My video Review is now up. Unfortunately I forgot the written part on my HDD as my house so the video is all you get for now. If you want to skip to the final score just skip to the end of the video :) Hope you guys enjoy!
A link in case you can't view https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pEGT9WjVkG4
Since the first reveal for Destiny in 2013 the hype has been astounding, after all it is Bungie, the creators of Halo we are talking about with a 500 million dollar budget to develop and advertise. Back in 2001 Bungie released Halo: Combat Evolved that revolutionized the genre of FPS gaming on consoles forever. Halo was a rare game that had both a great story and multiplayer component. They had perfected smooth gameplay while adding a lot of content and with all this they have become one of the most praised developers of our time, so without a doubt people have been hyped for Destiny. Their first new ip since parting ways with not only Halo but parting ways with Microsoft.
Destiny is a First Person Shooter at its core, but also takes queue from a MMO format. If I were to describe this game to explain to you what it is I’d tell you it’s a mix of multiple games. It has an artistic style much like the game that made them popular, Halo. Loot collecting like Diablo, and gameplay that is similar to Call of Duty mixed in with more Halo. The question is, how do all these mix, and in my honest opinion they work great. Playing through the single player component was a thrill because the gameplay was so fluid, the addiction in finding new loot, and great coop gameplay. And that is the thing, this game is built for social aspects. When I play with my friends in coop I find the game to be superb, however when I play by myself I find the game to be weak.
I guess I should explain some of the negativity. Destiny is a game that puts gameplay first, story second…..In fact I’d say the story is almost nonexistent. Youre welcomed by a rich world that you want to explore, but nothing about the story is rich in any shape or form. However, just like Dark Soul’s Story isn’t the main attraction, neither is Destiny. It’s all about the gameplay. And when you’re playing singleplayer on Destiny it tends to just turn into an average game. It’s still good because the shooting mechanics is so fluid but because the dull AI and repetitive missions where you repeatedly protect dinklebot it turns into a solid shooter while playing by yourself and nothing more.
There is a number of planets you can visit like Earth, Mars, or Venus as an example. Each location is beautiful, but also seems small on the grand scheme of things. You can roughly beat the story in 6-10 hours and for a game that is posing to be a MMO that seems a bit shorts and I’d agree if it wasn’t for this being a FPS at its core with tons of loot to find. In fact I’ve put countless hours into what I’d consider a rather addicting game. Each planet is pretty decently sized though and has an open world feel to them. You do have a bike that you can ride around quickly though. For me the more unfortunate part is with the enemy AI, particularly the Vex who aimlessly walks towards you like brainless zombies to just be slaughtered. I actually feel most enemies in this game are rather dull and boring outside their cool artstyle. However when you play on heroic as you are forced to on the weekly strike is when the real fun begins. It offers a real challenge to where you and your team mates will have to use real strategy to win. At specific parts I would have to act as the team medic to revive my friends repeatedly as they tried to widdle away a boss’s life.
In Destiny there is always new stuff to do as Bungie is adding things in weekly so you can gather more loot. There is even vendors who only shows up on the weekends that gives different unique items each week in Destiny’s Hub world called the tower. Of course they’re extremely hard to get because they all use different currencies which is where much of the longevity in this game lays. Its an addictive part of the game to differentiate you and find cool gear for your characters.
There is also a PvP multiplayer and I have very mixed emotions when it comes to this. In multiplayer the game is filled with instadeaths due to the unbalance in the game. For instance a warlock can use his special at any given time when he has his ability to wipe out anything in his path, or a fusion rifle that seemingly one shot kills you at a pretty long range. Adding to shotguns as a starting weapon, over powered abilities, to a tank that can be rough to stop, or heavy weapons that obliterates anything in its path you will have to get use to instadeaths playing Destiny. Semi-Automatic weapons like the pocket rocket also seems to have problems because of the fast pace. Even then it overall feels like a solid multiplayer though it does need to work on its balance issues. The multiplayer is where this game feels very similar to the popular shooter of Call of Duty with its quick gameplay and aiming down the sites. Add in jumping, jet-packs, and over-powered abilities and you have something unique and different, yet somehow similar. Its actually an overall good experience and even allows you to unlock new gear after each match but I don’t feel it ranks at the top of multiplayer games due to balancing issues.
Overall Destiny is a good game with an addictive way of collecting loot. It shines when it comes to gameplay, lacks in story, and needs to improve on multiplayer. I don’t feel content is an issue as there is plenty to do but it would also have been nice to have more planets at launch rather than having to wait for DLC. If youre a fan of shooters and games like Diablo then I’d say this is a must own title. If you’re looking for a good story game, or a good game to play by yourself then I’d say its just ok. Where this game shines is cooperative gameplay. In fact I’d say it’s the best coop game for Xbox One and PS4 at this moment. I’ve had an absolute blast with my friends playing through this game and I continue to play it for this fact.
Singleplayer – 7.5
Gameplay – 9.5
Multiplayer – 7.5
Artistic Style – 9.5
Overall – 8.5
