Destiny has been arguably one of the most anticipated games of 2014 and finally the wait is over. Developer ‘Bungie‘, has created a wonderful universe deep with content and endless opportunities for growth. The press and expectations for Destiny have been very high since its announcement. Now the questions is; does it live up to the hype? It can be officially said after many hours logged and sleep deprivation officially achieved, YES. Bungie was correct with the notion of premature reviews missing the intent and capabilities of Destiny. Without further ado, here is are full analysis of Destiny on PlayStation 4.
The journey begins with a beautiful cinematic cut-scene explaining the expansion of humanity into the universe with the help from ‘The Traveler’ (white mystical sphere). Unfortunately, ‘The Traveler’ was tracked down by its oldest enemy ‘the darkness’, who consequently almost successfully wiped mankind into extinction. Time passes and multiple hostile alien races establish strongholds across our known universe. All of these enemies come from different origins but a few races have some interesting connections [omitted to avoid spoilers]. Mankind is maintained as a relevant species on the last standing city which is referred to as ‘The Tower’ in the game. Players take the role of a ‘Guardian’ who are resurrected by a ghost (small robotic organism that guides the player throughout the game) to preserve human life and save the troublesome universe [Epic, I know].
As many are aware this FPS/MMO/RPG hybrid puts most of the decisions into the player’s hands. This begins with the hardest decision you’ll possibly have to make…What class will you be? Each of the classes offer a different play style, more specifically, they have varied abilities and overall movement/tendencies. Titans represent the muscle type, Hunters are cloak stealth type and the Warlocks are the gliding magic influence type. Bungie did change a few of the damage durations and percentages for each classes specials/grenades perks. For those who have played it before the final game, it is not noticeable. Once a class has been selected, the character creation mirrors the Alpha and Beta tested by many over the summer. Nothing new was added to this portion of the game [Note: No beards].
Story missions are a joy and keep the player engaged. Players can rush through the objectives or take time to explore. A normal level on Earth/The Moon/Venus/Mars ranges from fifteen minutes to an hour, depending on your tactics/attention span [Note: This does not include times when your friend begins dancing randomly after every fire fight!]. Traveling from planet to planet does incorporate load times, but none seem to last long. Load times are accented by your ship entering and exiting light-speed into to the selected destination. As in most of their games, Bungie always has some surprises in store for the player, and you’ll have a few in this game. [Possible Spoiler: Attention, the following does not give away critical story information, just a surprise.] For a majority of the game while in battle, players will be in FPS mode and blast away enemies. The only time players will move into a third person view is while on a vehicle/stationary gun or while they use the d-pad for the programed greetings/random actions. Fortunately, in a certain instance of the game, players will wield a sword and battle while in third person. It is simply beautiful and a blast to watch a Warlock gliding across the air while he or she slashes away alien foes. This is a great change of pace! [Possible Spoiler Complete] Destiny does miss perfection due to the occasional repetitive flow of the missions. It can be tedious to watch your ghost hack a computer while you provide cover. This is only a mild setback honestly, because frankly slaughtering waves of Vex on Venus is quite fulfilling. Not to mention how fun fire fights become once the player increases the difficulty on the missions. Enemies differ for each of the alien races. The enemies range from grunts to high level enemies. Players encounter some challenging foes along the way and some might even surprise you with their difficulty and design. As far as other PvE options; Strikes are available on each planet and in addition players will unlock a ‘Strike’ tier in the navigation guide for additional challenges with great rewards. Special events/Public events will occur randomly and frequently while players cruise through missions or while they explore in patrol mode. The fluidness of these events happen seamlessly and at times players might not even realize how/when they and 5 other Guardians started fighting a creature/boss together.
Competitive multiplayer and the progression of your Guardian are on-going through the plethora of gameplay in Destiny. All modes in the game develop your Guardian, and competitive modes just add extra layers of playability to the game. All the gear unlocked in PvE can be used in the PVP mode and vice versa. As most are aware, gear and weapons are leveled-out to make most of the PvP modes as even as possible. Most people experienced ‘Control’ during the Alpha and Beta tests. Rest assured, the other modes are just as fun if not better at times. Guardians will have to reach level 5 before they’re granted access to PvP. In addition, Guardians will unlock each of the game modes in PvP after they earn them. The replay ability comes from the want and need to complete bounties and gather new and exciting gear for your Guardian.
The visuals for the core game are pretty to the eye, but not ground breaking. Player models look sharp but have moments when they look under polished. Environment physics are an added touch and seem to make the world a little more living while you traverse through it. The term ‘Skyboxes’ has been used by Bungie to classify the area surrounding the terrain on each planet/destination. These skies are simply beautiful and full of life. The time cycle shows off realistic cloud movement and lighting effects. Players can certainly appreciate the attention to detail the Bungie development team put into this.
Audio is spot on with the music keyed perfectly during conflicts. Slow evolution of scores to build the mood are also delightful. Weapons and combat audio truly put the player into the moment during fierce engagements. Voice acting sounds great and thankfully the “This wizard is from the Moon” quote did not get placed back into the game. The cast (overall) put more energy into the story and help catch your attention on the evolving storyline.
Bottom line: Most can agree, gameplay is the most important part of any game. Destiny achieves this and exceeds the norms. The reason for this is not due to the type of game or what you will do. It is not due to the obsession with reaching higher levels and getting the best gear. It’s about who you do it with and who you share unique/exciting/humorous/frustrating moments with. ‘Community’ is the answer to the greatness of Destiny. Once you make those connections, the game is hard to stop playing. Destiny has already been hailed as the most successful new franchise launched in Activation’s history, and even with some minor blemishes this is truly the game to own this year.
Thank you for reading and be sure to keep checking in with Gamer Headlines.com for future reviews of Destiny’s ‘Raids’ and the multiple expansions planned for release. Until next time, keep gaming~
Original Author: Kilo Brown