Halo: Spartan Strike review

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Halo: Spartan Strike is good. Actually, it's really good. It builds on Halo: Spartan Assault, and save for a few niggles here and there, it does a great job of transposing Halo's frantic gun-fights to mobile.

It might not be an FPS, but there's still something decidedly Halo-y about the experience. Plus it looks gorgeous, and it comes in a decently priced bundle with its sibling.

The game casts you as a Spartan stumbling through some tangential events in the Halo-verse. You're running around New Mombassa, whomping Promethean Knights, and driving tanks into squealing Grunts.

The levels are just the right side of bite-sized, and offer a decent challenge as well. Run in all guns blazing and you might survive the first few, but you'll need to think a little more tactically the deeper you get into proceedings.

You control your Spartan with two floating sticks, one controlling movement, the other aiming and firing your weapon. You've got buttons along the side of the screen that let you swap weapons, lob grenades, and use your armour power.

An action button at the bottom allows you to poke buttons, pick things up, and jump into vehicles. The combat is nice and meaty, and while the controls aren't always perfect – in particular the double-tap grenade throw – they're solid enough most of the time that you won't notice.

The biggest weakness here is probably the lack of multiplayer. Being able to blast through Covenant defences with a friend really would be the icing on the cake, and while there are leaderboards, it's not really the same.

Still, this is a brilliantly put together single player game. You feel like you're in the heart of a war, as Banshees swoop overhead and explosions rattle your HUD.

The violence is slick, all the neon colours are present and correct, and while there's a nostalgic thrum when you pick up a Needler for the first time, the game doesn't trade too heavily on rose-tinted set pieces.

Halo: Spartan Strike is a slick twin-stick shooter that manages to feel like Halo in the palm of your hand. If you like your action deep-spacey, then it's well worth a look.