Destiny is "meh" compared to what exactly?

[Teepop]

I don't understand destiny. I know I should technically hate it with all the screaming flaws in design and gameplay but holy shit, it's just so much fun. It's one of those game in which the combat system carries the entire thing. It just feels so satisfying to shoot at stuff that it somehow makes up for the fact that shooting stuff is all you ever do (unless you're stuck in one of those ridiculously long loading screens).

I'd agree with this. The combat carries the entire thing and that feels like it has been pulled straight out of Halo.

I am sure a lot of people that haven't played Halo probably wonder why a generic looking sci-fi shooter has such a following but that combat system is the reason why. I haven't played a console FPS that feels as satisfying.

My feelings towards Destiny is that I'd have rather they just made another Halo. Obviously a different story/universe but made a proper single player campaign (that could have co-op like the Halo games) and of course the obligatory PVP side.

So meh compared to what?

In my case "meh" compared to Halo and "meh" compared to Diablo 3/WoW.

But still I can turn on my PS4 and enjoy myself blasting away for the sake of it. It's just that I keep saying "I wish they had...." or "if only they had...".

 

[omega 616]

So the game has been out for nearly 2 weeks. In general people say the game is a resounding "meh". And i'm curious, "meh" compared to what exactly?

Now, i have no problems, with people disliking the game, i for one am having a blast with it. I actually thing the game is very good. However, because a lot of people are saying it's average at best, i'm wondering what FPS these people are comparing it to, because if i'm having so much fun with such an average game, well then i obviously missed the good ones and would like to know what those " good ones" are.

So escapists, can you tell me what why Destiny is "meh" and which games you are comparing it to , to come to such a conclusion?

It's meh 'cos what does it do that is unique, besides the MMO aspect? Even the "massive" part of MMO feels dishonest, not many players and the maps aren't exactly spacious! The guns feel like they do in every game, with the exception of the pulse weapons. The missions are the most boring kind, kill a guy, use the ghost on something or use the ghost on something and then fight off waves. The RPG mechanics are token, you level up and you don't select from a skill tree, you select the only upgrade available (later on you get a choice, use the new variant of nade or the old one).

The warlock power is nice to use, throwing a huge ball at people (haven't tried the others though) but other than that, nothing about the game is making me think "wow, this amazing" ... I haven't even come close to "I'm quite enjoying this".

 

[Something Amyss]

You don't have to compare it to anything to think that it's boring.

Oh good, someone did point this out. If it's not exciting or interesting, "meh" works as a description.

 

[Creator002]

It's meh when compared to Halo, from which, in my opinion, it borrows (or "takes inspiration") heavily. Most of the enemies you encounter just feel like redesigned Covenant, even being spawned via traveling on space craft that behave almost identically to a Covenant drop ship.
Most missions, story or side, are quite copy/paste, just with a different map. Go here, shoot aliens, use Ghost, shoot aliens until Ghost decides you've killed enough, maybe a boss fight, repeat.
The story itself is... Well, I can't honestly say. Forgetable, I guess. I don't remember much about it apart from that Pete Wentz lives in the asteroid belt with his Queen sister. Still have no idea what the Traveller even is. All I can remember is that it protects Earth somehow.
PvP multiplayer doesn't feel as good as Halo's MP and, unfortunately, I cant really be more specific. I can't pinpoint why it does. Playing Reach, or even Halo 3, keeps us more entertained than Destiny. Honestly, my friend and I are keeping Destiny until Halo MCC is released. We're then trading it in for credit towards that.

 

[Dalisclock]

Actually, Outlaws is great and you should play it. Very old game, and it's abandonware. Project Reality is definently not for everyone...

Not to divert the thread, but I totally agree with this. Also, the soundtrack for Outlaws is excellent.

 

[V4Viewtiful]

Angry Joe just tore this game a new one in his traditional angry way, what he points outs makes me quite weary

 

[Aiddon_v1legacy]

it's "meh" compared to everything it's drawing inspiration from. It's level design, gunplay, and matchmaking pale in comparison to FPS's, its loot system, progression, world design, and raid design are pathetic when compared to a competent MMO, and its exploration, world-building, characters, storytelling, and lore don't come close to decent. It just doesn't live up to the hype the company kept bragging about. I have seen two disparate styles work together, whether stylistically or technically. If you want gunplay there are TONS of FPS's out there that can scratch that itch and if you want looting, MMO-style interactions and raids, or just a good story there are better RPGs and MMOs out there. As it is now, Destiny is a mess of an experiment. Just another casualty in the attempt to try and sell the PS4 and XB1 as well as another flawed attempt at trying to create the MMOFPS.

 

[GloatingSwine]

Far as I can tell, there's not enough endgame content (only 6 instances which are level split rather than scaled to the level of the player, so functionally less) and drops are disappointing.

So, y'know, same problem that every MMO has at launch as well as the problem that Diablo 3 had as well.

 

[Atmos Duality]

Well, the brief hands-on I got with it felt a lot like Halo with those floaty camera and controls I hate so much. The only major difference is that there seems to be some crappy RPG element taped onto the side, along with more modern looking weaponry.

I'd say Call of Halo would be an accurate description, but that's not fair either since Destiny lacks the nuance of either (love them or hate them). It feels way too slow to be CoD, and way too visually bland to be Halo.

It was a resounding "meh" for me. Neither of my friends nor I could bring ourselves to keep playing, and I only did it out of obligation for some shred of objectivity.

 

[Shoggoth2588]

I haven't played Destiny so I'm coming from a place where my only experience is watching lets-players go through bits of it but here it goes:

Destiny looks like it does the Borderlands thing what with each shot taking off HP instead of limbs and, character progression being level-based instead of just finding better weapons and, ammo. It also looks a lot like Halo 4 in that you get to fight a lot of robotic enemies on planets with nice looking sky-boxes. Coupled with the fact that a lot of the enemies look like they have millions of HP and even head-shots only take off tens or, hundreds of HP per/shot, it makes for enemies who don't die until you've gone through several dozen clips.

Destiny doesn't look like the kind of game that I would like but I've definitely seen worse games recently.

 

[MrHide-Patten]

I played the Alpha and Beta (was given keys out of curiosity) and I found it INCREDIBLY Average. After playing the likes of Metroid Prime, Deus Ex Human Revolution, Bioshock (Infinite), Dishonored, The Darkness (II), Resistance 3, Portal and even sodding Warframe, the shooting things with guns genre has had a pretty high bar set.

I'm gonna be honest, my opinion is a bit harsh because my brain is taking into account the hype and is overcompensating so it turns into an impassioned loathing, I call it Nintendo Syndrome, or Nintendrome.

Bungie just has a knack for the decidedly average, to paraphrase Yahtzee; "Halo 3 is average, boiler plate, run of the mil. A very competent shooter with the only standout point being the degree to which its stuck up its own arse".

So thats Destiny, a shooter with it's head up its ass.

 

[DoubleU12]

Meh does not mean it is being compared to another game. Meh just means it doesn't wow you. It's probably fun but it will likely never be played again the moment something else comes along.

 

[Racecarlock]

I would say halo reach. Halo reach lets you make your own game modes with your own settings and goes so far as to let you make yourself immortal. I play a mode called firefight with infinite ammo and health and a rocket launcher in one hand, and maybe a plasma launcher or an assault rifle or a fuel rod gun in the other. Also, infinite equipment usage and boosted movement speed.

It's so god damn fun. The game becomes less about survival and more about the fucking insane kill chains you can rack up. It becomes so fast paced it's ridiculous. And amazing. Shit, you can even choose the aliens that show up in the various waves and stages, which means you can pretty much order up 3 rounds of nothing but hunters and elites if you want to.

You can also play that mode and any other mode in the game, all customizable according to your wishes, and saveable too, with up to 16 other players. And forge even lets you make your own custom maps.

Destiny, by comparison, has no custom game modes, a general lack of both color and personality for the enemies (You won't be hearing "You killed flipyap!" in this game. In fact, the enemies don't talk.), generic map design, and can only be played online, unlike in reach, which will let you play firefight as often as you want with or without a connection. Shit, it has local multiplayer. Imagine that, local multiplayer on a shooter. Isn't that novel. Destiny definitely doesn't have that.

 

[Starbird]

So the game has been out for nearly 2 weeks. In general people say the game is a resounding "meh". And i'm curious, "meh" compared to what exactly?

Now, i have no problems, with people disliking the game, i for one am having a blast with it. I actually thing the game is very good. However, because a lot of people are saying it's average at best, i'm wondering what FPS these people are comparing it to, because if i'm having so much fun with such an average game, well then i obviously missed the good ones and would like to know what those " good ones" are.

So escapists, can you tell me what why Destiny is "meh" and which games you are comparing it to , to come to such a conclusion?

If you want FPS, there are better FPS out there. Bioshock series, Half Life series, Wolfenstein and a billion others.

If you want MMOs with combat that isn't WoW, Guild Wars 2 and DCUO are varied, deep and a lot of fun.

If you want an ARPG+shooter hybrid, Borderlands 2 is still where it's at.

 

[Aaron Sylvester]

Now I'm aware that AngryJoe gets a little crazy, but he makes valid points about Destiny's issues. By the sound of it Destiny is even more of a shallow grindfest than some Korean MMORPG's, and I've played some pretty shallow grindfest games.
The random loot generator sounds ridiculous, does that mean someone can just get lucky after 5 minutes of farming when you've been at it for 30 hours?

Also I don't get why people are praising the PvP. No multiplayer which features cheap 1-shot abilities and out-gearing opponents can be considered to be even vaguely competitive. Why the hell should anyone venture into PvP just to get destroyed by people who got lucky (or spent countless hours) farming better gear?

 

[MrDumpkins]

Its simple a game already did it better and its called Firefall. It does TRUE FULL open world, good story(its pretty damn good one both in backlore and current happenings) and full RPG system. Heck even our Yahtzee pretty much said its fun. So for him to say that means got some thing right. Desinty was fun in the beta but I saw how empty the 'Open world' it was and found my self playing multplayer which then was going why would "I play a Halo lite that has balancing issues when I could just get HALO MCC this year?"

It comes down to this. Desinty is just what PC mmos have done a long time consolefied. It shows EVERYTHING that PC gamers have accused happening to every genre that went from PC focused to Console focused in physical form. Dumbing down, lack depth, small FOV, small player count, and lieing about the openness of the game. Saying it was not a MMO when it CLEARLY was at some point and has the worst parts of them. Its polished to shit but its SHIT in its depth and wants you to pay truck load of money for more DLC to "flesh it out". Sorry but Firefall has parts of the maps that tons of dynamic events happening at once its a truelly alive world over there and feels reactive. Plus the devs are going to go against us tomorrow in the Chosen to really make it feel real. THAT right there is enough for me to see the difference from over hyped AAA only polished but not really good game to one for all of its faults(Firefall has plenty) tried and some how succeeds at breaking real ground for MMO's and shooters.

I know where I am playing for years to come and I do hope Destiny either crashed to stop this massive over investment in AAA or bungiee fixes the true problems with there game before 343i burns their ass with Halo 5.

Remember the rumors about the budget being 500 million. I had doubts about this game once I heard that, with that amount of money being thrown around, you can damn well bet bungie didn't have full creative control of what they were doing. I loved every halo game they released, in fact I thought 4 was bad so they are the only developer I like. Marty O'Donnel also got the axe, it makes me think bungie aren't the guys that made those amazing games anymore. Perhaps it's their upper management? Or just pressure from the people with the money to make it as wide appealing as possible?

I think you're spot on with this being what simplification of a game means, every time I heard news it just sounded like a serious toned borderlands.

 

[VoidWanderer]

So the game has been out for nearly 2 weeks. In general people say the game is a resounding "meh". And i'm curious, "meh" compared to what exactly?

Now, i have no problems, with people disliking the game, i for one am having a blast with it. I actually thing the game is very good. However, because a lot of people are saying it's average at best, i'm wondering what FPS these people are comparing it to, because if i'm having so much fun with such an average game, well then i obviously missed the good ones and would like to know what those " good ones" are.

So escapists, can you tell me what why Destiny is "meh" and which games you are comparing it to , to come to such a conclusion?

I had this game pre-ordered and got into the DEMO, not a 'beta', but it was a demo. And it felt like a generic shooter. The same pistols, shotguns, assault rifles, machine-guns, and sniper rifles; but with cooler names. It was like any FPS with the generic weapons.

I played through most of the missions, and given the breadcrumb leveling, my enjoyment for the game dissipated. There was very little choice, and while the game is set in the future, the 'magic' system should've been replaced by a battery pack. The powers, at least for the warlock, were grenade and block.

The story was the generic MMO. 'You' are the 'only one' who can stop the bad guys. It is hard to remember this when you see all the other 'Chosen Ones'. The game is beautiful, but lacking in depth.

FPS shooting from a competent shooter didn't hold me over, the 'only what we give you' form of levelling robbed me of any choice. Regenerating health, really?

This game's budget was over 500 million dollars. And it went to to graphics and marketing. Any half-decent writer could've farted out a better story than 'the coming darkness'.

I do not begrudge people who enjoy it, I actually told my local EB store to give my Ghost edition pre-order to someone I knew was looking forward to the game.

It's just not me.