Destiny Review

It’d be a bold-faced lie to admit that Bungie hasn’t been a huge part of my life. It has, for the past twelve years in fact. In 2002 my cousin and I got our hands on my uncle’s copy of Halo while on vacation, and the next few hours were spent sharing a heightened state of being as we fragged alien upon alien. With that, Bungie held a welcoming iron grip on my precious adolescent years, up until Halo 3 came out in 2007.

So when Bungie revealed its new IP, Destiny, back in early 2013, I knew a relapse would surface. Now that the title has released and most of us gamers have had a large bite of this ambitious title, what can we say about the mysteries that revolve around The Traveler? Or Earth as we will know it after it’s been devastated by the embodiment of evil known as The Darkness? How does the Bungie’s repertoire for visceral gameplay hold in their new franchise?

Once upon a time...

        

Destiny is set in a time where mankind is endangered as a race. Years ago, a moon-sized sphere only known as The Traveler was discovered by humans on Mars, and although unknown in origin, this event sparked a Golden Age. Something known as The Darkness almost wipes humanity out, and the Traveler sacrifices itself to save as many as possible. Hundreds of years pass by, and the player, known as the Guardian, has been dead this whole time. Your AI companion, Ghost, revives you, and your fate is to defend The Last City and revive The Traveler in order to vanquish the Darkness.

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Simple, right? There’s nothing wrong with simplicity, but there’s something entirely wrong with a lack of exposition. It seems that every new concept that is introduced to the player throughout the game is spent throwing vague pronouns with little to interpret except the very word itself. Your Ghost companion seems to be the only source of visually inexplicable information, and when those opportunities arrives, the AI holds off the explanation for a later time. Spoiler: you'll never find out.

The worst part about this lack of story though is that Bungie has promised a story, but this essential feature is actually not in the game. The Developer and Publisher came up with an idea of Grimoire, cards that you can access on the game’s companion app, that give you an in depth explanation on races, aliens, planets, etc. The companion app was designed to enrich the gaming experience, not to do what the game itself fails to do.

I can say “repetitive” in any language.

This is the part that scares me. The game plays exactly, if not better, than what you’d expect from the team that gave you Halo. Your given a choice between three classes and three cosmetic races, and each class has its own set of unique skills and subclasses that allows you to comfortably choose your style of play. The game’s shooting mechanics are tight, and the Super and jumping abilities add a sense of verticality that forces you to think before rushing into an area. It’s what keeps me coming back to vanquish my foes in the Crucible.

So what scares me is that in terms of gameplay, that’s as far as it goes. The campaign to this game lasts for about seven hours, and all you will be doing for those seven hours is just recycling the same mission design over and over again. Reach target, deploy ghost, and kill waves of enemies. Lather. Rinse. Repeat. The mission variety doesn’t pick up until you reach level 20, where the end-game opens the doors to entertainingly difficult Strike and Raid missions, that forces you to work with fellow Guardians in order to achieve victory.

 

So purty.

Let’s not forget the loot.  Loot plays an integral part in maxing out your characters damage and defense outputs, and although the weapon and armor designs are spectacular, many models lower than the top tier (Exotic) are recycled assets with different color schemes. Once again, the game is enormous in scope and it’s amazing that each weapon type is fine-tuned to your style of play, but it begs the question as to how well spent was Bungie’s generous budget of 500 million.

Sweet sensory overload.

If you read my article on Top Ten Soundtracks, you’d know that I can only say wonderful things about the Marty O’Donnell’s score. Even when you’re laboriously pumping lead into the seemingly invulnerable Strike bosses, epic strings and brilliant brass fills your ears, and gives you that adrenaline rush to last you most missions. Even when you’re chilling in the Destination Selection screen, the soft siren-like voices ease the long waiting times before arriving to your mission. Everything about Destiny is visually striking, it’s easy to find the beauty in every minute detail. 

Just take a moment at whichever planet your on and just look up at the gorgeous skybox. The Moon’s sky is littered with the remains of the International Space Station. Venus’s terra-formed jungle landscape calls for some of the most interesting art designs seen, with it’s creeping vines over rusted buildings, active volcanoes, and bubbling orange puddles. It becomes hard to swallow when you try exploring the planets, only to find several closed-off areas, and rooms that emanate an eerie sense that something when wrong in the level design department. You find after thirty minutes of exploring every planet that even when at it’s prettiest, there is still much left to be desired.

Did I reach my Destination?

From what has been said by Bungie and Activision, Destiny is to be a 10-year long plan, with the developer steadily churning expansions and weekly events. I was on board for the plan, and still would be if the core game itself didn’t feel so incomplete. Between the indiscernible story-telling to the vacant maps, it feels as though development itself was botched by publishing complications.

Cue: heavy sigh..

 I’m not saying Activision is solely to blame, as Bungie allows for a ridiculous 30 dollar season pass to fill up the void, as if assets and story elements we’re held back from the final product   in order to make more money in the long run. And Destiny has already made all of its money back within the first couple of weeks of release! As a gamer a long time Halo-fan, it scares me to think that this could become a standard for Next-Gen gaming.

I don’t want to have to be wary when purchasing a game because I have to research whether or not the Season Passes or Bonus DLC dictate if I’m getting the full game. The truth is that even with its major discrepancies, I find myself addicted to it’s repetitive loot grinding, and will probably continue playing it to see how it grows. Bungie is already struggling to fulfill these ambitions, and if they fail, you’ll find several gamers and I on the other side of the fence, looking for truly enriching experiences.

Our Score: 7.4