Destiny has undoubtedly been one of the most hyped games in memory. When it was originally hinted at back in 2009 and 2010, fans of Bungie became very excited about what the team were going to be bringing to the table after moving on from the HALO series. Well, finally, the game is with us. We have seen some of the most extensive media coverage ever for this title in terms of videos, previews, alpha & beta tests and advertisements but the big question everyone was waiting to be answered was: does it deliver on the hype?
Firstly, apologies for the delay in getting our Destiny review online. We suffered some delays with the postal system in receiving our review copy kindly sent by Activision but we thankfully received it safely in the end. We’ve been playing the game for a little over a week and are finally ready to deliver our opinions on the title; one which we have also been looking forward to for quite some time.
As most of you will know, the game is online only. That is not to say that you always need to be playing with other people to play through the story content of the game; you can quite easily play through the story without bothering anyone else, however, you will be placed in a server with other people who may or may not join to fight alongside you. On Playstation 4, you can still play through the story mode without having a Playstation Plus subscription. However, you will miss out on much of the game’s content if you do not have a subscription, so, I highly recommend picking up Plus if you wish to play Destiny the way it was intended to be played. On Xbox, I believe that an Xbox Live Gold Subscription is required even for story mode.
Destiny is a game where the story is certainly not the primary focus, but is an excellent play. While it doesn’t have a very interesting background behind it, the action and gameplay available within the missions is outstanding. I found it extremely enjoyable to play through the missions both with and without friends. This is certainly the main focus of each mission, rather than having a deep, intruiging story and that is fine by me. The graphics and level design is particularly spectacular. Each of the planets, terrains and environments are created with a stunning level of detail and intricacy, each feeling unique, fresh and a joy to behold. The team at Bungie have really outdone themselves in terms of the phenomenal graphical presentation.
The soundtrack is also an exceptional production. Every piece of action within the game is expertly matched with a piece of music which perfectly fits the moment and the environment in which you are playing at that particular time. Again, this adds to the exceptional level of quality Bungie have offered in the presentation of Destiny and is something which really has given the game something special, making it feel different to other experiences on offer.
The Crucible and Strike multiplayer modes add a huge amount of content to the game. Essentially, they add a practically unlimited amount of possible game time for you to enjoy along with your friends. These modes are straightforward, simple and a huge amount of fun to play. If you do not get around to spending some time with them, you will be missing out on a crucial and extremely enjoyable part of the Destiny package.
The game, throughout all of its gamemodes, can be very challenging at times. However, this is where a lot of the fun comes from. You are able to choose different difficulty levels on a mission by mission basis, with higher levels of difficulty awarding more perks to the player which will help later in the game. Other challenges in the form of strikes are also available and overall, the game offers a huge amount of content and replayability. It is a game which you can truly get hundreds of hours from if you are interested enough in what it offers.
Bungie have also promised addition modes, missions, challenges and other content in the form of future updates and expansions. So, after you have truly played through everything the game has to offer, there will probably be a couple of expansion packs already available to purchase to add more content to your game. Hopefully these expansions will match the quality of the main game and knowing Bungie, I trust they will be.
Overall, Destiny is an exceptional title which delivers most of what Bungie promised in the huge amount of hype surrounding the game. If you choose to invest in this game, you will not be disappointed with what it offers in return. Anyone who is a fan will get more than their money’s worth with the amount of content available in the game. I cannot wait to see what Destiny has to offer going into the future!