Destiny – A Retrospective Review

A few weeks back, I published a piece discussing whether or not Destiny was worth buying – and ultimately determining that it was best to make your own conclusions about the game. Shortly after I wrote that article, I traveled to a neighboring city, where I stayed at a friend’s place. She happened to have a copy of Destiny…so I booted up her PS4 and gave it a try.

Shortly after returning home, I purchased a PlayStation 4 for myself. Currently, the only games I own on it are Destiny, Shadow of Mordor, and a smattering of free titles I acquired through PlayStation Plus. And you know what? For the time being, they’re all I need.

Long story short, Destiny is awesome. Certainly, it has its problems – and I’ll discuss them in this piece. That said; I don’t even remotely regret my purchase.

There’s a lot to like about Destiny. The voice-acting is top-notch(save perhaps for Peter Dinklage’s role as Ghost; it’s a bit hit and miss), the graphics are beautiful, and the music is some of the best I’ve heard in any game. Not only that, the mechanics are all extremely polished – playing Destiny feels a lot like playing Halo. Pretty much every weapon is satisfying in its own way; shotguns feel like close-ranged powerhouses and rocket launchers cause widespread devastation.

Similarly, guardian powers serve to differentiate between the different ‘classes’ without causing too wide a power gulf. Every class has its own unique ‘feel’ and set of powers – though save for the Crucible, the game isn’t really about PvP anyway. It’s more of a co-operative first-person MMO.

Speaking of the Crucible, the game’s competitive multiplayer is actually pretty fun – though even with the recent patch, Bungie has a little ways to go before everything is totally balanced.

Now, this game does have its problems. There’s a relative dearth of end-game content, and the servers have the occasional tendency to get a little spotty. Boss battles also tend to drag out a little, as Bungie makes liberal use of bullet sponges. Still, all that stuff is more or less part and parcel for an MMO – particularly one that’s still so close to launch.

See, I think that’s where a lot of people are kind of confused – this isn’t solely a shooter. It’s more a fusion of Borderlands, Halo, and World of Warcraft. While that means it has many of the strengths of each title, it’s also saddled with a lot of their weaknesses.

Take from that what you will.

At any rate, I think I’ve rambled enough. Destiny’s a pretty awesome FPS MMO, but if you’re not the type of person who’s into MMORPGs, it’s probably not going to be your cup of tea. As for me? I’m gonna be playing this one for quite some time.