343 Industries has undoubtedly made some controversial decisions for the upcoming Halo 5: Guardians that haven't necessarily sat well with fans. These changes, such as the lack of split-screen, have some worried that the game simply won't live up to the hype, and will weaken the franchise's legacy.

While some are understandably skeptical, the more we see of Halo 5: Guardians, the more impressive it becomes. The latest gameplay footage further shows that not only does Halo 5 have what it takes to deliver a game that will live up to the hype, it may just surpass it.

This new gameplay footage once again centers around Fireteam Osiris, and this time it follows them on a campaign mission called Swords of Sanghelios. The gameplay depicted in the new footage is standard Halo fare, and looks gorgeous running at 60 frames per second, but what makes this newly revealed mission so exciting is its story implications.

The more casual Halo fans may not be familiar with it, but Sanghelios is the home planet of the Elites, some of the most iconic alien species in the entire series. What's more, near the end of the snippet of the level that we're shown in the latest footage, we are given more evidence that the franchise's most recognizable Elite, the Arbiter, will indeed play a central role in Halo 5.

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It seems that the Covenant on Sanghelios are there in an attempt to kill the Arbiter. Fireteam Osiris are on their way to protect him, but the footage concludes before we have a chance to see if their mission is successful. This more or less confirms our suspicions of Arbiter's involvement in the game that initially arose when an Arbiter figure was revealed at the San Diego Comic Con a couple of months back.

While the Arbiter, Spartan Locke, and Fireteam Osiris are the focus of this gameplay footage, it marks yet another instance wherein the franchise's main character, Master Chief, is nowhere to be seen. The final game will shift between the perspectives of Locke and Master Chief, with Chief leading his own squad, but 343 has been especially secretive about those particular missions.

In fact, the last time we've seen Master Chief in Halo 5 was in leaked footage, not footage officially released by 343 or Microsoft. They're playing their cards close to their vest, and it's likely that Master Chief's role in the story will have major Halo universe implications that the developers would rather players experience organically.

Because of this, expect most of the marketing and gameplay footage for Halo 5 to continue to center around Fireteam Osiris. After all, the game's E3 2015 trailer almost exclusively focused on the squad, and the recently released CG opening cinematic for the game has revealed that Halo 5 will begin with Locke's crew – not Master Chief.

What do you think of this new gameplay footage for Halo 5? Are you excited to visit the Elites' home world?

Halo 5: Guardians will be available on Xbox One beginning October 27th.

Source: Halo