Actually playing a game when it first releases is still something unusual for me. I either don't want to spend the full price (they always get cheaper) or I don't feel like I can give it enough time right away to make it worthwhile. Destiny was a game I decided to make an exception for in a big way.In a case of terminal impulsiveness, I jumped in with both feet and got the $150 Ghost edition with Release Day shipping. Was it worth it? Well, most of the "stuff" in the Ghost edition is also available in the Limited Edition (which goes for $100), so you're basically paying $50 for the little Peter Dinklage voiced, plastic Ghost module (or as it's called, the Dinkle-bot). From the standpoint of ultra-geekiness, it was worth it. From any practical standpoint, no, not really. It's heavier than it looks, is rechargeable (but without an indication of when it's "full"), and can either be set to just be "on" (lights only), or set to lights and sound (ie, Ghost voice). It activates by sensor so it needs to be in front of a light source. When the light source is "dimmed" (by someone walking in front of it), it activates. I don't know how many phrases it says, but I hear the same one ("This place is amazing!") a lot. It also makes a sort of lightsaber noise that gets really annoying after about the third time you hear it.
But that's just a toy. What about the game?
Well, I like the premise of the game; Earth is visited by a benevolent sphere called The Traveler who brings vast technological advancement to humans but at the price of being the next victims of the things that have been tracking it. You play a resurrected Guardian who is tasked with fighting back against the forces of darkness called...The Darkness. Oh, how imaginative. And that's about all the story you get. From there it's mostly just a series of firefights first on Earth, then onto the Moon, Venus and Mars. Since Bungie pretty much created the sci-fi shooter genre with Halo, the game looks and plays great. There's just not much holding the battles together. So far, I've played three missions (I know, not much) and they were a matter of fighting to a "boss zone" (ie, no respawn if you die mid-battle) through similar enemies. As this is a multi-player game, I saw other real players in my areas, but I couldn't talk to them. They could shoot some of the guys trying to shoot me, but that was about it.
There's upgrades and "loot" like an MMO, but I think the thing that will keep me coming back is getting to hear more Peter Dinklage.
**Update #1** - After talking to a Gamestop guy, I found out that the class I chose, Hunter, is basically a "thief" class and that I should probably pick the Titan (ie, fighter) class if I'm going to play solo. So, I restarted last night and played the first couple of missions again. It was easier, but I think it was mostly because I knew the game mechanics better, not that my character was more suited to combat. What did strike me was how shallow the story is and how some of the stuff we see in-game makes no sense.
According to the intro, Earth was visited by the Traveler and what followed was CENTURIES of "golden times" where we built cities on other planets and started to explore the stars. So, I ask you...why does my character start in an area that looks like it's from a slightly updated Fallout 3 set? Rusted cars? Crumbling freeway overpasses? Why are there still relics of these Twentieth Century technologies? And the Cosmodrome? It would be as antique as the Egyptian pyramids are now!
Well, I'm going to do the next mission and see how well I'm prepared for the one after that since it was the one that made me rage-quit the other night. If playing as a Titan isn't any better, I will probably chuck Destiny aside at least until they do a better job of making a single player game worth playing. In the meantime, I'd rather play Uncharted 2, Diablo 3 or try Skylanders! Teaches me for buying the "Balls of Destiny" edition!
**Update #2** - Well, I have to say that last night was the first time I played Destiny and enjoyed myself. And I think a lot of that comes from knowing what to expect from the game and knowing what it isn't going to provide. I realize now that Destiny is a pretty, shiny Faberge Egg...with nothing inside and for that, we have the current gaming environment to blame.
Bungie wanted to make a game that would play well on Twitch streams and be picked up for televised gaming events. The idea of futuristic worlds that you could explore and a meaningful story to experience was entirely secondary, at best. This game has as much single player focus as Left 4 Dead. You never get to name your characters, you can't see in numbers how much experience you have, and any interaction with NPC's takes you out of the environment you meet them in (sort of like interviewing someone against a blank wall). Plus, grinding (ie, playing over the same areas to gain experience points from repetitive kills) is mandatory if you are solo. Bounties, extra jobs that you can get at The Tower, are nothing but "number of this" kinds of things with no overlaying story elements. While visually stunning, the battlefields have almost no interactive elements save for a few rolling cans. Nothing can be shot up or broken.
All of these shortcuts are the result of Bungie looking at the gaming-space and realizing that...crap, this is all gamers seem to care about these days! They don't want deep story (seen anyone play Mass Effect competitively?). They want to use their own names to show off their skills. They don't need fancy RPG style game mechanics - just give me the goods and let me get back to fragging me some noobs!
So, once I let this paradigm settle over me, I was finally at peace with what my Destiny experience will be and I started to have some fun. I'll play it from time to time, but not in a manner that will frustrate me. There's very little chance I'll ever finish Destiny since I don't enjoy multi-player games. Some leveling and the occasional mission will be nice. Right now I'm looking forward to my first trip to the Moon. Funny, but I sort of feel like Fry from one of the first Futurama episodes. There's still that little kid in me that remembers the first moon landing.
**Update #3** - And now I feel a lot like Fry did in that episode - disillusioned! Bungie, could you have at least tried to make a believable game around your mindless shooter? Ok, maybe that's too harsh, but imagine my disappointment when I get to the moon and a) it looks like there's atmosphere because of the blue haze on the horizon, and b) the gravity is exactly the same as it is on Earth instead of the 1/6th it should be. I "suppose" that the lore of this game could have included a section where The Traveler gave humanity the ability to change the mass of the Moon. It would have increased it's gravitational constant so it could sustain an atmosphere but without disrupting it's orbit around the Earth. If so, it's never mentioned anywhere, but I think it was done just to make the game design easier.
As an aside, I managed to find my copy of GameInformer from last year that covered Destiny in a 14 page cover article. I'm very interested to see what the writers said about it long before it came out. With three "under-delivering" triple-A IP's this year (Titanfall, Watch_Dogs, and Destiny), a lot of people have been pointing fingers at the gaming media for raising our expectations in service to their corporate advertisers. Frankly, I don't like to think in such conspiratorial ways - too depressing. I just want to compare what the media primed us for that might have not been delivered with the final game. In the case of Destiny, any emphasis on a promised "deep story" is going to be highly suspect.
After visiting the Moon (and dying repeatedly, but deservedly - I knew I wasn't ready), I went back and tried the mission I had so much trouble with before. This time I made it through, but I must have fought off two dozen Fallen in the process. Yes, this would be a lot easier with help, but I don't have anyone to party (ie, Fire Team) with. On the way to the objective, I ran into a level 3 character who was having some problems and helped out as best I could by flanking his attackers. It felt good to help out another player, but there was no way for us to communicate and team up. Or if there is, I don't know what it is because the game hasn't told me.
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