Destiny Review - World of Chorecraft

[Thanatos2k]

Jim may be cowardly about speaking up regarding Gamergate, but thankfully he's still brave enough to give overhyped overmarketed games like this what they deserve.

When there was very blatantly a review embargo in place and no reviews at or before the launch date you knew what was going on.

 

[Trippy Turtle]

Half the article was spent saying its an MMO, then you complain about the lack of a decent story? What MMO has a decent story? Bungie has said from the start its all about about the endgame content, yet over half the article is spent complaining about a small portion of the game that functions more like a tutorial and tour of the game than the meat of it. Beyond that though, the article has barely any actual points about the game. PC like menus? What do you want from the game, voice control or something? As for being unimaginative, he's complaining about the names. I can't name a single other AAA game that even bothers to go as far as making the 'headshot' for an enemy something other than the head. At least the vex had that. Its not much, but if hes going to call it unimaginative he might as well sign up every other AAA title from Assassins Creed to Skyrim as unimaginative as well.
It didn't live up to the hype, but people are seriously deluded if they think Destiny is worse than your average game.

The only complaint to be found that I agree with is the similarity between classes. They shied too far away from becoming too much of an MMO that its almost just a regular shooter. A few more abilities and different options for playstyles would have been nice.

 

[Sanunes]

I was able to try the game on Saturday and its not that bad of a game for I found it enjoyable enough, but felt like something was missing from the game. Now I might have picked it up if it was available for the PC because I am looking for a combat driven game for when I just want to spend a short time in a game and not get bogged down with story or stuck having to spend a lot of time to reach a save point, but it would have needed a PC release for me to do that or I would have needed to buy a console and its not good enough for me to want to spend the money on a console just to buy this game.

 

[Steve2911]

I find the swipe at the UI pretty interesting. That's the one part of the game that's gotten pretty much universal acclaim from what I've seen. It's an incredibly clever bit of design.

 

[Spushkin]

Total Biscuit tweeted this nice article about the Destiny UI:

http://mikebithell.tumblr.com/post/97214168242/what-to-steal-from-destinys-ui


As far as the game is concerned, I'm enjoying it. It's certainly a bit less "epic" than I wanted it to be, and I wish they spent less on marketing, building the hype too much, so that the game cannot live up to it. Still, the fun so far has been had. I like the fact that there is not an insane amount of useless loot, but almost everything I find improves a bit on what I already have. I like the design, from UI to weapons and equipment. I like the combat and the random fireteams.

And I like Bungie's idea with events, and I think it'll be great if only they keep it up regularly.

 

[Vareoth]

Very good and fair review, even if I don't completely agree with it. Personally I'm currently thoroughly enjoying myself with my friends. The story is light but the gameplay mechanics are rock-solid. I haven't had this much fun with a game for quite a long time. How much you will enjoy yourself with this game will largely depend on how much repetition you can stomach. But to each his own of course.

 

[RicoADF]

You explained the reasoning for your feeling in your opening remarks. "A short time playing". The game fleshes itself out the longer you play. I challenge you to come back here after you have completed the first Strike on the Moon and see if your feels are the same. I will tell you that it didnt really "hook" me until around level 10-15.

This is my main gripe with this review, the thing reads like the author never even reached max level to see all the game has to offer.

If a game has to be finished to be enjoyed then it's a badly designed game. People have better things to do with their time than finish a game their not enjoying with the hope that it'll get better later. I played the Alpha and I couldn't get into the universe of the game, just felt like MMO's (WoW/STO/TOR etc) mixed with Boarderlands with Mass Effect looks. At first I thought that'd be cool but unfortuently it's missing the extra spice of each game that made them good.

 

[RicoADF]

That's probably because most people think of scores in terms of school grades. It's pretty natural, really. People think of a new, abstract thing in terms of something else they understand better. The reason you have the '7-9' scale is because in school, knowing at least 70% of the material means you pass the class, and below that is considered failing.

I don't get that, in Australia (or atleast here in NSW) the grading system is (from memory, I may be alittle off on the exact percentages for Distinction and High Distinction):
1-49% - Fail
50-60% - Pass
61-70% - Credit
80-90% - Distinction
90-100% - High Distinction

That's how I view games rating systems, a 5-6 is an ok game that'd be fun but not great, a possible $10 bargain bin sale.
6-7 would be a fun game worth getting when the price drops a little or if the price is already lower then worth getting soon, depending on what the game is about. Usually their good games/ideas with some issues with them
8-9 is a great game worth getting soon, if it's the right type of game (eg: space sim) then it'd be buy asap.
10 Would be an awesome game that must buy asap, do not miss. There's obviously not many of these games around.

 

[Ironshroom]

People.
A 6/10 is NOT a bad score with Jim. Not at all.
It is above average. Good.

The average score for video games should be around 5. Maybe just a tad more.
Currently it is around 7...
That is not right.

That's probably because most people think of scores in terms of school grades. It's pretty natural, really. People think of a new, abstract thing in terms of something else they understand better. The reason you have the '7-9' scale is because in school, knowing at least 70% of the material means you pass the class, and below that is considered failing. Shifting it down just fucks with people's heads, since they have nothing else to really compare it too. While a 6 means an above-average score, and that Jim liked the game, people think he's giving it a failing grade.

Of course, that's assuming you normalize the distribution of scores so that, by definition, 5 is in the middle, which means you have to compare it to other games, which is a bit of an issue if you have a big glut of shit games, since games have certain objective indicators of quality (technical stuff, like how it performs and controls). I have no idea how you'd factor in objective AND comparitive, subjective stuff into calculating a single score.

In short: Making a decent scoring system is hard and complex. Personally, I vote to scrap it all together since I, like Yahtzee, believe opinions cannot be properly expressed by a single number, but alot of people seem to like them and want to keep them, so we're stuck with the system we have.

Funny you say that, when I was in school, I did the IB and it was marked so harshly that a pass was generally 30% with full marks being around 70%

 

[Saltyk]

I only have one problem with this review. The Warlock's don't have problems getting to higher ground. You can get a bit of height pretty easily using the glide skill. Might take a little work to get used to it, but once you do it shouldn't be a problem.

Other than that, I'd say the review is pretty fair. I'd probably give the game a 3.5/5 or 4/5. Personally, I really enjoy it.

Anyway, back to Destiny!

 

[silasbufu]

I have a new PS4, so my friend list is emtpy. I don't have many real-life friends who own a ps4 yet and those who do, are not interested in Destiny. I am having a hard time understanding how the co-op matchmaking works in this game. Do i need to have my headset on at all times to ask people what mission they are doing when in the tower? When questing I stumble upon players doing different stuff but everything is chaotic, an "every man for himself" style. How do I know what mission that person is doing and if he wants to join up? I don't want to compare it to Borderlands because they're two different games, but that system felt so much easier and natural. I like the game, but what made me want to buy it was the multiplayer side(mostly co-op), but I'm dissappointed. I guess I need to convince some friends to buy it..

 

[Netrigan]

So the Crackdown 2 naming guy (henceforth referred to as 'The Namer') strikes again!

Why for you put MMO grind questing in a shooter? Don't they know that's commonly the worst part of those games?

One of the reasons Borderlands 2 is so much better than the first. They got rid of the respawn pits and Kill X Bandits missions. Plus lots of story-based voice over so you didn't loose sight of the story.

 

[Raziel]

The idea that the game gets good after 20 is crap. All you do is get a few new skills. The game doesn't change or improve at all. In fact it gets worse steadily. Going through the same stupid mission the 11th time is horribly boring. It doesn't get better going in 12, 13, 14, 15, 16....times. And ramping up the enemy health and defense so that your maxed guns are just as crappy as the guns you start the game with makes leveling pointless.

With any luck some of the new games coming out will actually be good and give people something else to play so this can fall by the way side.

 

[myke66]

The idea that the game gets good after 20 is crap. All you do is get a few new skills. The game doesn't change or improve at all. In fact it gets worse steadily. Going through the same stupid mission the 11th time is horribly boring. It doesn't get better going in 12, 13, 14, 15, 16....times. And ramping up the enemy health and defense so that your maxed guns are just as crappy as the guns you start the game with makes leveling pointless.

With any luck some of the new games coming out will actually be good and give people something else to play so this can fall by the way side.

It's not crap at all, its how its designed. If you havent played an MMO before, or even like MMOs, then Destiny is not for you - and thats fine. But its not a bad game because you dont like the genere. Thats like saying the new FIFA sucks because it doesnt have any guns.

No one is saying the game before 20 is crap either, the only point is that at 20 MORE opens up to do, not all of a sudden a magic switch turns on and all the fun comes pouring out. The game is about the gunplay, which it does extremely well. Harping on the story is silly for a game like this, something that people NOT PLAYING arent grasping.

It's very simple, if you like Diablo-style dungeon crawlers, then you will love Destiny. If you don't, then you wont like Destiny. The problem with this review is that he reviewed Destiny as if it was a Halo sequel, not in the MMO ARRG genere that its in.

Also, I can say that now after putting in many hours into the game with 2/3 classes maxed, the game is addicting as hell and tons of fun. The raid that was just released is epic, and not at all a let down. This is a progressive game where new content and events will constantly be streaming out into the world.

If you can't see the flaws of how this was reviewed on this site, then you are being willfully ignorant to the fact it was done improperly. Not bashing on this community so no need to get offended, but the reviewer lacked the perspective to review this game.


To put it in better words than I can, please read this:
http://www.gamesradar.com/if-youre-worried-about-destinys-longevity-or-level-cap-you-dont-understand-destiny/

 

[Raziel]

No you won't love this if you like loot games like diablo. Diablo and good games like it have a steady progress curve. Destiny has a freaking wall that you have to grind for DAYS unless you are super lucky to get even 1 piece of improved equipment.

If you cannot see how every aspect of this game is flawed you are willfully ignorant of games that do these things right.And lack perspective just because you like it.

 

[myke66]

No you won't love this if you like loot games like diablo. Diablo and good games like it have a steady progress curve. Destiny has a freaking wall that you have to grind for DAYS unless you are super lucky to get even 1 piece of improved equipment.

If you cannot see how every aspect of this game is flawed you are willfully ignorant of games that do these things right.And lack perspective just because you like it.

There is no "wall", you are making that up. There are multiple progression paths to get your lvl 20+. Every aspect of the game is not flawed, thats a hyperbole just trying to bash the game. Sounds familiar.

This game does have a progression curve. Notice how the monsters gain more and more abilities as you level up? Run the earth missions on heroic and you'll see the "curve".

Sounds like you haven't really played Destiny and are just regurgitating random things you've read on the internet.

And seriously, you complain about grinding for days on an MMO. This isnt a flaw of the game, this is the intended gameplay. Again, if you like games like Diablo this is normal. You do nothing BUT grind in diablo.


Optional Upgrade Paths...
>Strikes
>Heroic Missions
>Daily/Weekly Missions
>Strange Coins
>Motes of Light
>Vanguard Marks
>Crucible Marks
>Engrams
>Raiding

 

[ash12181987]

I really think the thing I find funniest about this review, is that on an add I saw on Hulu, Destiny quoted the Escapist in saying something about a "Masterful" game.

I actually went back and watched the review again after seeing that, so I could laugh my ass off.

 

[Dragonbums]

Well average is certainly better than bad I suppose. I guess they can always try again with DLC story updates and such. I'm pretty sure the only thing they are worrying about is making back that 500 million dollar development cost. So hey, whatever keeps people playing, they are solid.

 

[benvorbeck]

I really think the thing I find funniest about this review, is that on an add I saw on Hulu, Destiny quoted the Escapist in saying something about a "Masterful" game.

I actually went back and watched the review again after seeing that, so I could laugh my ass off.

I honestly dont understand why the escapist gets this attention with these underqualified staff like Jim... this review is more a statement of his attitude towards an overhiped game than actually properly giving the game the score it deserves

 

[SonOfVoorhees]

Good review, also recently watched the Angry Joe review also. Only thing ive heard about this game is that its mediocre though they promise it will get better in the future with extra expansion packs. If im charged full price then i expect an awesome product, not a mediocre product with promises it will get better if i throw them more money.