After the suspense nearly killed us, the day of our destiny is finally at hand!
Wow. There is definite electricity in the air. Moments like these come along a hand-full of times in a console generation. In years gone by, only established franchises like Mario , Grand Theft Auto and of course Halo could generate this kind of buzz via a new release. However, Bungie has managed to take a completely unknown element and turn it into one of the biggest events we’re likely to see on the next-gen!
And how did they accomplish such a monumental feet?
By turning the FPS genre on its ear, that’s how! When news came that the folks responsible for turning the likes of Master Chief and Cortana into household names were breaking away from the Microsoft mother ship and venturing out on their own, many were skeptical. Rightfully so, as they had yet to prove themselves in any significant way beyond the 1 st party success that was Halo . Now, with new innovations and a unique direction that looks to bend the very genre itself, I’d say Destiny is likely to be nothing like you’ve ever played before! With its drop taking place today, I thought I’d give you a rundown of just some of what I’m looking forward to (as soon as I’ve typed my last word below)!
MMO meets FPS meets WTF?
Ok, I admit this freely…I’m not an MMO guy. I’ve tried to be in the past and it just hasn’t worked out. Perhaps one day I’ll find that special title where I can level-up and raid to my heart’s content, but so far I’ve not found it. I’d like to think there is a chance Destiny could change all that! By infusing the standard FPS with character building and guild-based mechanics (found in games like World of Warcraft and a slew of others), could this be the gateway to a completely alien genre for gamers like me? I’m certainly keeping an open mind, I hope you do as well.
It’s all about LOCATION …LOCATION… LOCATION!
You’ve heard that phrase a thousand times right? Well if I had to pick the biggest hurdle Destiny needs to overcome on day-one, it’s this little conundrum. One of the heaviest complaints among testers during the open-beta period was that the game’s universe didn’t seem quite large enough. Bungie went into full-on damage control, assuring us we have simply scratched the surface of exploration. Will the full title in-fact feel more expansive (or were gamers right on the money in their assessments)?
This story has some pretty big shoes to fill.
I think it’s safe to say everyone will be comparing this game to Halo in every conceivable way. From its packaging, to its multiplayer lobby to its weapons… Destiny will inevitably debut in the shadow of its older brother (at least in the short-term). For me, I became addicted to Halo for many reasons, not the least of which was its enthralling plot. The story-arch spanning the course of the original trilogy was brilliantly crafted and spawned tons of EU content in the forms of novels, comics and direct-to-DVD movies. Will Destiny’s yarn about a post-apocalyptic Earth and the mysterious Moon-sized being known as “The Traveler” deliver in the same way? Game of Thrones star Peter Dinklage was a great casting choice in my opinion (even though some have found his VO work to fall a bit flat).
I did have the chance to play the beta, and for the most part, I was somewhat underwhelmed. However, it’s wrong to condemn an entire game on the merits of such a small sample size, so I’ll reserve judgment ‘till I get my hands on the completed version. So far, Destiny has become the most pre-ordered new IP ever. No small feat to be sure (but likely due to Bungie’s brand name still holding value in the market). So will this be the first in many mega-hits for the game developer, or is Destiny both their debut and swan song simultaneously?
Have an opinion? Want your full-on game review to be read by tens of thousands? Come back here and let us know what you think about Destiny in the comments section below!