It's a shared world shooter. It's not really a MMO, it's not really just a FPS either. Think an open world Firefight or SpartanOps mode from Halo with loot and high level raiding, and a story thrown on top. I wouldn't say the story is as deep as say Halo, but it's fairly solid. I think more could have been done here but what there is isn't necessarily bad. By multiplayer you mean PvP right? It depends on the game mode. In general it can be chaotic fun. I never felt like the game was overly unfair. Even as a level 12 I was racking up around 9 kills a game against level 20+ players. There's also Skirmish where level differences are null.
Co-op aspects are loads of fun, the crucible was good in the beta but I've only played one game since full release. I thought the cut scenes were actually very good just not enough of them. I think it'll be an excellent IP as it develops.
i actually have civ 5 on steam but haven't tried it yet. if the peso ever stabilizes enough that i feel like splurging on all the DLC and expansions, i might, but right now i need my sci-fi fix and am waiting for civ: beyond earth (and for ancient space, which i think drops in like a week)
Destiny is Halo Borderlands style. Basically you get to create a character from three types of class and race. Races are Human, Awoken and Exo. There’s a real missed opportunity here as the race you choose ads absolutely nothing to the game. The next selection does add to the game though, your play style is based on the class you can choose. Titan, Hunter and Warlock, they all have their own specializations. I opted for hunter as in all FPS I’m a precision based player that likes to kill from distance and like all snipers in all games in this class the hunter is the glass cannon of the team, has the single highest damage output with one shot but easily killed at CQB. Each class gains a grenade that can’t be exhausted but has a lengthy cool down period. There are three varieties of grenades each one specific to the class you have chosen. Each class also has a special again with the hunter class he has the highest damage out-put using the blade dancer special, Warlock has Nova Bomb I think and the titan has some sort of ground smash, I haven’t tried the other characters/classes. The game play can be summed up as above. Everything in this game screams Halo. I have played Halo day one since the original combat evolved and can see the similarities are ridiculous enough to be downright plagiarism. Every enemy or firefight encountered revolves around a few cannon fodder enemies with one commander, for example the enemy known as “The Fallen” are basically grunts captained by Elites in Halo but in Destiny they are called Dregs (Grunts) and simply Captain (Elite) and this chain of command is repeated throughout the game with the other races. The vex (Grunts) to the Hobgoblin (Elites). The game actually centres around the Vex who have a hive mind intellect which is basically the Gravemind in Halo. Other similarities with your Ghost is basically being guilty Spark from Halo to the Cobal who are the Hunters from Halo. Throw in some borderlands elements such as levelling up your guns and character and your pretty much right on the money of what to expect. It’s all very linear but here is where in my opinion it really shines. The Gunplay!!!!!! My oh my the gunplay in this game is better than any other FPS I have played, in a word it is “perfect”. Again borrowing from Halo’s excellent control scheme every bullet is delivered with the authority you’d expect from high calibre guns. Heads pop and torso’s explode the moment you pull the trigger in a dizzying crescendo of colours, pull out a machine gun and watch the eye blazing rate of fire rip enemies to shreds. The game in its entirety is a complete grind but the gunplay makes it oh so worth it. I have never fired a real gun but I imagine if I was firing a shotgun then this game has given me a very close approximation of what it’d look like. The story is almost non existant to the untrained eye however those of you who have played Dark Souls and scoff at those who say that has no story rightly say that Dark Souls has more story and lore than say................Skyrim. The story and the lore is all around you in the description of every piece of armour and weapon and so it is with Destiny. The issue with destiniy's story however is the fact that you have the story thrown in on top of the game and it isn't told very well but if you take the time and look through the grimoire cards then you see that universe opens up and all is revelealed. The problem with this though is that you have to view these cards on the Bungie website or via the destiny app which is brilliant by the way. You get the story but you never really feel involved, it does have depth but you need to look for it. The game is about grinding to level 20 at which point you stop gaining XP and are then grinding for better loot because after level 20 the only way you can get to level 30 is to find armour that contains light and your light level dictates you overall level. Right now I am light level 22. In this type of game loot is everything, it’s the only reason to play this type of game, you get a great gun but grind to get a better one. That boss that took over 40 minutes to kill can now be taken out by one shot because you achieved a level beyond the boss’s. There are three factions to join as well as soon as you hit level 20. They are called Dead Orbit, Future War Cult and New Monarchy (City Factions). When you start the game you already belong to two factions called the Vanguards and the Crucible. When you start the game and compete in strike missions you earn vanguard points, your overall vanguard points are used to purchase weapons and armour from your own class specific vanguard handler, Titan, Hunter and Warlock. If you opt to join a city faction you wear their banner and forfeit vanguard points and instead accrue faction points but only for the faction you join. The same applies to the crucible, any crucible points awarded go to the faction and can’t be used to buy gear from the crucible master. The Multiplayer again is Halo’s MP though not as fast paced. I actually play a fair bit of the MP known as the Crucible. All I can say is it’s very functional. There are four game types, Skirmish - 3v3 (my favourite mode) Rumble - which is six player free for all, control – players have to control areas of the map and Clash 6v6 - team death match. When entering all levelling bonuses are removed from players and guns as to make the experience fair. It’s typical halo MP which in my opinion is the best, Destiny’s MP isn’t quite at the level of Halo’s but I have no doubt it will get there. The game really begins post level 20. Brilliant game highly recommend. Baza
Civ 4 was pretty awesome but for me Civ 3 was the best one by far. Love it. I still play Civ Revolutions on the xBox 360 sometimes. It's a cute little game.
That is quite possibly the single best write up/review of any game on MAP by a fan. Hell, on most forums. Thanks for taking the time to review it in such detail . So if the hunter is slightly more of a distance precision/sniper fighter and the Titan is a true glass cannon...any ideas what the Warlock class is like? Are they just the mid-range fighters of the game then (decent damage, decent ranged abilities, no outstanding bonuses)? Other than that I'm pretty sure I know what to look for from your review. It sounds pretty good. If I upgrade to an xBox one I think I'll have a look at getting it.
No mate, but i have heard the sunsinger route is awsome. Want to get my hunter capped and then start warlock. Titan would be my last choice but they are bullet sponges for sure, two of my friends are Titans and run aggro for me to snipe bosses. Baza
The Hunter has the highest DPS, He is a true glass cannon awsome offence but terrible defence. Can't say what the Warlock is like but i have played with a few. They have a brilliant AOE (Area of Effect) special that has pulled fireteams i have been in through the firefight on many an occasion. UC plays a Warlock and is better to answer this than me. Baza
Warlocks are fun and their recovery rate is awesome, I ran aggro for two Hunters on a strike as my recovery rate meant I could draw fire as long as I was sensible and the AOE and grenades let me control mobs.
Yeah - great review. thanks for taking the time to write it up! I rented the game from redbox - played it for a few hours and liked it. I haven't played halo, but I have played Borderlands - and I see the comparison there. It's funny, I went to Amazon and looked at the reviews, and they were VERY mixed. For the PS3 - I saw a pretty even spread over 1-5 rating scores (i.e. same number of 1s as 2s, 2s as 3s, etc.). With only a few hours it, it seemed a lot better than that to me, but a lot of people thought it was repetitive apparently. It's definitely on my list of games to buy when the new wears off a bit, and the price drops. At the rate I am working through what I already have, I have a year or two stockpile of games before I need another one, haha.
Can Bungie really be accused of plagiarising Halo? I've clearly taken a different path to you guys. I started playing in the crucible as soon as possible ( level 4?). It's a little frustrating sub 20 but if you just play Control it's do-able. Consequently I'm level 16 having only done a couple of missions on the moon.
Anyone up for doing the Vault of Glass when they hit lvl 26? It's only supposed to be about eleven hours long....
Unfortuntaley Ben i think they can. I'm a massive Bungie and Halo fan. They sold the Halo IP (no longer belongs to Bungie) to M$ and to be honest Destiny is Halo with a Spartan you can level up and that really is all it is. Still love the game but there is just too much familiartity when you compare the two. Lol even the way the Vanguards jump is reminiscent of Halo, i think they added the floaty mega jumps for old time sake. When you hit Mars you will come across a new enemy called "Psions" i think and they are the Jackals from Halo the only thing they don't have is the shield. Baza
I thought the Phalanx to be like the Jackles, just bloody big ones. It is one big Halo rip off though.
