Destiny Review

[VinWarrior]

 

What happens when a large company, let's call this company Activision as an example, buys a masterful and genius company, let's call this company Bungie, and morphs Bungie into another, let's say Infinity Ward, pumping out a quarter finished title and promising updates later? Destiny happens!

 

 

Now look, we were ALL hyped for Destiny, whether you want to admit you were or not, deep down you were excited and the majority of us were sucked in and bought the Limited Edition or even the Ghost Edition on Day One. If you were like me and did the above, I'm sure you're also feeling a bit of buyer's remorse right now even playing the game. It makes it worse when content is cut straight from the game on the Xbox versions and given to PlayStation users for no extra fee, that we're likely to not see for another year or longer. And even worse than this, the discovery that paid DLC is implemented inside the game at launch, whether it be finished or not. Activision is a monopolistic greedy group of corporate scammers who figured abducting Bungie and destroying what looked to be the game to define a generation would make them a few hundred million, which it did.

 

 

Activision bashing aside, how is Destiny? Well, let's start with core gameplay. This is where Destiny shines in a lot of ways and makes you smash your head into your desk at full velocity in others. Core shooting and maneuvering is done excellently, as should be expected by the company who made Halo. The loot system in the game, on the other side of the coin, is absolutely horrid. With an awkward RNG (Random Loot System) based loot system, the game feels unbalanced and flat out amateur in some areas, coming from Bungie. With absolutely no trading, gambling, or balanced loot drop system, the game is a chore to play as you play for hours on end or end up grinding loot caves on Old Russia. I tried so hard to play fair, I really did, but good god it's a horror show to even attempt, it's so much easier when you just farm away and get good enough loot to attempt the Vault of Glass. The areas of play all feel different and complex, and the enemies (even though all playing like mindless drones) look visually appealing and unique, which is a plus for me. On the subject of Vault of Glass, the raid and all existing strikes are a ton of fun to play with friends and make the excruciating farming a bit more tolerable as you grind Aksor on Nightfall together for five hours straight for that Last Word.

 

 

Moving on, Destiny's least respectable area (in my opinion), the game's story, if you can even call it that. I was genuinely getting interested after the first cutscene and was quite enthralled to keep going, likely my burning hype trying to fart out one last jolt of excitement, but I soon began to notice very odd patterns, with little explanation to flat out ANYTHING, and odd dialogue that made me feel like the game's characters were encouraging me to buy another DLC. Now, with explaining, they open doors and proceed to leave them open after their ridiculously short story ends on the laziest note I've ever seen, thank god it wasn't filled with the mass amount of plot holes of a certain RPG made by Bioware I won't name. "Who is the stranger? Why are you here? WHAT IS GOING ON?!" Is what you'll be screaming at the top of your lungs throughout the game. And as for the strange dialogue, they say things like, "Congrats, but more darkness awaits below the Moon's surface." and it would make me question, before I realized that DLC takes place down there. They don't give you a victory cheer, they tell you 'you did a decent job, go fight some more, don't question our motives'. And this is coming from BUNGIE, the guy's who made the deepest and most emotional lines of dialogue possible in Halo. Maybe the reason it's so lacking in this area is because the lead writer up and left a year ago, and they scrapped the story with only a year to fix it? That's my theory, but I'm not here to shout hogwash at you.

 

 

Finally, something I can praise in Destiny, the game's graphics. From the details on the enemies, to the green skies of Venus, to the cold winter air running through Old Russia, this game is gorgeous. The graphics team knocked it out of the park in Destiny and spared no dab or brush of bright colours. It almost feels too pretty for the type of game it's trying to be, but you don't really care all that much when you watch the International Space Station drift apart above the moon now do you? The sound team also did a spectacular job, making the game's score immensely impressive. As a matter of fact, it sounds so good it makes me fuming angry that they fired Marty without a cause. Anyway, amazing job on the score and overall stunning vistas and designs. Though I do wish the sound was appropriated a bit better in the actual game, as certain scores can feel out of place with what you're doing. And since I have more than enough room, might as well mention the ridiculous excuse for multiplayer, The Crucible. I had zero fun with this unless I was playing with people I knew and could chat to about how horrid it is. It's loot system is retarded to excruciating levels, as many players will state. Matches feel extremely unbalanced with Level 2s gunning down Level 20s with ease with their Shotguns and Hunter class actions. If you have the Invective exotic shotgun, and are a hunter, you're gonna have a blast dominating people in Crucible, if not well tough luck getting that Legendary faction armour.

 

 

Overall, did I enjoy Destiny? Yes, not as much as I hoped I would, but I had occasional fun. The game has extreme problems in it's current state though that Bungie is trying to fix, and they have, honourably, taken the blame on their shoulders, which is admirable. Still, humility aside, the game needs massive work and was nowhere near the title we hoped for. If you buy it for a lower price though, maybe $30 + $30 DLC, you might get a kick out of it, just know that owning the Expansion Pass is a must if you're buying this game, as you'll feel extremely left out in terms of gameplay if you don't. Also, play the game on PlayStation consoles simply because of this dumb deal right now, when the time comes and Xbox players get the DLC, feel free to pick and choose.

 

6/10

 

Thanks so much for reading guys, see ya next time!

[RedStarRocket91]

Interesting read - will we be seeing more reviews from you in the future?

[Pbrabbit]

This is quite an interesting read and I partially agree and disagree with some things youve said but that's what makes this a wonderful review! Great job!

[VinWarrior]

Interesting read - will we be seeing more reviews from you in the future?

 

*blushes* T-Thank you S-Senpai!

 

In all seriousness, absolutely. Next up is AC Unity, likely followed by the Christmas Season of games (CoD: AW, Dragon Age, AC Rogue, etc.) I cannot wait.

[Connor Kenway]

 

*blushes* T-Thank you S-Senpai!

 

In all seriousness, absolutely. Next up is AC Unity, likely followed by the Christmas Season of games (CoD: AW, Dragon Age, AC Rogue, etc.) I cannot wait.

 

Nice review basically same as I see Destiny.

 

On a side note: I'm pumpin out that AC Rogue review bub fite me irl 4 it n00b. <3

[Is not JL]

Sweet stuff.

 

Destiny MM is essentially the welfare game of the year.

 

Which, IMO, is plain and simple disrespectful to people who put effort into the PvP.

 

The game; is it fun? Yes. But content in the base game ran out basically within the 3rd week of the game, and only because they didn't release something till 2 weeks in; it then turned into an endless grindfest between playing one of the most disappointingly well made trash multiplayers and grinding the exact same raid over and over for the chance at getting something - or getting nothing at all.

 

Perhaps the DLC will provide; indeed, the art direction there is still as splendid as ever (Crota Await's background with him standing, back faced towards you? That. Was. Splendid.) but so far much of that content doesn't seem to be all too amazing; rather, just more things to grind. 

 

Had much hope for this game. Now it seems like the story is hidden away in other material, the game content is going to be a reptitive button press best enjoyed with friends to swear at, and the multiplayer that we hoped would be in Destiny is manifesting in Halo 5: Guardians.

 

 

**** u activision

[joshyzburton]

Not read the review but I already know that the game is ****.

 

Activision is the satan of the gaming industry!

[Tysta1350]

I honestly have mixed feelings on Destiny. Overall an interesting game in my opinion

[AnimeAddict]

it would have been nice for bungie to decide whether or not they wanted to commit fully to a MMO game or not  that didnt help the game in the slightest

[Caboose The Ace]

^

 

Finally someone who seems my point!

 

Destiny fails because Destiny built it like an mmo but Bungie didn't act on it.

 

If the core of your game is an mmo but then you don't built everything around it like an mmo you are doomed to fail.

[AnimeAddict]

^ yeah My personal verdit was that it was too ambitious of a project

[Axilus Prime]

A long time ago I had considered getting Destiny, but decided against it since it didn't sound like it would provide enough fun to be worth the commitment it evidently takes to get anywhere in the game. This pretty much puts the nail in the coffin, if the fact that I need to concentrate my money on getting an XB1 didn't already.

[Ash]

It may have a really bad first playthrough of the "story", it has more replayability than most AAA titles.

 

But this was a pretty solid review EK.

[AnimeAddict]

It may have a really bad first playthrough of the "story", it has more replayability than most AAA titles.

 

But this was a pretty solid review EK.

Triple A titles no but it does outbeat most Double A's

[ShockGazm]

Though the game has issues here and there, which includes lack of content, bugs & glitches, lack of variety during patrol, lack of armour variety, lack of story, lack of unique characters, lack of character customization... I could go on for ages. What I'm trying to get at is that Destiny is exactly what a lot of us gamers have been wanting for a while, it came out at the right time.

 

Just to add, Elder Scrolls Online was a game I was excited for, as I can imagine many other were too. But, it was broken to all hell from what I heard and seen. Then, that game dropped off the grid. I was dying to get into an MMO but it was a let down. And, throughout the year, we then kept seeing more and more Destiny, it was an MMOFPS and a lot of us were gagging for an MMO of some kind, even though Destiny isn't completely an MMO, it does ooze of it. Destiny is a game with huge potential, and it's addicting. It's a great game, and it's a good game to play with friends or just other gamers. I will keep playing Destiny because I like it, and there have only been a few games that stood out in 2014. There has been a lot of dissapointment involving both Xbox One and PS4, especially includes the games that have come out.

 

I absolutely despise Activision. The game already had both DLC incorporated within Destiny, but cut the content to make more money. I love Destiny but if this continues, other game companies will use this idea. Meaning games will be shipped with issues and content will be cut. We will have to wait longer for patches and DLC. Whilst that's happening by the time the game gets patched and the DLC is released, the next game of the series would be undergoing its final stage. If the game shipped with a good amount of content to begin with, it wouldn't bother me... but it didn't and it does bother me, a bit. It's unacceptable that Bungie would do this to us, but then I remember the good times Bunge gave us with the Halo series, so I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens within the next year or so.  I believe Bungie deserve time and our support on Destiny, so we can all have the game we want and can be satisfied with.

 

I would go into more detail but by now I think most of us know what the issues are, and I have a headache coming on.  

Edited January 16, 2015 by ShockGazm

[RAI Callion]

I was actually very happy to see this game come out when our lost beloved Bungie resigned from Halo and went to this semi-good game. Although the game is rather short, my friend beat it within a half a day's time. I on the other hand, not being at his house a whole lot to play it on his PS4, got to beat it after a week of playing it. I wasn't too happy with it though, cause it was missing a lot of things that I thought could've made the game even better in my perspective.

[wargod]

Good review

[Ash]

Triple A titles no but it does outbeat most Double A's

 

Most AAA titles only have a MP that offers good replayability, whereas Destiny has both a MP and Co Op that offer a decent amount of replayability. 

 

I'm not saying Crucible is better than AW MP or MCC MP, but the rest of the game gives you a reason to come back and play it even after you beat it.