Destiny: Is it Worth Your Guardians' Time?

*Note: This review does not include the Dark Below expansion. A separate review of the expansion will be posted later.*

      Destiny is no doubt a blockbuster title that has continuously received a mix of reviews from critics and gamers alike since its release. I've been wanting to write a review for Destiny for a while now but just haven't had the time. I've been playing the game almost daily since it release in September and I feel like I've gotten a pretty good feel of what the game has to offer its players. While there are many things Destiny does very well, there are other things that just don't quite hit the mark. So if you're one of the people who haven't played the game or are still on the fence about it, perhaps this review will help.

      The story of Destiny is a mixed bag. You do get somewhat of an idea of what the story of Destiny is about though. You are a guardian of light that was dead, but are awoken and found by your ghost/robot companion (voiced by Peter Dinklage). You are brought to The Seeker who very briefly tells you of the battle with the darkness. Other evil alien races known as the Fallen, Hive, Cabal, and Vex are all thrown into this war and of course you have to stop them from destroying the galaxy. Seems pretty typical right? One reason the story is a mixed bag is that Bungie leaves a lot of the story a mystery. Characters during cutscenes will deliver lines like, "I don't have time to explain why I don't have time to explain." and leave it at that. At times this leaves the player asking themselves what is really happening in the story. You'll collect grimoire cards by completing various activities throughout the game which give you more back story on characters, enemies, and more. But you have to go onto Bungie's website or the Destiny companion app to read them. Seriously?! There is definitely a sense of storyline being removed from the game and it's not a good feeling.   

      You start off creating your character or guardian. You can choose from three races (human, awoken, and exo), three classes (hunter, warlock, titan), and of course choose either to be male or female. You can customize the look of your guardian by selecting different eye, skin, and hair color/style. You can also add different scars or facial markings to your character to give them a certain style. While there is a decent amount of choice when creating your guardian, it certainly does not have the amount of options in games such as Skyrim or Dragon Age Inquisition. Each class has their own unique grenade types and two skill sets which offers some customization to match play styles.

      Graphically the game is great looking. The amount of detail on the armor pieces and weapons is high and you can create some bad ass looking characters. The lighting effects on the weapons and environment really make things come to life and look more realistic. Bungie has always done a great job creating exotic levels and worlds and they did not stop with Destiny. The various planets offer some really cool level designs and you will often find yourself looking all around at the detail. Not only does the game look great but it runs incredibly smooth and the controls are top notch. Any FPS fan can get right into the action and feel right at home. Another thing Bungie is great at is their music and Destiny offers some of the best musical scores out there. Soothing orchestral tones heighten the dramatic moments while pulse pounding scores ramp up the tension during battles.   

 (Photo by: Gamespot)

      Throughout the story missions of the game you will travel to four different locations. The first area you explore is Earth, followed by the Moon, Venus, and finally Mars. Each location will have to completing a string of objective based story missions until you complete them all and see the cutscene. While the gigantic world Bungie talk about early in Destiny's development isn't quite there, the planets you explore are pretty large and give you plenty to do. But Destiny is not a game just about single player story (thank God!). In fact, the real meat and potatoes of Destiny is beyond the story missions.

      Each story mission can be done with two other people in a fireteam. Every location you visit has a patrol option where you can complete an endless amount of small objectives to earn reputation points with the Vanguard or other factions. Ranking up in factions and earning marks gives you the opportunity to purchase new weapons and gear. Strike missions (similar to dungeons or instances in a MMORPG) can be played on the different locations with a fireteam as well. I love the strike missions as they are a blast to play with friends and can give you the chance to earn some decent loot, reputation points and marks with factions. There is also a raid that acts as the pinnacle of Destiny's end game activity. The raid should not be taken lightly, and a six player fireteam must work together and coordinate their attacks in order to make it through the raid and defeat the boss or bosses. The raid offers the opportunity to earn specific raid gear, ascendant material to upgrade gear, and more.

     For players who yearn for the traditional competitive multiplayer experience, Destiny has you covered with the Crucible. The Crucible is a separate hub on the world map where players can select traditional matches such as team deathmatch, control, etc. The great level design, controls, and combat from Bungie's Halo multiplayer days can been seen and felt in the Crucible matches. Also, players can pick up Crucible specific bounties in the Tower that once completed, can be turned into to rank up your reputation with the Crucible and earn marks. As in the single player or co-op side of the game, Crucible reputation and marks will allow players to buy Crucible specific weapons and gear. 

      
      Destiny somewhat dips its toes into the MMORPG world by adding some similar elements. Players can pick up random patrol missions or "quests" on each planet where they must complete certain objectives. Completing patrol missions will earn you reputation points with factions. While there is no crafting in the game, players must collect specific material from the various planets in order to upgrade their gear and weapons. Players will also have to keep a stock of in game currency known as glimmer. Unwanted weapons and gear can be salvaged to earn material and glimmer. Like other MMORPG games, the weapons and gear in Destiny is based on tiers. Green items are considered common, blue are rare, purple are legendary, and gold are exotic. The higher the rarity, the better quality the weapons and gear are. Besides weapons and gear, other items such as player emblems, armor color shaders, ammo packs, and material can be purchased from vendors. Something to mention, is your weapons and gear do not take damage in battle. While some RPG gamers may not like this, I like not having to worry about spending in game currency to repair everything. 

      That leads to another MMO type feature. The central hub of Destiny lies within the Tower. In the Tower players will find all the game's vendors, a vault where you can store items, and bounties. Bounties are specific objective based missions that will take you to the various locations. By completing the bounties you can earn reputation and experience points to level up your character, and it's a great way to upgrade your weapons and gear. Another fun feature of Destiny are the public events. These are random events that spawn in certain areas of the map where anyone in the area can join in to complete. Some public events will consist of killing a higher leveled target, defending a control post, clearing waves of enemies, or more. If you are successful you can earn a gold tier rating and earn some reputation points and ascendant material for upgrades. As with any MMO, Destiny loot chests and loot drops in the game that you can get from killing enemies, completing strikes, raids, and more. The loot is of course completely random and you'll get common green items or sometimes a secret encrypted rare item. The encrypted items must be taken to the Cryptarch in the Tower to find out what it is. Sometimes you'll get a good rare or legendary item and then other times it's something you just end up scrapping. It's a total gamble that can be frustrating at times.

      As mentioned above, Destiny does bring in some MMORPG elements into the game, but there are some MMO features that are missing from the game. At launch players could not actually chat with other players unless you were in a fireteam with them. Currently that is still the case, but with an update, players who jump into a random fireteam for strikes, bounties, or patrol missions can now switch to a fireteam chat to communicate. There is no proximity chat which depending on how you look at it can be a good or bad thing (early days of the Barrens chat in WoW comes to mind). Something else that is missing that I don't like is you cannot trade items with other players. You can only trade items between your own characters by placing them in the vault. 

     Also, while the exotic weapons and gear are awesome, you can only have one exotic gear piece and weapon equipped at a time, and that's something I do not like. If you end up having a lot of exotics you really have to decide what you want to use and it sucks not being able to have your character completely equipped with exotic gear. Destiny is definitely a game about co-op, but at times you may be the only person in the area on a map. I've completed public events where I am the only one around. This only makes you feel alone and as if nobody else is exploring this universe with you. While the three classes offer special grenade types and abilities, all three classes can use the same weapons. In a way that is good, but at times the three classes don't seem extremely different. Some people may be more bothered by this than others though.

      In the end, as with any game, Destiny is not for everyone. If you do not like having to grind to level up your weapons, gear, reputation, etc. then you will most likely not enjoy Destiny. However, the co-op moments you can have with friends running story missions, strikes, raids, and crucible matches is very enjoyable. There has been a continuous stream of updates and patches since release and that is something to give Bungie credit for. Plus, Bungie continues to support the game with the addition of special timed events such as The Queen's Bounty and Iron Forge to allow players to complete special bounties and earn rewards. While the game is not perfect and does lack some MMORPG features and requires grinding, it has still been my "go to" game since its release. I still have fun completing bounties, strikes, and more with friends online. So to that end I would say that Destiny is a good game and I recommend it to anyone even slightly interested. 

Final Verdict: 8/10   

Written by: Alter Ego 83