Tom Powter with some thoughts and impressions on the Destiny beta…
Every so often, a game comes along that threatens to change the landscape. A game that takes tired and worn-out genres and offers to revitalise them and turn them into something fresh.
Destiny wants to be that game.
Destiny, the latest science-fiction epic to come from fabled studio Bungie, is an ambitious game, yet it also treads familiar ground. In the lead up to the recent beta and subsequent release, Destiny has suffered from some serious identity issues – what kind of a game is it? Is it basically Halo re-skinned? Bungie call it a ‘shared-world shooter’. It’s their way of attempting to deflect attempts at categorising the game as an MMO, while still emphasising the fact that you do see other real-world players running around, doing their thing. It’s a very cool selling point, if difficult to pull off completely.
Destiny puts you in, well, the shoes of your very own Guardian. Choose one of three races: Human, Awoken (basically glowing, blue humans) and the mechanical Exo (by far the most inspired design of the three) and then select a class to base your character around – Hunter, Titan or Warlock. Like the different races, the different classes don’t change up the gameplay all that much depending on which one you’ve chosen, and that’s okay. That’s not the kind of game Destiny is trying to be. From there, you can create and customise their look from a deceptively robust character creation screen before heading out into the mysterious beyond.
Now, when I say that it’s alright that the classes don’t change up the gameplay much, I say that because that isn’t Bungie’s vision. It’s not in their interest to create yet another RPG-heavy MMO and just throw a few guns in. Destiny is attempting to change the game – it’s trying to be a sublime fusion of first person shooter and role-playing game. For someone who finds the typical combat found in MMOs like World of Warcraft to be dull, Destiny’s satisfying and fun shooting mechanics make the standard RPG grind that much more bearable. The RPG elements are there of course, from the character creation to the class system – of which can be broken down into a number of level-specific subclasses and skill trees – but they are light at best. Yet this isn’t an issue. Truly, they supplement and add a new level of depth to the solid and refined shooting that Bungie are so good at, and so famous for.
Having played the PS4 exclusive First Look Alpha, Destiny’s beta was perhaps a more subdued affair for me. There wasn’t as much content to keep me busy as I had hoped there would be – yet Bungie has cleverly left me wanting more, with a sneak peek into what comes after. What the beta added however was much needed context. What’s going on in this strange, beautiful world? Who am I and why am I important? A question so pivotal to a game with its roots in the MMO space. Destiny subverts the chosen one trope by having you be one of a number of Guardians tasked with saving the destroyed galaxy from the ever-encroaching Darkness. Some great voice-acting and character modelling help to make the narrative stand out that bit more – what we do know, intrigues.
The Traveller, a peculiar white sphere, has found Earth and now sits above it in stasis, watching and silently protecting. Meanwhile, The Darkness approaches, its forces ravaging Earth and many other planets in our Solar System. It’s a broad tale certainly, but has impressive scope for some in-depth lore, for those who get truly suckered into what Destiny’s world has to offer. And indeed, Destiny’s world is already offering a mouth-watering amount. Destiny is a beautiful game – Old Russia, Earth’s single ‘destination’, is a land gilded in rust, where the orange hues of sunset bounce off of the discarded relics that lie dormant from centuries past. It’s actually a fascinating setting – in a game where space travel is a simple affair, its novel to see spacecraft from our own time just sitting in their docks, never to be used.
The Tower meanwhile, is the hub that you’ll spend a fair bit of time in. While it’s an unfortunately sparse place (probably due in part to lack of in-game trade systems, professions and auction houses), it’s still a well-crafted location with a stunning view of The Traveller. Not only that, but when The Tower is populated by ten, fifteen Guardians, you really get that feeling that you might just be playing an MMO. Speaking of beautiful scenery by the way, Destiny’s vistas are some of the most impressive I’ve ever seen, with vivid, colourful skies that present an interesting contrast to the dead lands beneath them. Lime green lights float high above, before being replaced by a brazened orange as dusk sets. Blasting about Old Russia’s Cosmodrome on your speeder and simply watching the world go by is a sight to behold.
There’s plenty to do, even in the beta. Old Russia serves as your story location, as you and up to two others can form a Fireteam and traverse the wilds together, taking down the intelligent Fallen and monstrous Hive enemies as you go. A Strike mission, where you and your friends push through a series of bosses to reach the final one, once again evokes that MMO feeling of going through an instance. Considering the game’s heavy Halo inspiration, achieving such a feeling is impressive and perhaps evidence that Bungie might be able to pull off the hybridisation they desire. The Cosmodrome allows for exploration and completion of missions and in-game bounties, all of which feeds you XP towards levelling. The level cap, 8 in the beta and 20 in the full game, might seem low to some, but it’s clear Bungie has a plan. I personally found 8 easy to reach and did so in a few hours of playing story missions.
While the majority of what was on offer here could be found in the alpha, Bungie did satiate us for a mere two hours by opening up The Moon, which seems to be the players’ second point of call in the story. The Moon is a truly stunning location, with bone white rocks and popping textures as far as the eye can see. An ominous, sickly green mist emanates from the satellite’s core – traversing it will net you some rewards, but also force you to face off against numerous Hive foes (especially Wizards, of course, since that’s where they come from!) It was on The Moon that I first thought the Bungie artists really got a chance to use their fantasy setting to flex their muscles. Intimidating black gates that look like they’ve been ripped straight out of Mordor itself are just the beginning of a trip into the murky unknown. I can’t wait to go back and that’s where Destiny succeeds.
The scope of Destiny’s PvE is truly enormous – with numerous planets available at launch, including Venus and Mars. It promises to keep gamers busy for a long time with a diverse range of endgame content, though what that truly entails is yet to be seen. What took me most however during my short stay with the beta wasn’t just the astounding graphics, nor the spine-tingling soundtrack, or even the gunplay, which is on-point and as near perfect as you can hope for on a console with each bullet landing with a satisfying thud in your enemies’ bodies. No, it was the attention to detail that really impressed me. The little things. There’s just so much to do – ranging from the cosmetic, such as scouring the world for Glimmer (Destiny’s money) to buy a cooler ship or decked out speeder, to the public events that occur every so often, forcing roaming players to band together in their time of need. Yes, even the silly – dancing with a group of fellow Guardians in the vast plains of The Forgotten Shore, as the sun sets on the silky waters. It’s just all so much. Bungie are trying their absolute best to craft a fully realised world here and they’re succeeding.
Of course if PvE doesn’t do it for you, Bungie have included a fun, expansive PvP system into Destiny called The Crucible. Only one mode was available to me for the majority of the beta – Control. Essentially a form of Domination, the game mode sees 12 players face off in a 6 versus 6 match to capture and hold zones to score points. The gameplay is frenetic and enjoyable, with Bungie’s typical shooter mechanics shining through. Guns are varied and interesting, though it is notable that whatever gear you’ve accrued through your time in PvE carries over – so bring your best.
It’s also here in PvP where you’ll really begin to take note of the subtle class differences – playing as a Hunter affords you a considerably better jump than the other two, making you more agile overall. Yet your super move, the Golden Gun, only allows you three shots with a pistol. In comparison, the Warlock’s Nova Bomb is essentially a chance to nuke a small area with a black hole, wiping out everybody nearby. The different classes offer variety, but also an occasional imbalance. While Bungie have done their best to level the playing field (going so far as to disable level advantages completely), that imbalance will always be there, be it through class choice or gear equipped.
Where The Crucible really shines however is the maps on offer. Only four are playable in the beta (with two of them locked behind the temporary Iron Banner playlist, which activates level advantages in exchange for better loot). First Light, which takes place on The Moon, is the stand out map of the four. Offering something more akin to its Halo ancestor, First Light is a larger map that also incorporates vehicles into the mix – the extremely Ghost-esque speeder, the Pike and the brutal, overpowered tank known as the Interceptor. Though they spawn at lengthy intervals, anyone who gets an Interceptor and can drive somewhat competently is likely to get a huge kill boost, though Bungie have confirmed they will try to balance it more for the full release of the game. Venus’ Shores of Time is also an excellent map, with close quarters combat on the cards as you battle through a strange, jungle like territory, full of futuristic ruin and tangible humidity.
Meanwhile, Rusted Lands on Earth offers a more straight-foward map, with well-placed vantage spots and tight battle spaces, while Blind Watch on Mars is a winding array of claustrophobic tunnels and open, sandy battlegrounds. Multiple doors and tiers make Blind Watch one of the more intricate maps to play on. All in all the maps on offer are excellent and diverse.
There’s a lot to be said for what Bungie is attempting to achieve with Destiny. I began my preview by saying that Destiny was attempting to change the landscape. It’s taking the tired old formula of the first person shooter and the RPG and mixing them together – an idea not new, granted, but damn near perfected. Both the shooting elements and the RPG ones are somewhat light, but blended together they compliment each other almost so well that I’ll find it difficult to go back to a multiplayer shooter where I’m not levelling up to earn awesome gear for my character, where my class doesn’t offer me an interesting perk in the heated midst of battle.
The PvE sections have yet to be thoroughly explored – Bungie are keeping an understandably tight lid on everything Destiny will have to offer when it drops on September 9th – but the world out there can be seen through a lens and it looks stunning. Earth and The Moon are just the beginning of a wild adventure. What better way to explore the universe than to do it with others running around as well. The novelty of seeing other players going about their business has yet to be lost on me. The graphics, sound design and fluid gameplay of Destiny are all leading to something impressive. While the game has suffered an incredulous amount of hype, as well as controversy over a potentially worrying lack of release date content, Bungie are doing everything in their power to reassure gamers that this is a world they want to be a part of.
All things aside, I’ve learned many things from this beta. Sure, the PvP is unbalanced at times and yes, it seems like the story might not last as long as everybody had hoped. However, Destiny and, by extension, Bungie, are setting out to try something fresh and exciting and they’re pulling it off. I can’t wait to dive in on the 9th with two of my friends and just explore. See the stars. Wade through Mars’ dunes, push through Venus’ jungles. Make sure you’re there too, Guardians. It’s an inter-galactic event not to be missed.
Destiny will be released on PS4, PS3, Xbox One and Xbox 360 on September 9th.
Tom Powter
