My first game review turns out to be a pretty monumental one, at least for me. I've played quite a few video games throughout my life, beginning with a Super Nintendo that my parents bought my sisters and I for Christmas upon release, moving on to the Nintendo 64, Xbox, and then the Xbox 360. Most of the games I play now are ones that I used to play when I was younger - the blast of nostalgia is more fun to me than playing something fresh and new. So it's pretty rare that I play something entirely new that isn't already a part of a larger series. But Destiny, a game released by Bungie and Activision on September 19 of this year, takes a break from my usual formula, as it is an entirely new stand-alone title.When I was given my first Xbox as a gift for Christmas, one of the first games I ever played for it was Halo: Combat Evolved, a game created by Bungie. I can't remember exactly how many hours I logged into Halo; since I didn't have other people to play it with, I only had the single-player story to go through. But the story alone was what kept me entranced. Master Chief, the silent protagonist, became such a stoic figure in my mind, that I just couldn't put the game down. Every day after school I would run to the television, turn on the Xbox, and fight my way through hoards of alien Covenant. Even after I had finished the story once, I came back again and again just to replay, going through the awesome environments and re-experiencing the rewarding gameplay. After Halo: CE, Bungie released Halo 2 and Halo 3, games that I enjoyed just as much as the first. But after the Halo trilogy came to an end (and I'm not counting Halo: Reach, Halo: ODST, or Halo Anniversary, as those were spinoff titles that I barely played), Bungie sold the rights of the Halo series to 343 Industries, who created Halo 4 without any development from Bungie. And while Halo 4 still held some of the same entertainment value as 1, 2, and 3, it just didn't feel the same to me. So when Bungie announced Destiny, their first game since the Halo series, I was understandably excited.
Destiny is something I think a lot of gamers have been pretty excited about ever since news of its development. Bungie's first entirely new project since Halo, Destiny was hyped up to be a blend of multiple genres, including first-person shooter, role-playing game, and massively-multiplayer online. I've seen a lot of reviews that have been negative toward Destiny for that reason, dissing it for having an "identity crisis" as it borrows elements from all of these genres and shares aspects with other games of those types, but doesn't really bring anything new to the table. However, from what I've seen, Destiny does more with its borrowed elements than what most other games do with established elements of their own singular genre.
Overall, Destiny is a pretty good game. It probably doesn't live up to the excitement that I know a lot of people had for it: a friend of mine told me he was expecting the multiplayer function to be a lot larger. But to me, the game seems pretty well-rounded, even if it doesn't seem to fit into one particular genre. The multiplayer aspect certainly isn't massive, but I think that adds more to the game than if it were more expansive. For most missions, you can have up to two other players join your party, keeping missions smaller and more connected. I think if the party size were any larger, things would get a little out of hand. The game focuses on killing enemies to gain experience, different weapons and gear, and to level up. With two other players, the game evenly distributes the enemies to defeat, and the gear being dropped. I already had a hard time getting kills that weren't being stolen by my team mates on a smaller team; had the teams been any larger, it would have been easy to sit back and let other people do all the work. But by only having smaller teams, gamers also need to work together more in order to progress through the level, ensuring that no player is just tagging along with little effort. While kills were being stolen, I also probably wouldn't have been able to survive if they hadn't been there to work together with me. The smaller team creates a better sense of community, and a better sense of satisfaction.
Another common complaint I've heard has been that the story falls a little flat. I haven't completed the story yet myself, so most of what I have to judge it by is things I've heard second-hand. But personally, the game play is strong enough that I know I will want to play again; I've already started a second character to experience a second playable character class, and I want to see the cool gear that Warlocks can obtain instead of Hunters. I am a little disappointed knowing that the story may not be the best, but as long as the game keeps up with enjoyable game play, I'm pretty satisfied. The graphics are amazing, everything from environments to textures to the little decals on weapons looks realistic and detailed in HD. Every time I unlock a new playable map I can't wait to drop into the first mission to see what the new land looks like.
I think my only complaint would be the voice acting. Some of the voices sound a little bored, and the one-liners by Ghost, your flying companion voiced by Peter Dinklage (Tyrion Lannister on Game of Thrones), just don't seem to fit the almost desperate feel of an environment that is being threatened with elimination by alien forces. It made me feel detached from the game a little, which prevented me from enjoying the game as much as I would have otherwise. But overall, Destiny has more than proven itself as a wonderful new title, and I can not wait to see what the sequels, and extra content have in store.
