Halo 5: Guardians review: complicated and uninspiring storyline doesn't matter for such a stunning return to form

From the persistent advertising campaign that Microsoft have been running ahead of the release of Halo 5: Guardians, you would be led to believe that the series was in for a dramatic change of direction. It seemed that its protagonist, Master Chief, was to be hero no longer after going rogue and that he must be chased down in order to “hunt the truth”.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, this ultimately turns out to be something of an red herring, as things go on the scale of betrayal it is less Brutus and Julius Caesar and more Des Lynam's brief move to ITV.

Frankly though this could scarcely matter less, especially given the series’ complicated rambling storyline, which may well be completely understood by the most dedicated disciples of the D-pad but to the casual gamer remains as tricky to follow as a particularly sneaky chameleon making a bid for freedom.

While for some the subtle nuances of the series’ expansive sci-fi plot may well be the main draw, for most the attraction is Halo’s pedigree as a first-person shooter, and on this front the game does not disappoint – put simply, if you’ve come to shoot aliens in the face, then you’re in the right place.

There have been some changes to the gameplay, notably in the way your character can move around, with welcome additions such as the ability to charge into a melee or to deliver a ferocious smashing to the ground near an enemy when jumping off things.

Perhaps more controversially, the ability to look down the sights of every gun has been added, seemingly a concession to the popularity of Call of Duty, although in reality the feature is mostly cosmetic, with success just as achievable without its use.

A bigger bone of contention however is the inability to cooperatively play the game’s campaign mode on one console in split screen mode, this feature now reduced to online play only, a real shame given that this was for many one of the main draws of Halo in comparison to other games.

Given Halo 5’s added focus on playing as part as a team, who now have the ability to revive wounded players, this does seem a particular oversight.

However it would be churlish to suggest that Halo 5 is anything other than a move back in the right direction for the series, particularly after the disappointment of its previous incarnation, and with highly positive early reports of the game’s wildly popular online multiplayer mode, the game is a worthy first step for the series as it enters the Xbox One era.