Destiny

For Mal
Forum rules
We once roamed the vast forums of Corona Coming Attractions. Some of us had been around from The Before Times, in the Days of Excelsior, while others of us had only recently begun our trek. When our home became filled with much evil, including the villainous Cannot-Post-in-This-Browser and the dreaded Cannot-Log-In, we flounced away most huffily to this new home away from home. We follow the flag of Jubboiter and talk about movies, life, the universe, and everything, often in a most vulgar fashion. All are welcome here, so long as they do not take offense to our particular idiom.
Post Reply
User avatar
Mango
Washer of the Tights - 250 Posts
Washer of the Tights - 250 Posts
Posts: 302
Joined: January 9th, 2014, 10:05 pm

Destiny

Post by Mango »

With all the hype, and having watched a friend play a bit of this, I decided to give Destiny a rent and a good couple of days trial.

I must say that from the onset it had an uphill battle with me: I am not a big fan of online death match (I will play, but prefer co-op or gaming against close friends), I hate Halo (I have played and beaten 2, 3, odst, and reach), and I also dislike games that require a constant internet connection.

First things I quickly created a character by picking one of the three classes, choosing Warlock because I felt magic in a first person shooter would be interesting. I also played as a robot because the choices were: Human, Blue human, and robot. Then I watched a nonsense intro and woke from the dead. I immediately noticed that this game played better than Halo, seemingly possessing weight to the characters movements and weapons that actually feel like you are attempting harm.

And then I began to grind. I had read that the warlock was designed as a glass cannon, weak but possessing powerful ranged abilities. It seemed odd to me that my apparent special abilities were to throw a magic grenade and slap people to make my magic charge faster. Surely being a glass cannon represents a desire to not get up in the thick of it. I later learned that all classes have a special grenade and melee, so no real special ability just a different adjective to basic skills.

I then began to wonder, since each class could use the same guns, how it was that my warlock was meant to have really powerful ranged attacks. I have yet to figure this out, but I will say that armed with a hand cannon I became quite adept at head shots. I don't know if the warlock gets a damage bonus to use guns at range...

I also feel annoyed at my movement ability. I knew that the Titan class received a jetpack and I really, really like jetpacks. But the warlock gets glide. Now gliding can be cool, Batman can glide and he's cool. But Batman has a grapple that allows him to quickly ascend to something he can jump from. I eventually discovered that I could activate my glide on the up-jump and I would jump higher. So really it is less of a glide maneuver and more of a gravity commentator. So if you simply double-tap to jump you can turn a silly two-foot arc into a gentle ten-foot leap. And then I thought I had a handle on why the warlock was a good sniper: just leap up and calmly start sniping from a self-imposed high ground. That idea died the moment I aimed my gun, which turns off glide and sent me careening back towards ground. Later I became really excited as I went to the moon because I wanted to see what kind of jumps I could pull off, but alas the gravity on the moon is the same as anywhere else.

So I had a warlock whose magic was barely more than an adjective and was very fragile and good at shooting guns like everyone else. Also any customization I did was lost the moment I went into combat by the helmet you must wear. You also can not choose a color scheme for your armor and armor modifications have practical effects so you must sacrifice aesthetic for capability. I was really hoping for something more akin to Halo: Reach's armor system. It seems like they didn't really commit towards an artistic vision. You have small ways of identifying yourself, typically meaningless. The big things that define you pretty much just fade together. You are just one of many faceless protagonists fooled into thinking you have an identity.

It's all very much the same. There is a decent shooter inside, but nothing exceptional. It's better than Halo, but has no real personality left over to drive it.
If I were to rate it i'd say it's worth maybe $40. To be honest i'd spend $60 on it if it that was split into $30 a copy so I could play it online with my girlfriend.
But a single copy for $60 bucks is way to much for so much blandness.

I type all this knowing already that it has made mass bank and none of it means a thing.
User avatar
Mal Shot First
Wall of Text Climber - 2500 Posts
Wall of Text Climber - 2500 Posts
Posts: 2731
Joined: January 10th, 2014, 5:05 pm

Re: Destiny

Post by Mal Shot First »

I don't have the hardware required to play the game, but the guys at Penny Arcade, whose opinion on games I generally value, have also had a rather lukewarm response to Destiny. Mike doesn't feel like the game managed to live up to the hype, and phrases like "not hating it as much" and "decent game" don't do much to inspire confidence in its quality. It's also telling that, according to Jerry, the most fun they've had with the game so far actually came from engaging in an exploit that came to be known as the Loot Cave, i.e., from a part of the game that wasn't even supposed to exist as such.

On the other hand, as happened with Halo, they don't see this as the end of Bungie's exploration of the Destiny world. They see a potential in it that would let the game live up to the hype eventually, possibly through DLC or (more likely) through a future installment in the series. But even if it does eventually live up to the hype, the question is whether people will care at that point. Bungie would have to deliver so much more with a future installment than simply meeting the high expectations they themselves had set for the current game.
Corporal_Hicks
Washer of the Tights - 250 Posts
Washer of the Tights - 250 Posts
Posts: 327
Joined: January 12th, 2014, 8:43 pm
Location: Your mom's house

Re: Destiny

Post by Corporal_Hicks »

This is the type of game that I will wait and buy whenever it's on sale for about $30 used.

I love the Halo games (at least Halo's 1, 2, and 3).
User avatar
The Swollen Goiter of God
Postapocalypse Survivor - 7510 Posts
Postapocalypse Survivor - 7510 Posts
Posts: 8905
Joined: January 9th, 2014, 8:46 pm
Location: St. Louis

Re: Destiny

Post by The Swollen Goiter of God »

It's hard to believe used games go for that much. It seems like a lot, but it's also hard to believe they don't go for more. I remember some NES games costing thirty bucks back in the late eighties. And this was at Wal-Mart. Games were even more expensive outside of Wal-Mart.
Corporal_Hicks
Washer of the Tights - 250 Posts
Washer of the Tights - 250 Posts
Posts: 327
Joined: January 12th, 2014, 8:43 pm
Location: Your mom's house

Re: Destiny

Post by Corporal_Hicks »

Destiny (used) at Gamestop right now is $54.99.

It will be well over a year before that drops to $30 (or so).
User avatar
The Swollen Goiter of God
Postapocalypse Survivor - 7510 Posts
Postapocalypse Survivor - 7510 Posts
Posts: 8905
Joined: January 9th, 2014, 8:46 pm
Location: St. Louis

Re: Destiny

Post by The Swollen Goiter of God »

Sheesh. Is there a difference in price between the PS3 and PS4 editions? Is there a big difference in gameplay/visuals?
Corporal_Hicks
Washer of the Tights - 250 Posts
Washer of the Tights - 250 Posts
Posts: 327
Joined: January 12th, 2014, 8:43 pm
Location: Your mom's house

Re: Destiny

Post by Corporal_Hicks »

Price, I believe, is the same across system. I can't speak to the difference in gameplay/visuals. I have not made the jump to Xbox One/PS4. From what I have seen of other games, the gameplay/visuals do not justify the price tag for those systems just yet.
User avatar
The Swollen Goiter of God
Postapocalypse Survivor - 7510 Posts
Postapocalypse Survivor - 7510 Posts
Posts: 8905
Joined: January 9th, 2014, 8:46 pm
Location: St. Louis

Re: Destiny

Post by The Swollen Goiter of God »

I've wondered how that worked. When I was younger, the jump from one generation to the next was a pretty big jump. Atari to NES/Sega Master System? Pretty big jump. 8 bit to 16 bit? Pretty big jump. Cartridge gaming to disc gaming? Another big jump.

PS3 to PS4 barely even seems like an upgrade--at least looking in from the outside. It may make a difference to people with giant, 1080p screens. It might also be that it will make a difference on down the road when the game makers learn how best to tap the potential of the various consoles.
User avatar
Dalty
Vegeta-ble Slicer - 9001 Posts
Vegeta-ble Slicer - 9001 Posts
Posts: 9564
Joined: January 11th, 2014, 5:28 am

Re: Destiny

Post by Dalty »

Used games tend to be dirt cheap over here. 2nd hand BluRay and DVD also go for a song. I have a 2nd hand entertainment exchange at the bottom of my street. It's amazing!
Corporal_Hicks
Washer of the Tights - 250 Posts
Washer of the Tights - 250 Posts
Posts: 327
Joined: January 12th, 2014, 8:43 pm
Location: Your mom's house

Re: Destiny

Post by Corporal_Hicks »

You own a DVD player?
User avatar
Dalty
Vegeta-ble Slicer - 9001 Posts
Vegeta-ble Slicer - 9001 Posts
Posts: 9564
Joined: January 11th, 2014, 5:28 am

Re: Destiny

Post by Dalty »

BluRay player that plays DVDs, and a DVD player in my home office.
Post Reply