Destiny
Producer: Activision
Release Date: September 9, 2014
Platform: Xbox One, PS4, Xbox 360, PS3
Rating: Teen
Genre: First-Person Shooter
Galaxy Guardian
Written by Jesse Seilhan
Few games have the distinction of being the most anticipated of the year. In Destiny’s case, it might be the most anticipated of the past half-decade, as Bungie left their Halo (and Xbox) roots to make a multi-platform shooter that would integrate the social aspect of massively multiplayer online games. Across the board, Destiny nails both of those ideas. The gunplay is still the best in the business, giving that feeling of joy the same way original Halo did back in 2001. That wasn’t the gamble, however, as just about everyone is onboard with another shooter from the Godfathers of modern console shooting. What is up for debate is how well MMO stuff works and is it any good, the answer to which relies heavily on how much you care to invest.
Destiny offers three classes (Hunter, Titan, Warlock) that all operate weapons identically. What varies is their specific style of grenade (homing vs fire, for example) and what type of melee attack they have, but the gunplay is the same across the board. Some people prefer realistic shooters to sci-fi arenas, but Bungie can make shooting feel as exhilarating and precise as possible. The things you will be shooting vary quite a bit, as Destiny features four distinct races, each with a hierarchy of enemies that range from pawns and lowlifes to elite generals and elaborate mobs. Figuring out the best tactics to use in dispatching these enemies is the real joy, as each of the game’s four planets offer enough variety to justify switching class powers, weaponry, and gear.
Loot is the name of the game, as the single goal of any mission is to get loot drops from fallen enemies or earn rewards for completing a section of the story. Furthermore, loot can be purchased from a swath of vendors on the hubworld, known as The Tower. Gear helps build certain stats, like reducing cooldown of powers or increasing ammo count for specific weapon types. The weapons can have elemental tendencies or cool modifiers, such as picking up any ammo that you shoot or doing more damage when the second half of the clip is fired. Weaponry and gear are tiered from common to exotic, and can be upgraded using various materials strewn across the galaxy and some cash.
What might throw some people off is the way the game is structured. While there is a narrative, it is, by all accounts, utterly forgettable and actually annoying, as you cannot skip cutscenes. The voice acting is bad, the character development is non-existent, and the world building is fairly poor. However, those same criticisms apply to games like World of Warcraft and Diablo, which share more in common with Destiny than one might think. This is a social game, one where you make your own story, like that one time you and your buddy and his brother killed three witches using all rockets, or that one PVP match where you were the last person alive and won the whole game.
There is enough meat to this game to last you a long time, as long as you are okay with the premise of repeating missions over and over, playing a ton of competitive multiplayer, and teaming up with two to five people to take down some of the more insane challenges Destiny has to offer. If all you want is a light, breezy shooter or something with a good story, pick up Call of Duty or Wolfenstein. But if you want a worthwhile investment and have a few buddies with the same passion as yourself, there isn’t anything better than what Destiny offers.