The last time we saw a game from developer Bungie was in 2010, with its smash hit, Halo: Reach. Since then, the developers have been hard at work on a very ambitious project, Destiny. By partnering with Activision, a publisher that has many major franchises under its belt, Bungie made a bold move. Together, both Bungie and Activision will commit to bringing us 10 years of Destiny, whether we like it or not. After playing extensively with the game’s content, I can say that this game still needs some work, but there is hope.
The entire premise of Destiny can be a bit confusing. Bungie attempted to market this as a “shared world shooter”. That’s a bit of a vague description, but basically Destiny is a combination of MMO elements and solid shooting mechanics. Comparisons to hit games like World of Warcraft, Diablo, Halo, and even Call of Duty are staggering. The closest thing to Destiny you’ve ever played is Gearbox’s hit Borderlands. You’re going to shoot, and sometimes you maybe get loot
When you first start Bungie’s game, you’ll see a very confusing scene set on Mars. After watching the short video, you’ll move on to creating your character. Unfortunately, the customization with your real character is a bit disappointing. It also doesn’t have the breadth of, say, World of Warcraft or console RPGs. You’ll feel less than unique when you take off your helmet in Destiny’s central location, the Tower.
Fortunately, when it comes to character classes, there’s a little more wiggle room. With Destiny, you have access to three classes, the speed hunter, the explosive warlock, and the titan, which is more or less a walking tank. Each class has two different leveling trees and even at the soft max level of 20, you’ll still unlock more options in the tree. Until now, there hasn’t been an option in any of the class trees that is “must have”, thankfully from now on, it’s all about player preference. Many times, I felt like all classes felt essentially the same. They were all powerful glass cannons in their own right. I guess this is a good thing considering Destiny doesn’t force anyone to choose between the standard MMO of having Tanks and Healers. Everyone is doing damage and everyone is making beautiful explosions.
When you’re not using your character’s unique abilities, you’ll be firing your weapon. You’ll shoot a lot, you’ll use enough bullets to bankrupt the NRA. Still, Destiny is an RPG at its core, so shooter fans can get frustrated when their endless well-aimed headshots fail to take down an enemy quickly. To be honest, that’s where most of the fun with Destiny comes from. You’ll feel good when your squad finally takes down a powerful boss at the end of a strike. If you’ve had the luxury of playing a Halo game, you’ll fit right in here. Weapons feel great, varied, and most importantly, fun. Sure, some enemies take forever to beat, but you’ll have a blast in the polished firefights.
The game gets very repetitive as you go from room to room, sending your fellow Ghost (voiced by the bored Peter Dinklage) to open a door as waves of enemies are sent head-on to combat you and your companions. As I mentioned before, the shooter works great, but when the missions are that lousy, it hurts the overall package. Of course, this excludes the excellently tuned three-man heists and the six-player raid, The Vault of Glass. I wish we had more and more varied opponents. Most of the bosses (excluding anything in the raid and the gigantic Spider Tanks) feel the same way, which is a shame.
However, the multiplayer part of Destiny called Crucible works very well. There are plenty of classic Bungie-designed maps and vehicles to play. What was missing was some kind of private lobby to explore any of the maps. I would love to fight with my friends in a classic Deathmatch style game. Game modes were also missing in multiplayer. I’m a big fan of Halo’s Big-Team Deathmatch, but I’ll have to wait for a special event this weekend to play it. Sword. As seen in the beta, Iron Banner will also be included during a special event. This game mode is great because your gear and level will really matter in how much damage you deal, unlike standard Crucible games that are completely balanced on gear and level.
The elephant in the room is definitely the story of the game. When we were first teased about Destiny at E3 2013, the game’s lore seemed interesting and deep. After playing the story of the game, it is quite the opposite. From the time you complete your first story mission to the conclusion of the game, literally none of your story questions will be answered. Of course, no one was expecting any big reveals, but at the same time nothing gets resolved during the 12-hour story. You’ll know next to nothing about who you’re shooting at, what the Traveler is, and why “darkness” is such a fundamental force. There are story snippets on the Bungie.net website or in the Destiny app via grimoire cards but you will only get a glimpse of a much larger picture. You really shouldn’t have to use an app or website to get the context of a story.
Destiny is not an MMO, but it is heavily influenced by them, and like most MMOs, Destiny is going to receive spectacular updates that will improve the game as a whole. There are glaring issues and frustrations with Bungie’s latest, but it’s still a fun and long-lasting game. With loads of DLC on the way, we’ll be entertained until the sequel. With subtle changes and balances, Destiny could become the beast we want it to be, it’s unfortunate that we have to wait a little longer for it to reach greatness.
