Destiny: Looking back with TCN on the first 30 days

Destiny. Without a doubt the most highly anticipated video game in the past few years. After teasing the project for years, fans finally got to play the full game on its release of Sept 9th. But what came after that release? Lack luster reviews and more parodies than you could possibly imagine.

Since its release, we have already seen several patches changing the games loot system, multiple gameplay events, and even countless exploits that fans are finding faster than Bungie can fix them.

In short, Destiny is still a work in progress.

So what does TCN’s Staff think of the game after having 30 days to play it? We’re probably just as torn as everyone else who plays it:

Taylor – PS4

As I play this game, I can see a glimmer of what they were trying to attempt. Don’t get me wrong, the game is fun and addicting, but With the lackluster storyline, and all of Bungie’s focus going into the multiplayer aspect, I feel like this game is a shadow of what it should have been. In the end, sadly I fear this game will be another that falls into the “all style and no substance” category.

My big hope for Destiny is that Bungie will see the complaints and look past the “success” of the game and strive for constant improvement. The game needs more Story and singleplayer features, and allowing the pvp to evolve on its own and shifting focus back to adding more substance to the game would easily give motivation for repeat playing outside of pvp.

Nathan – Xbox One

It shines as a social club but falls short in every other aspect. While it is a fun game to play, all I see are pieces of a game that could have changed everything but has fallen short in both story and creativity.

Cameron – PS4

Graphically I felt this game was well done. The character customization was great and I was constantly swapping gear as I got new equipment. WAY too short, and honestly I can’t even remember what the story was. Don’t get me started on the unbalanced pvp…

Danny –  Xbox One

Amazing graphics, great (although short) story mode. The PvP is still very raw and a work in progress – this is nowhere a complete multiplayer game and it shows. Each game type should have a separate set of maps, rather than just having the same six maps, there should be at least thirty maps total. Smaller game types should have smaller maps. They should allow more people to play together on the PvE extension of the game (the Strikes) – How often I’ve had me and three friends online playing and often we’d rather play PvE together.

In addition, the lack of NPCs that actually explain the MMO parts of the game puts a serious damper on someone trying to pick up the game and just get into it. Even if you get through the story, there’s no explanation about the factions, or the crucible, or the iron banner, or vanguard, or any of the details you really should know about the non-story part of the game.

Overall, it is the minimum level of quality of game that people want and need for a modern Halo-style MMO. It is a ton of fun to play, but the negatives leave you complaining about playing rather than spreading the word on how much fun it is.

Abigail – Xbox 360

Destiny has largely been my introduction to first-person shooters. The aiming and weapon interface is incredibly smooth, and is one of the main reasons I’ve stuck with this game. That being said, Destiny doesn’t live up to many of the things that I was excited about. It’s definitely not an MMO or an RPG, although it hints and tries to succeed in both realms. There aren’t any gameplay differences among the three races. The story holds a lot of potential, but merely teases at a plot-line that could have been explored in more detail. The multi-player element is limited to three players, until you reach the highest levels. Speaking of levels, the system currently only allows you to exceed level 20 by finding and upgrading your armor; XP becomes obsolete. Most of the armor can only be found by completing the most difficult raids and missions, which (surprise) have level requirements. This circular reasoning has been incredibly frustrating, and leads to an insane amount of grinding. With all its negatives, the game’s reward system has sucked me in, and I’ll probably continue playing for a good while, albeit somewhat mindlessly.

Cory – PS4

“Eyes up Guardian”

The long awaited game, Destiny. Just how does the game hold up to its promises and the ideas the gamers had? Well, as with any game that has as much Hype as destiny had, there are bound to be some short comings along with the masterpiece. Notice how I say “masterpiece.” Bungie gave us exactly what I expected. A fast paced, shooter-RPG. The environment is gorgeous, the physics are absolutely spot on, the multiplayer is immersive and versatile.

However, as with the majority of this new community, I have some qualms. The story, to say the least was almost non-existent. Where do I go from here? What do I do now? What the hell happened to The Stranger?

The loot system, even with the most recent improvements is far from perfect. Now, I’m not talking about the fabled “loot cave.” I could care less about that. But seriously, why don’t the end bosses of strikes at least pop out an engram of some caliber? I’m not saying “give me a legendary engram everytime I complete a strike.” It’s way too easy to run some of these strike missions in under 15 minutes. If not less. I’d love to at least see that gorgeous Blue shoot out of Phogoths face when I put that last bullet into his chest.

Crucible loot? Oh is that when I get stuff for running around and shooting a couple people to make sure I’m active but stay near the bottom? Apparently we’re rewarding losses this time around. Personally, my belief is to reward the top players AND the mid range players. I understand their thought process. It definitely makes me want to stay in a game where I’m playing like total shit. Cause I know there’s a pretty damn good chance I’ll be getting a reward that round. But should that be the reason we play Crucible? I would think not.

All in all, I’d give it a solid 8.5/10. The game has a lot to offer and has so much more on the way. The new expansions will show that. Or so I so optimisticly hope. I for one will not be putting the game down for a long time to come. I know it’s still in its infancy and that Bungie is the company to make the game better.

With Destiny still tracking well, and Bungie boasting stating right now over 3.2 million people are still playing Destiny on a daily basis, it seems despite the mediocre reviews gamers love this game. All we can hope at TCN is for Destiny to keep putting out updates and additions so that our attention holds, otherwise this game may quickly turn into a passing fad.