Destiny: First Impressions

Release Date: Out now
Platforms: PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Developer: Bungie
Website

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“There are enemies out here you would not believe, but they’ve never seen anything like you.” Fitting words from the launch trailer for Destiny, the ground-breaking new game from the makers of Halo which may well have changed what we expect from the social side of FPS games forever.

As a result of its rather spread out nature across several modes and options, the story of Destiny serves as its framework as much as it does narrative. You play as a Guardian, one of the protectors of the last city on Earth charged with restoring “the Traveller”, a large white celestial sphere that hovers over the planet and which gave humans the technology for space exploration. Now evil alien races are closing in, and its up to you (and everyone else who bought the game) to wipe them out before the last vestige of humanity is destroyed.

From there, the easiest way to describe Destiny is to say that it meshes Halo-style action and story-telling with the stat-tracking and quest-based gameplay of the standard MMORPG. Okay, so not that easy. Basically, Earth is a central hub from which you can buy new equipment or take on in-game bounty challenges. From there, you can travel through space to other planets on which you undertake various missions against Earth’s enemies, or alternatively enter “the Crucible”, an arena which plays host to the game’s competitive multiplayer suite and likely where most hardcore players will be bunkering down for the next 2 to 8 years.

Where customization in the Halo games was very much a cosmetic affair, in Destiny it’s the game’s bread and butter. Starting out, you create your hero from a choice of three races, personalize their appearance and then pick between three classes. Whether you go for Titan, Hunter or Warlock, you’ll have a recharging “Super Move” and skill-set unique to your class, and will become more powerful as you level thanks to unlockable skills and bonuses.

But it’s not just your class that defines you; you’ll gain new weapons and armour throughout the game that give numerous benefits, such as decreasing the cool-down time for your abilities. The inventory-swapping strategies that result aren’t quite on the same backbreaking levels as Borderlands, but they’re still great for adding an extra layer to what’s so far been pretty compelling gameplay.

This customisation is by far and away Destiny’s most intriguing hook. Instead of having separate characters for story mode and multiplayer, the character you create persists through both modes, meaning the spoils of your exploits across the stars come into play when you come to face off against other Guardians online. It’s an incredible motivator to build your character from lowly level 1 to battle-hardened warrior, as well as making every action taken in game have some purpose. For example you could find a new sniper rifle on the Moon to use in a Team Deathmatch, or earn enough experience through online bounties to wear higher-level armour in your fight against the alien horde.

Speaking of action, Destiny has plenty, and really excels at letting you go about it how you want. Like Halo, levels usually take place across largely open arenas and have you face off against enemies of various appearance, size and ability. You’ll take down murderous groups of organic and robotic creatures using an expanded arsenal of weaponry, from automatic rifles to rocket launchers, with the option of swapping out weapons and abilities on the fly always available from an easy to use inventory screen.

As you progress through the game, weaker enemies get stronger and tougher ones appear with increasing frequency, forcing you to learn their behaviours and weak spots lest you be forced to re-spawn or, in the latter stages of most levels, sent back to an earlier checkpoint. The huge David vs. Goliath-style boss battles in raid and strike missions are climactic highlights, requiring you to use all your abilities, and, if you are like me, do a lot of running away to regenerate your shield.

With fast-paced and often explosive gameplay, Destiny is a game pretty much begging to be played with others, and odds are you’ll be wanting a couple of friends to mic up and join you for the ride. Watching the game’s fiercest foes felled by the collective might of your powered up characters is way more exhilarating than killing a scarab in Halo 3, mainly because you’ve all worked so much harder to find the right tools for the task.

But while the game does come with a unique thrill when taken on with friends, the solitary gamer shouldn’t be turned off. As long as you have an Xbox Live subscription/PSN account, Destiny’s hub-world mission structure will sometimes place you on planets where other players are roaming, often in need of assistance with their own business, or willing to assist you with yours. Or you can take on the game’s collection of monsters alone for a meatier challenge. It’s completely up to you.

Either way, visually Destiny is stunning. Even on a 360, the game’s lighting, large environments and audio come across exceptionally, even if you are bound to listen to Peter Dinklage’s questionable voiceover performance as a robot companion for the majority of the game. Bungie’s eye for character design also remains strong, making sharply animated and instantly recognisable enemies that are varied and (crucially for a game with this much going on) easy to distinguish from one another.

So gameplay-wise? Great. Graphics-wise? Top-notch. A unanimously positive first impression? Not entirely. It’s not uncommon for a game like Destiny to require some time out in the public sphere to figure out how it can be improved and, to be frank, I’m not certain if the game is entirely there yet when it comes to The Crucible (of all things). The standard Deathmatch and Domination playlists are still frantic fun, but there isn’t the overwhelming variety in game modes you might be expecting, so expansion might be needed to prevent the game becoming stale.

Moreover, Bungie might have more work to do when it comes to balancing the multiplayer. Online matches still require some semblance of skill, but they often feel arbitrarily won or lost as a result of the sheer number of players and the abilities they wield. You really need to have spent some time building your character before you even try to take on other Guardians, but even then players always have their one-hit-kill Super Move, such as the Warlock’s Nova Bomb or the Hunter’s Golden Gun. While other games would relegate these power-ups to a kill streak reward, in Destiny they are constantly recharging over time, meaning the next person round that corner could always just obliterate you in one hit, with no chance of a riposte. You may feel a little cheated at times, and even if you have access to the same moves yourself it doesn’t do much to quell the frustration. [divider]

[divider] However, this issue aside, there’s little doubt that Destiny will remain in disc trays for some time after its release, thanks to the replayability of its missions and the just-one-more-level addictiveness of its upgrades. It all just works, which will be a huge relief to fans who’ve been glued to the game’s heavy flow of promotional material and developer interviews since it’s announcement at last year’s E3.

There is the distinct possibility, as with all Triple-A titles, that Destiny’s formula will lose its immediate post-release magic, or evolve to appear more and more trite as its lifespan continues. Its repetition may eventually wear down the casual player beyond the rescue of any planned expansion, and likely won’t change the minds of avid detractors of FPS games.

But for now, Destiny is hugely enjoyable. Its approach to player interaction is an exciting benchmark for next generation shooters, and the way it brings you into its world and refuses to let go is nothing short of remarkable. In other words, a good start. [divider_top]

What do you think of Destiny? Tweet us @BoarGames