The Player: New ‘Halo’ is technically improved, but lost its heart along the way

“Halo 4” made me a believer. Making us care so much about Master Chief’s emotional well-being was “Halo 4’s” great achievement. The core drama that drove “Halo 4” — questions surrounding one’s attachment to an unnervingly sentient artificially intelligent being — do crop up here, but they’re pushed to the side. Meanwhile, “Halo 5” has its heart set on more mechanical concerns — fine-tuning the game’s multiplayer capabilities, for example, or adding more free-form movement to our Spartans. As for getting new players up to speed, Microsoft and its developer, 343 Industries, seem content to let the expanded “Halo” universe — books and digital series — fill in the story’s blanks.