A random level begins; ammunition for my weapon of choice (leveled
up shotgun) is nowhere to be found. Rushing the lush broken forest with five others,
I make a sharp turn passing what used to be a functioning staircase; now only a
discontinued pile of rubble caressed by wrapped, wilted ivy. Radar beacon shows incoming hostiles. Bolting down a narrow corridor with the
utmost uncertainty, I engage with-what looks to be-a Titan; a level 26 Titan at that-(more on that
later.) As level 24 Warlock, I’m quite confident in my abilities to vanquish
this imminent threat. Full clip sprayed;
jump glide-reload. Cover. Vortex grenade released-little effect. Shotgun ammo?
A feverish run ensues, energy from the pulse rifle spewing past me; critical damage
sustained. Recovery time not available. Two shells loaded. The Titan turns the
corner; a puzzling look commences-he looks up. With regal robes having a parasol-like
effect, I descend. “BOOM, BOOM” I deliver
the final blow.
The Titan was dead.
Such is the sequence from what is arguably the most enjoyable
mode of the game Destiny: multiplayer. Developed for PlayStation 4, Xbox One,
and previous generation consoles, Destiny tells the story of The Guardians-the
last defenders of humanity and their continued fight to ward off the Fallen. However, there is just one problem: there isn’t
any story that’s being told.
With a proposed $500 million budget, Destiny was created
with high ambitions and even higher expectations, so upon booting Destiny, one
would assume that you’d be in store for an immense, detailed story with rich
character development and outstanding voice acting. (I mean, this is Bungie we’re talking about and this is Activision we’re talking about. Yes, those people that created
that universe that’s defended by that Master Chief guy-yea, those people.) Wrong. If you’re looking Sony’s
response to a comparable Microsoft sci-fi shooter that has beautiful, vast
environments, an excellent combat system, and a story that compels you to eagerly
await a sequel, you’ll only find the latter two.
The game begins with some cutscenes of astronauts that I won’t
spoil and your Ghost companion. Soon,
you’ll be able to select from three classes: Titan, Hunter, and Warlock; then
three races: Human, Exo, or Awoken. Each have their pros and cons, and
depending upon what kind of player you are based on your prior FPS
(first-person shooter) experience will determined which class resonates best
with you. (Let it be noted that race has no impact on character ability.) Although
initially a great game, you’ll quickly notice the repetitiveness of the
missions, its environments and the misdirection, or lack thereof, or the story’s
progress. Enemies vary in difficulty due
to your current level and which level you chose to play the mission on. Missions are replay-able, however, never at
any point does Bungie or Activision expound on the story in any way, give some
insight into the background of the Guardians, the Fallen-nothing.
As I stated earlier, the most enjoyable aspect of the game
is the multiplayer. It is eerily similar
to that of Halo 3 with Pulse Rifles expelling shots reminiscent of Covenant in
hot pursuit. The formula remains the
same: Team Deathmatch, Capture the Flag-referred to as “Control”, and a few
other variations on what has be developed as a tried and true formula. Also, once you “max out” at level 20, oftentimes,
you’ll find yourself diving right into multiplayer battles with friends instead
of attempting the same missions again.
Though initially impressed, I have to admit that I’m
disappointed in what was heralded to be an AAA-game of epic proportions is no
more than a generic cross-console title that regrettably managed to get $60+
and time from me that I can never get back.
…But like I said, it is
an enjoyable waste of time.
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