Destiny Review in Progress

Destiny is finally here. After what seems like an eternity, Bungie’s first game post-Halo has arrived, and we’ll be covering it in a big way all week on VideoGamer.com.

You’ll find our Destiny live stream right here, as well as regular updates from Steve Burns as he works through the game for our review. At the end of the week you can also expect a special Destiny podcast, with the VG crew sharing their thoughts on the game.

If you’ve got questions, post in the comments below.

Destiny Review Update

Steve’s taken a bit of a break from Destiny over the weekend, claiming that having played it for an entire week has led him to ‘see control points in his dreams’ and wonder why he ‘can’t double-jump in reality’. He’s back on it now though, and the final review will be up on Wednesday afternoon, after the new raids go live and he has a chance to play them.

Destiny Day Four Impressions – Steve Burns

Now we’re getting somewhere. “Somewhere”, of course, being near level 20 (18, currently). Yesterday I spent most of my time with Destiny’s PVP, which I touched on briefly before. Having spent a few more hours shooting/punching/grenading people to death, I’m starting to really enjoy it (who knew?). A lack of modes is one concern, as is a lack of maps (or, more accurately, I seem to be playing the same few maps in rotation). That said, there’s a perhaps unsurprising level of quality to proceedings: gunplay is excellent, with encounters reliably favouring skill rather than who shot first; teamwork is encouraged even when not strictly enforced, and the maps cater well for the Guardian’s different powers, with various choke points and running routes to exploit.

It’s a welcome break from the grind of the campaign. With two levels to go, I’m looking forward to seeing how (if) Destiny opens up.

Destiny Day Three Impressions – Steve Burns

My third day with Destiny was a marked improvement on the previous two, and not just because I had a dance-off with a fireteam member that ended with me running and jumping off the tower. Instead, it’s down to the game opening up somewhat. Mars has provided some excellent team-based moments (mainly based on the topography of the place enabling good sniping spots), and its enemies make it feel like the best Warhammer 40K game of all time.

But it’s in the ‘patrol’ exploration stages where things have changed the most. No longer chained to the missions, I can just drive my Sparrow around the environments, checking out the (superb) art direction. Granted, there are still enemies waiting to kill or be killed, and as of now I can’t really affect the planet in any way other than shooting it, but it’s a start. Now: more PVP.

Destiny Day Two Impressions – Steve Burns

Day 2 of Destiny was when I expected the game to, if not actually hit its stride, at least look like it was attempting to do so. To open up and get away from the linearity and repetition found before. Instead, it has thrown up more concerns.

After playing for most of the working day I’m now level 14, with a few PVP games under my belt and having partaken in Strike Missions with some random players. I’ve also invited fellow VideoGamer staff to my fireteam in an attempt to inject something fresh into the experience. And yet still the experience is underwhelming. I said yesterday on the impressions video that what seemed missing was a sense of adventure, something that not even having friends running around with you can alleviate. You’re dropped in, you kill, you drop out. You’re not a grand space Guardian saving the universe, you’re a grunt doing what you’re told, over and over again.

Which wouldn’t be so bad if the set-pieces were phenomenal, or the enemy types varied. Neither is the case as of yet. I’ve killed so many Dregs and Vandals I’m fairly sure I’m wanted for genocide. As stated, the shooting is excellent, and firefights are strategic, exciting, and tense. But if the wrapping around them is already starting to fade, if it feels like I’m re-running old areas when I should be wondering if I can climb that Venusian mountain, then we’re in trouble.

The game tells me I’m evolving, growing stronger and faster. It tells me the game is evolving, by broadening my (planetary) horizons. But I don’t feel that way. I feel like I’m double jumping to victory against the same enemies I was in hour two. PVP is fun, but Destiny still has a lot of work to do.

Destiny Day One Impressions – Steve Burns

Destiny went live at 1:01pm yesterday. By 5:30 that same afternoon, having played quite a few missions and levelled my character up to 6, I was starting to think: is this it?

That may be slightly unfair, but it’s true. Destiny’s production values are incredible: touching down on the moon for the first time and seeing Earth is a superb moment, and it’s a beautiful game both technically and artistically. Its gunplay is satisfying, too, lending it a compulsive element that can’t be denied. But by only the fourth hour mission fatigue had set in: there just didn’t seem to be that many unique quests to take on, and the loop started to become all too obvious.

Some caveats: firstly, yesterday’s session was based upon mostly single-player experience. This doesn’t necessarily render it irrelevant as the game can be played that way, but it’s obviously a Fireteam-focused title. Also, no PvP was undertaken.

So it remains to be seen just how the addition of some friends improves matters: knowing video games in general, the answer is ‘massively’. That said, Destiny is still going to need to raise its game in the coming hours, as there can only be so many times I can deploy the Dinklebot while shooting hordes of enemies before it really tires.

Destiny Guides, tips, and tricks

Destiny General Tips and Tricks

Destiny Classes Beginner’s Guide – An Overview

Destiny multiplayer: A guide to the Crucible

Destiny guide – the quickest way to level up using Bounties