Destiny Beta Impressions

"An Alright look at Bungie's New World"

I don't know if I'm at that point in gaming where I look at things in a cynical matter, but after playing the Destiny Beta I'm only slightly impressed at the game. For a beta this was quite in-depth with a fair bit to do and eight bold levels to roll through. Though story wise I hope they add a lot more as we are just thrown into this desolate world of despair and I'd like a bit more than that. Also this whole aspect of who we are as a character which was just more of a hop up and go even though things will be different as we've been dead for so long. The gameplay itself feels like a hybrid Halo Borderlands with character levels coming to play and abilities to earn through pre-determined tech trees. I actually did like the abilities each class presented as I did both Titan and Warlock to see some differences. Bungie does a good job of making them feel individual despite all following the same trek. So in this beta which was very massive in terms of space taking up more than other games we are given The Tower (of power); Earth (Old Russia or well slightly future from now Russia), The Crucible Multiplayer with a Domination type mode and the Moon. To begin going through this I will start with exactly what I did and work my way from there. You start out in Old Russia which is a rusting hell hole essentially. After many kills later you may have levelled to gain abilities or are progressing through a chain of stories. These often had you going through old areas into new spots which was a good nod to Bungie's great use of level space. Just at a certain point all these missions felt the same in terms of environmental space and just killing the same enemy waves by myself or with randoms that walked by. Eventually we all just started dancing as that was a big thing going on wherever. Dancing in the battlefield, dancing in multiplayer or dancing at the Tower. So we get to this magical guardian tower which everyone or selections of people gather to trade things off. It's got all your selling places and level places so you get the point if you have ever played an MMO. Also lots of dancing and a neat Soccer Ball Easter Egg chilling there. You get more missions and go back to good old Russia from here which was just grand. While doing all this you will swap out armour, weapons and other unique items as you progress as with many RPGs to that design which crafted a more unique player. This also brings me to character customization which I liked, but desire more changes even if you only see them at the tower.

It was at this point while finishing further quests at the same place that I went forward into the Crucible which is the multiplayer aspect. I was greatly surprised at the balance here as everyone's classes and weapons should have conflicted. It ran smoothly and I captured flag rings on Venus, Earth or the Moon and I never did venture to the Mars one. There was just some spark missing though from this and I hope they have other game modes with a little more variety as this type of shooter has been done so many times before. Even taking our items with us to PVP didn't make it feel any more interesting, then we danced. We were also treated with going to the Moon which I barely got into and at that point when I got on there I thought it was cool. Though it didn't have any different vibe than being on Earth except it was grey and had a cool backdrop of space. Even the quests didn't vary much from before. I get this is a small taste of the full game coming in September, I just can't see everlasting hours of gameplay which I had dreamed of in the past. It's just not there and sure I'll have a max character and a side one eventually as I play, but will it keep me entertained both times. Trust is as always with Bungie to pull off an amazing game, am just wondering if it will be grand enough to draw me from playing other titles. With the beta I've got my exclusive item and a view of the game, hopefully you did as well with that open access, follow the site for the future review of Destiny.

Destiny Beta Livestream
Destiny Soccer Ball Easter Egg

Impressions Made on Xbox One during Beta