Preview: My Weekend With Destiny

So I was one of the lucky ones to snag a Destiny Alpha code. It’s kind of a funny thing, because I had no interest in Destiny. Aside from the sci-fi setting, it really didn’t look different than any of the other seemingly dozens of multi-player focused open world games coming our way in the near future (such as The Division). Articles from journalists saying they had played it and it was “kind of boring” were only confirming what I had already seemed to decide beforehand. Destiny wasn’t for me.

Then the free Alpha as announced for this weekend. I had this weekend mostly free and I figured if I could score a code for the Destiny Alpha that Sony was offering, I could say that yes I have actually played Destiny and it’s not the next big thing.

More from Previews

And indeed at first look, it might’ve have seemed that way. The alpha offers an incredibly small slice of the entire Destiny pie. There is a hub city without much going on. There is only one beginning area and one “strike” area which is like an instance in an MMO. There is one PVP mode: Control. Surely, I would get bored of this limited amount of content very quickly and confirm my suspicions of something that was merely Bungie’s newest Halo game, which I pretty much thought peaked at the second entry in the series in every aspect.

But I spent just about every spare minute I had this weekend playing this game. If I was home, I was playing. I was hooked nearly instantly and have had hour upon hour of fun. I am very disappointed that I won’t be able to access the world of Destiny again for about a month when the beta becomes available. I will be counting the days.

Sure, Destiny is Halo. Bungie made Halo, it’s in their DNA. There will probably never be a game developed by Bungie that doesn’t remind you a little bit of the franchise they made their name on. But it’s also Borderlands, it’s also Mass Effect, it’s also Phantasy Star Online. It takes lots of the best bits of the best sci-fi action titles in the history of gaming and combines them into an incredible game. The action is extremely satisfying.

But hey, this is Bungie, it would be a huge surprise if the action wasn’t at least competent. But this feels like a fresher Bungie than I’ve seen in years. It is like they really needed to break away from Halo, as Destiny is arguably the best-playing Bungie game I’ve played since Halo 2. It feels tight, and the weapons and abilities have a great variety to them.

Beyond that though, there is this great element of discovery. Wandering into ruined buildings and decrepit tunnels, genuinely not knowing what might be there. It may easily be something (or several somethings) way too powerful for you to handle. The loot comes fast and furious as well, nearly every mission gets you something new and worthwhile, whether it’s a new weapon to try out or new armor that you will covet.

I didn’t spend a ton of time with the PVP, I only played a couple of matches. It’s really hard to tell with one map and one mode. But what I played was fun. That’s not the main appeal for me anyways, I’m really digging the exploration and cooperation with others aspect. Destiny really makes you feel like you are working with others towards a goal, and that means everything in most of the missions.

Even from this small slice though, Destiny has a couple of issues I think needs to be worked out. First, the ammo drops. It’s represented by small colored boxes for different types of ammo for your different types of weapons. You can run out of ammo very quickly fighting either a big elite or swarms of enemies. There needs to be a better indicator of where ammo is, often I would be running low at a crucial time, and there was ammo in the area I wouldn’t be able to find until I died. They need to make it clearer.

Second, the re-spawn rate of enemies. Maybe they wanted to make sure no one got bored in the Alpha, but the rate enemies re-spawn at is pretty ridiculous. In some areas it’s nearly impossible to get your bearings. As soon as you down one group of enemies, the last one dealt with pops right back up. Destiny is gorgeous, but there’s no time to enjoy the scenery. It should be a dangerous world with enemies all over the place, but few things beat discovering a new area or a gorgeous spot and having a minute to take it in. It wouldn’t be a deal-breaker at all, but I really hope the full version of Destiny allows that.

This Alpha was just a small sampling of Destiny, but it was more than enough to make me a believer. If my opinion changes between the beta and release, I will certainly write about that as well, but for now I am a firm believer in Bungie’s Destiny. Consider me a convert.

—————————

Follow GameSided on Twitter @Gamesideddotcom. Download the official Fansided App on the App Store or Google Play Market today to stay up-to-date on the latest news and rumors from GameSided without even being at a computer. You can also sign up for our newsletter below to get daily updates sent straight to your e-mail.

Looking to write about video games? Join us at GameSided! Have any inquiries or tips? Send editor Daniel George an email at: daniel.george@fansided.com.

Home/Previews