microsoft Mike, the Arbiter does a fantastic job of playing straight man to the self delusional Chief. While Chief lives in a world of fantasy where he is the best Halo 3 player around and even an up and coming Machinima creator, Arbiter tries to keep him grounded and somehow develops a tight friendship with the foul mouthed collectible.

Simply bobbing up and down in front of the camera instead of opting for a stop-motion style, the simple execution of Arby ‘n’ the Chief is what gives it its charm… That and the constant penis jokes made by the chief. Take a peek at the first episode below of the series that has already gone in to its fifth season with our two heroes living in LA.

Don’t forget to check out DigitalPh33r’s blog for a full list of links to every episode of Arby ‘n’ the Chief.