The proverbial hype-train is an ever growing factor in how we go about purchasing games of recent. The impossibly grandiose scope of sensationalist advertisements and enthusiastic game previews has radically change the way we anticipate games and Destiny was no different when it bought a one way ticket on that same hype-train in question. So, after nearly over a month, it was interesting to see how it faired. Was it still fun? Did it receive regular content? Admittedly, I was originally a little skeptical of Destiny, and all the talk made me question if it was all words and no action when it came to the game itself. Thankfully, I was wrong.
Destiny provides an interesting blend of MMO an shooter to give an all round pleasing experience. From the get-go you are provided classes: Titan, Warlock and Hunter. Each come with their own set of abilities and MMO-esque roles. In line with MMO style of play, you’re offered a level of character customisation, including race and appearance. I would have hoped for a deeper level of change aesthetically, but the simplistic level of customisation added the feeling of identity to the game, which was needed. Then you’re off on your space-faring adventures as your character’s thrown head-first into the world of Destiny, its story, and the lore of the realm. It’s all a lot to take in, but Destiny can be broken down into very simple segments.
The first of note is the story itself. Destiny takes place in a realm where the battle between light and dark has gripped the world; yes it’s very generic but it evolves into so much more. Humanity became the subject of a “golden age” long ago, life span increased, the global economy thrived, and technology advanced rapidly. This was brought about by “The Traveller” an ominous being sat above earth, which took humanity to the next level. As it turns out The Traveller has an enemy…saw that coming. Only known as “The Darkness,” its enemy consists of a number of evil races combined together against The Traveller.
We’re flashed a few hundred years into the future where The Traveller has fought off a percentage of the darkness which is recuperating and now remains dormant. What remains of The Traveller exists in the form of “Ghosts” – or mini-Cortanas, if you will – which follow and advise you through your journey. As a guardian, your sole purpose is to bring balance back to the realm and defeating the gathering Darkness’s forces.
The story is interesting and takes you planet-hopping through the galaxy, from Mars to Venus to “The Rift.” I was quite surprised at its length, as in it’s relatively short. As you play it, it’s easy to understand how massive Destiny‘s story could truly be if not for the seemingly intentional room for expansion. It’s that illusive sense of incompletion a month afterwards that hasn’t done much to help forge Destiny into the sweeping epic it’s clearly born to be. There have been small pieces to the puzzle here and there, but nothing memorable by any means.
Thankfully, the game has a lot more to offer beyond the general plot-line. First, we have the crucible. The crucible is the regular online team-deathmatch, domination, and free for all arena that we are commonly used to with the online competitive world. Make as many Call Of Duty or Halo comparisons that you like, but the crucible is fresh and rather enjoyable. There are a few weapon balancing issues here and there, but overall, you can clock a good few enjoyable hours into it.
Beyond that, there are modes dubbed “Patrols.” These consist of you completing odd-jobs scattered across multiple planets. They can be enjoyable, but more often than not, they can be fairly dull and repetitive. You’ll get regular tasks such as “Kill this many of this thing” that aren’t all that appealing, granted, but in their wake there’s the big daddy of them all: Raids.
Raids consist of you and a group of friends cracking at some of the biggest bosses in the game. These are pretty enjoyable and there tends to be new ones landing on an almost weekly basis. These events are challenging and to me the best factor of playing Destiny, and it’s rather cool to revel in such victories as snatching up some awesome gear in the game.
Did I mention the gear? There’s a lot of it, and I can guarantee that you’ll thrive on trying to horde the best and most gear. Their increased firepower and enhanced amount of havoc they can wreak in the field (or just simply looking badass) are all good incentives to delve into tasks to get more.
Before I forget, make no mistake about it: Destiny looks stunning. Resolution and frame rates are a controversy gamers are no strangers too in the past few months, I can vouch for Destiny’s integrity as a stable, glorious looking spectacle. Though I would have liked to have seen a smoother 60 frames bar being set, all in all, it looks just dandy.
The color pallet and aesthetics of the universe is awe-inspiring and everything you will encounter – from gear to the most evil of bosses – looks highly refined on the PlayStation 4. I feel as though the questions that were asked before hand of the graphical nature of the game have been answered.
Overall Destiny’s good, if not at all amazing or epic. I can’t help but feel as though a good percentage of the game was trimmed away to be added at a later point. There’s a good amount of content at hand and all of it a generally fun experience. In the end, that – or at least at this point in time – is all Destiny falls under: “good.” I suppose you can say the massive hype train that shoved it down our throats didn’t quite live up to expectations, but was good enough to arouse my attention for a vast amount of time.