Destiny Review - World of Chorecraft

[Malpraxis]

FPS MMO with a bajillion dollar budget and advertising up the cork hole every freaking where for months. Of course it wouldn't live up to the hype. Maybe it's decent, I'll never know, since that genre isn't my cup of tea, but I doubt anyone was expecting it to be the second coming of Cthulhu, unless gamers are a bunch of hype happy people with the same disease of the guy from Memento.

 

[Vigormortis]

I actually agree. And that was part of the point behind my confusion.

I explained myself a bit better (I think) in another post. It's on page 1 if you're interested.

Oh, sorry for misunderstanding you

No worries.

Honestly, I should have worded my post far better than I had. It's context is a bit unclear.

 

[Rad Party God]

Yup, just as I expected, all hype and nothing spectacular.

I will tell you that it didnt really "hook" me until around level 10-15.

I'm a fan of MMOs and even I admit that these types of games takes a good while to get you hooked, but even most of my favorite MMOs really hooked me before level 10. If I hit level 20 and I'm still asking myself "am I having fun yet?", I just stop playing and move on to something else, if anyone is telling me "it gets better later on", I just dismiss it as a Stockholm syndrome effect.

 

[Foolery]

Us console owners...when will we have a decent MMO??

Final Fantasy XIV A Realm Reborn. You're welcome.

Anyway, I'm not digging Destiny. Somehow Bungie managed to have worse writing than halo, and honestly I feel even Warframe is a better MMO sci-fi shooter.

 

[Bigeyez]

Destiny has been incredible fun for me and my friends. It's hit that shooter itch that Titanfall just couldn't for us. It's solid gameplay paired with fun pve and pvp multiplayer and a pinch of Diablo thrown in.

Is the story lacking? Yes it definitely is, but the Diablo 3 story sucked even worse and I'm still having fun playing that.

I think what is causing all the negativity towards Destiny is that it was sold to everyone as this big epic adventure and the story just isn't there.

The only story and epic adventure that really matters in Destiny is the one you and your friends make. The epic last second saves. The awesome multi-kill supers. Getting that awesome exotic weapon. Playing soccer in the tower with friends and random people. That's where the real Destiny story comes from. Forget the traveler, darkness blahblahblah garbage.

So in the end for me Destiny has been extremely fun and I can see myself and my friends playing it for a long time. I can totally see how for some people though it is really disappointing and deserving of the criticism it is getting.

 

[Something Amyss]

I'll never know, since that genre isn't my cup of tea, but I doubt anyone was expecting it to be the second coming of Cthulhu, unless gamers are a bunch of hype happy people with the same disease of the guy from Memento.

Given the general pattern of hype>rage>hype, I kind of wonder if that's the case.

 

[MrHide-Patten]

This review is so delicious, sums up all my contempt and disappointment,but seeing as how I didn't pay for this tripe (Alpha and Beta were free) it's just sad to see so many of my buddies sucked into the sticky shallow marsh.

Even then, when I was playing with mates I couldn't wait for them to get tired or for something to drag me away, even the PvP which Jim gave a positive mention for was grating.

Prepare ya butt Jim for all the butthurt fanboys looking for revenge for pointing out they've wasted money.

 

[Darth_Payn]

TBH, this is the first I heard of Destiny being an MMO at all. I hear "The Developers of HALO" I think "Sci-fi FPS", and only that. Still, it looks better than th modern military shooters clogging up the shelves.

 

[008Zulu_v1legacy]

I was excited when I heard about this game. Then I heard Bungie would be giving PC gamers the shaft, I was less excited. Then I saw my brother play the Beta, I thought "It looks like a Halo-Boderlands MMO". Now I am glad the PC doesn't have this title.

 

[juyunseen]

As much as I'm enamored with the game, I can't argue with anything Jim said. I'm most certainly a Halo fanboy, and I was on board from the moment they announced it, but after 10 hours in game and hitting the level cap I think I'm past my hopes for the game and comfortable with what it is.

Destiny is a good MMO. It is not a great MMO. It does not redefine what an MMO should be, and it does play it safe. That said, this is the first time in a very very long time an MMO hooked me and its because Bungie are grade A masters of gameplay that is moment to moment fun. Is this their best outing? No, that's probably either Halo 2 or Halo Reach. Are they still showing off their ability to make their, quote, "30 seconds of fun" carry an entire game. Destiny subscribes to Bungie's golden triangle from halo (whereby combat flows between the three points of guns melee and grenades seamlessly.

Is the game a grindy MMO? You bet your ass it is and I'm disappointed by it. However unlike most its an MMO with gameplay oozing out its ears so I'll still enjoy the grind.

The feeling it gives me, and while I'm on board with it a lot of people wont be, is that the base game is meant as a jumping off point. A chunk of worldbuilding instead of a complete game. An MMO can't have an end. Not really. Unless you do what the Runescape guys are currently trying to do, but they've been running that game for more than a decade now and have worked towards that point. MMOs are made for longevity and so is Destiny. Unfortunately the mix was hit wrong and the base game was too short so the game, given its $60 price tag and being billed as a triple A shooter, feels like a DLC cash grab, or will feel like that once the DLC begins being released.

Is there a way to remedy this? Well the way that comes to mind for me is for Bungie to build actual expansion packs instead of small DLC chunks. Build an actual narrative within the already existing game (using new and preexisting areas) create a full campaign and toss in new weapons and maps and a raised level cap, and release that for $20-$30.

However Activision has a long history with shooters and map packs.

Maybe the Blizzard side of Activision Blizzard will bleed through and the smart choice will be made. I don't like WoW at all, but I appreciate that those guys know how to make an MMO.

 

[Sanunes]

Personally, when reading or listening to reviews I almost never go by the final score for I always find that subjective on what a person enjoys when playing a game and might not accurately describe what I feel about it.

After reading all of Jim's review this doesn't sound much like a game I would buy unless I know several friends that own it and thanks to the beta most of the people I know that were interested in the game decided to wait for awhile before buying it.

 

[Daaaah Whoosh]

I think the whole point of the blandness of Destiny is that it's not trying too hard to force you into its world. It gives you a beautiful canvas upon which you're supposed to write your story. That's why their motto is "Become Legend"; it's not about running through the three acts of someone else's life, it's about building friendships and having experiences that are meaningful to you. The universe doesn't feel lived in because we haven't been there long enough, it feels clean because we haven't had a chance to dirty it up.

It's still a bit lazy on Bungie's part, and I imagine that's linked to the reason Joseph Staten left, but I really like a universe built more around rumor than fact, superstition before canon. That's why I left Halo when 4 came out, and why no one likes midichlorians.

 

[Billy the Squid]

I think that's the biggest issue with Destiny at the moment, the story, or the lack there of to be precise.

PvP FPS mechanics, very solid and enjoyable, the weapons and play style is like any FPS with added powers and progression, crafting armour weapons and visual styles are all great.

But, there's very little background given to what the hell is actually going on. I didn't mind the faction names, as proved later on The Fallen are a feudalistic society made up of various houses such as The House of Devils and they like each other as little as they like humans. But then it just stops there. Who are they? Where are they from? Why are they nomadic? Why is their society formed that way? Like the Awakened, "something happened to them at the time of the collapse" okay, that's very interesting what happened?

Nothing of this sort seemed to be expended on. And I know Bungie can write good fiction for their games, I remember Myth, the Fallen Lords and Soul Blighter. (that might give away my age) Halo was decent too. So what happened here?

Good game, very enjoyable PvP, the game improves dramatically when playing with friends in the Campaign, my girlfriend and I had a run through and I enjoyed playing with her more than doing a solo run. Let's see what the DLC coming up actually adds, hopefully it'll flesh the universe out a little more.

 

[Sniper Team 4]

Oh dear. I fear this game just got moved further down my list of purchases. I was getting a bit suspicious when it was released and I wasn't hearing any buzz about it, but I had my doubts long before. When it was first announced and all the focus was on gameplay and co op, but I couldn't find anything about what was going on. Sounds like the reason behind that is because there's not much going on.
Story is the main driving factor of any game for me. It doesn't matter how amazing the gameplay is, how popular the title is, or how many of my friends are playing it. If the story bores me, I quickly lose interest in the game, so it sounds like this game will end up being a bargain purchase sometime down the line.

 

[Sniper Team 4]

Nothing of this sort seemed to be expended on. And I know Bungie can write good fiction for their games, I remember Myth, the Fallen Lords and Soul Blighter. (that might give away my age)

Oh man, the lore in those games (and the way it was told) still ranks among the best in my opinion. Love those games. A pity they can't seem to recapture that level with Destiny.

 

[camazotz]

Have to agree....I am loving the game, but noticed early on it feels like I'm playing a version of Fallout 3 or Mass Effect in which someone forgot to include 95% of the actual story. Even Halo has more involvement than Destiny. It does, however, have about 10 times the "plot" that Titanfall offered, for whatever that's worth....

 

[BaronVH]

I knew it would not be as good as the hype, and I understand the points in the reveiw, but I am having a great time with it. It definately is a MMORPG, but a very, very light one with guns. I hate MMORPGs since they penalize the solo player, but this does not. I like the ability to join up when you want to. I also love that enemies typically do not just spawn in, but are flown in on dropships or run out of closets and such. I did not want a game that required me to sink 200 hours into it. This is just what I wanted. I plan to move on to Mordor and Alien soon, and I bet I will be able to take a break from Destiny and pop back in with ease later. I would give it an A- or four and a half stars, but this is extremely subjective to me.

 

[Billy the Squid]

Nothing of this sort seemed to be expended on. And I know Bungie can write good fiction for their games, I remember Myth, the Fallen Lords and Soul Blighter. (that might give away my age)

Oh man, the lore in those games (and the way it was told) still ranks among the best in my opinion. Love those games. A pity they can't seem to recapture that level with Destiny.

Yep, the narrator and the journal entries were all fantastic. The drawings, even the cartoon cut scenes, I loved those games. They didn't really give a whole lot of detail in the back story as to what happened before Balor and the Fallen Lords attacked, but they gave enough so we could understand and get that sense of investment, while trickling extra info in when needed.

The way it was told from a soldier's perspective with knowledge based on myths and legends, with added info from events and well informed characters really helped move the story along without the need for an omniscient narrator, which would have killed the mystery of the Fallen Lords and Soulblighter.

If they wanted to leave Destiny with a bit of mystery and the background based on myths, then the Myth series is the style they should base the writing on.

 

[camazotz]

I think the whole point of the blandness of Destiny is that it's not trying too hard to force you into its world. It gives you a beautiful canvas upon which you're supposed to write your story. That's why their motto is "Become Legend"; it's not about running through the three acts of someone else's life, it's about building friendships and having experiences that are meaningful to you. The universe doesn't feel lived in because we haven't been there long enough, it feels clean because we haven't had a chance to dirty it up.

It's still a bit lazy on Bungie's part, and I imagine that's linked to the reason Joseph Staten left, but I really like a universe built more around rumor than fact, superstition before canon. That's why I left Halo when 4 came out, and why no one likes midichlorians.

If that was the intent then I think they still failed. Most MMORPGs succeed at this by providing you with the tools to "make it your own." Destiny feels like a fantastic FPS engine in a Haloesque universe where no one has inserted any real dialogue or cutscenes yet. You can't even name your characters.....