I’ve been playing Bungie games religiously since the first Halo, so if you’re looking for an unbiased opinion, don’t let the door hit ya. I’ve also spent way too much time on RPGs like Baldur’s Gate and Star Wars: Galaxies, which is why I have to measure the last time I had sex in years. But it’s also why I love Destiny so much. It’s taken the soul of an MMO and put it in a gorgeous FPS body (as long as it doesn’t talk too much).
Needs to improve: voice acting and “story.” Sorry Bungie, “you are light, fight the dark” does NOT constitute a story. And if your writing can somehow make the Dinklanator sound bored and flat, maybe it’s time to reevaluate your entire life. I mostly wish there was an option for a silent protagonist, because those dialogue snippets are always the worst of the worst of the worst. And why can’t we at least move the ship around the “not loading screen” that you have to go to twice before doing anything ever? Elder Scrolls raised the loading screen bar, even just rotating the damn thing would make me happy at this point.
Nailed it: Beautiful and fun. The skylines are insanely gorgeous, and every planet feels different. Each one has a couple alien races battling it out, with different tactics required for the terrain and enemies. Both your character’s subclasses (usually offensive vs. defensive skills) and items (weapons and armor) have stats you can customize for each situation on the fly. Do I want my pistol to make me run faster, or do I want to use it to Enemy at the Gates some fool across the map? Much like Borderlands, the real way to play is with other people. Since my IRL friends are laggin it pretty bad in that level grind, I’ve managed to make suitable replacement digital friends in the three person matchmade strikes/raids.
Hoping for: Story and space combat. The entire internet knows the lack of memorable story and characters is its glaring weakness. Bungie has a great history of listening to fans, so I’m not too worried. A lot of people expected to see space combat in Destiny too, since they had a pretty flawless space dogfight in their swan song to the Halo universe, Reach. I’d be more than a little surprised if we don’t jump into the cockpit in future sequels. Also putting money that the city beneath the tower gets overrun and we fight through it in Destiny 2.
Let’s wrap this shit up: Not without its painful shortcomings, Destiny is absolutely stunning on a decent tv, and jaw-dropping on a good one. Controls are smooth, and intuitive for any FPS player. It’s the console l00tfest with friends I’ve been dreaming about for a few decades now. I understand why people dislike it, there’s no handholding when it comes to explaining anything at all. But that’s what makes the community so vital. We have to work together to figure it all out and achieve maximum pwnage. Eyes up, Guardians!
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