Destiny First Impressions – The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

CraveOnline: "As you may have heard, Bungie refused to hand out pre-release copies of Destiny to journalists, with the developer claiming that this would lead to reviews that were unrepresentative of its new FPS/MMO/RPG hybrid..."

[acharlez]

A whole lotta good!

[PONTIAC08G8GT]

I played the BETA and played the actual game now for about 3 hours. Although I am not bored in anyway, I'm not anxiously waiting to play it again. Certain games you play, go to bed, go to work or wherever and just can't wait to get home and play some more, this game just isn't doing it for me. Is it good? Yes. Is it the best game ever? No. I can't see myself playing this game into 2015. I feel like it's Borderlands but with nicer graphics. The variety of guns is disappointing. Having 2 guns look identical and just have a damage difference isn't that great. Lot's of back tracking. Inability to trade items (that I know of). Not being able to buy shaders until level 20 makes no sense to me. And each area, although open world, basically has a linear path to follow. I wish the environments were somewhat destructible. MP isn't really exciting in my eyes. But it's nice having a new game to play with a couple friends. I just dont think this is the "next gen/must have" that everyone's claimed it to be.

[BattleTorn]

I agree with how describe it, but I love it! It's exactly what I wanted.

I couldn't care less that many many people seem to share your opinion.

[buttclown]

I would say that is a pretty similar opinion I have with Destiny. I like to play it, even more so with friends but never get the itch to play it. It has gotten a little better the higher level I have gotten but not much.

Still not a fail to me though as I went into this game with realistic expectations.

[1nsomniac]

The clear vast majority agree with you. The paid media & fanboys however will completely ignore all truth & blindly fight to the death over their keyboards before disappearing & coming back later when the game has long gone & forgotten about.

[Magnes]

It's a great game to play with friends. I always wished I could play halo with friends in a more persistent world this is it. They even threw in instances wow.

[Lightning Mr Bubbles]

Game is probably crap, that's why they kept reviews away during launch. That way they can at least cash in on the hype before people see the truth.

[UltraNova]

So from where I m standing after reading a lot of pre-review opinions and having played it for a couple hours at a friends place, Destiny is a very good online game focused on co-op raids. Its story is lackluster and the single p part is a bit stale. It combines elements from many games like Diablo, Borderlands etc yet it doesn't innovate as much as its half billion budget suggests.

I cant help but wonder if this game wasn't hyped to the far reaches of the solar system if it was going to make its money back which lets face it other similar games would straggle to break even.

However ,there's no denying the fact that it has legs as it has Bungie's and Activision's support for the next 10 years. Who knows in 5 years time after constant updates, tweaks and expansions Destiny could be the next WOW but for now its simply a good online raid game nothing more nothing less.

[anwe]

I feel exactly the same. I patiently waited for the game to launch, and after playing the beta I knew exactly what I was getting. I'm finding myself disinterested, and have very little desire to play it.

[joydestroy]

yeah i have to agree. i was hoping for a bit more from the game. it needs a little more variety, esp for leveling. as far as i can tell, you can't earn more XP after completing a mission. i think that needs to be changed so you can at least get the difference of XP between normal and hard if you decide to go back and play one on hard.

[ITPython]

Well I for one am really enjoying the game, and I am anxious to jump back in to level up my guardian and get some more loot!

Got to level 5 pretty quick in one night, took me longer in the beta to get to that level if I recall correctly. Although since the first part of the game is exactly what it was in the beta (more or less) and since I know where things are and how things work, it makes sense I would level faster. Still very fun though, can't wait to pass level 8 and get past level 6 on the missions! As that is when the experience will become new for me since that was the beta's cut-off point.

Although one thing that has me a little down is there isn't as many people in the public areas as I was hoping for. Maybe that is because I am still at a really low level, I dunno. The most I saw last night at Earth social was around 5 people in the roster list and typically there was 2 or 3, which is almost a ghost town. But I hope they work it out so there are tons of people in each public place, as that is a big part of what makes Destiny so fun and engaging is the idea that we are all in the same universe gaming alongside eachother in real-time.

[JonnyBigBoss]

There's definitely a big difference between playing socially and solo. In that sense, it reminds me of an MMO.

[n4rc]

Huge..

Really enjoying this game coop. Just finished my first strike and it was a blast..

PvP is a turd tho.. IMO.. Perhaps they will balance it out a bit

[ThatOneGuyThere]

PVP sucks if you're low level. Im not going back into it until im level 20

[ChronoJoe]

Doesn't make much difference in PVP once your past level 5 or so. When you have all of your core abilities within the weapon balancing playlist it really doesn't make any difference regarding what gear you have.

For example, in the crusible, a level 20 shotgun, and a level 3 shotgun both do the same amount of damage.

[n4rc]

Ya it's just more then simple DMg stats..

For instance.. Some weapons are just better then others.. My grenade only does half the damage as some other guy simply due to the type of nade I choose in pve (mine has drones for instance).. Or the hunters gold gun seems at a huge disadvantage vs the ground smash or whatever (unless you have killer aim, but I'm speaking generally)

Plus I believe stuff like fire rate can still drastically effect a PvP outcome even if they technically do the same dmg per shot..

They need to do a lot of tweaking and balancing still IMO. That's what I meant

[g4n]

"unlike most RPGs/MMOs Destiny only really gets started when you reach that cap, as that’s what you can go on Raids with your friends and begin to unlock some of the game’s best loot."

Stopped reading. This is going to be the biggest problem for this game. MANY FPSer out there have NEVER played an MMORPG. Name ONE MMO out there where the game does not start until end game.

[b00mFargl3]

I think they are trying to say it like games comparable to how Diablo III is. You really get going past level 70 and the options that open with more of a focuc on gear, abilities and advanced game modes such as rifts or bounties. Destiny's raid system and other modes become available after end game and level cap to give you a lot more to do with your friends.

[nutcrackr]

I want to say Guild Wars, but honestly it's not an mmo and the missions / starter areas are probably the best part of the game. Guild wars is a good example of a game that has good content up to 20 and beyond it.

[Magnes]

@g4n Well than we can't go trying anything new then can we...

[ChronoJoe]

DCUO doesn't start until end-game to be honest. A lot of people argue that games like Diablo don't start until end-game either.

It's just an expression though, it means the real depth, and crux of the experience isn't present until end-game, and that's true for a lot of MMO RPGs. Don't take it so literally.

[Loktai]

I think its exactly what I expected from playing the Alpha and Beta.... content will come as it gets old, I Dont expect to play the game 8 hours a day for 10 years but I'll probably play it to death and come back for the new content as its released. Its worth the price of admission , just an opinion.

[Wedge19]

I'm loving most aspects of it so far.

[amuadiv]

Playing with my buddy for a few hs has so far been a blast.
Could use a few more on the friends list to play Co op feel free to add me up

[mo241]

You play on ps 4 right?
ofcourse you are this is n4g.

What is your psn name?

[ThatOneGuyThere]

"of course you are this is planet earth" fixed it for you.

[mo241]

k

[Einhert]

Only has 10 hours of story content and 6 raids.

Only people saying its great are trying to ride out the hype train and justify the £50 scoop.

[cr33ping_death]

And you havent tried it so how do you know how others feel about it? Oh wait you have one bubble never mind

[the_mack_attack3]

Apply water to burned area!

[16bitNutritionist]

I paid £39 for mine thank you very much....

[KONAAs]

well. i only got it becaus ei wanted the white ps4, ohh boy am i gona go trade it in tomorrow as soon as best buy opens up

[turdburgler1080]

I'm glad I bought diablo 3 before this. If I get to level 20 and it turns out that bungie was lying about it "opening up" it's back to hell rifts for me and this game will promptly find itself deleted from my hard drive never to return. So far all the bosses have been nothing but boring damage sponges with waves of enemies thrown in to compensate for bungies poor boss designs. You can sit there and blast away at them for twenty minutes before they die. It's just poorly thought out.

[Gardenia]

I bought Diablo 3 as well and I don't feel the need to buy Destiny. If it's about loot and making the strongest character(s) then Diablo is far superior than Destiny, even though they are both different kind of games

[PONTIAC08G8GT]

A friend and I did a Firefight last night, just the two of us at level 5 on hard with level 8 enemies. We basically just sat and shot at the spider boss thing for close to an hour just taking turns dying and doing 15 damage per shot. Was not fun at all as the boss is essentially stupid since you can find spots to shoot it and it doesnt care. Then fought the sphere thing and that took another 30 minutes. And got rewarded with absolute junk.

I am really happy I bought Diablo 3 also as that game is very addictive and the bosses are fun.

[Chaoticmoon]

It says the recommended level to play that strike is level 8 NOT 5, I don't even know why you would try to do that -_-

[PONTIAC08G8GT]

^ I like a challenge

All I am saying is I was able to kill/beat the level because the AI and the bosses were not tough, just took a lot of damage. Level 5 shouldn't be able to beat that. If you play Diablo, you will get crushed and basically do nothing and your gear will break over and over.

[cr33ping_death]

So you got your challenge and now you complain about it? Do you know there is a strategy to beating it quicker?

[MrCherry]

So much $$$ and time it feels like thiy half-as$ the game. I dont like how the game is short and you have to pay for more of it with the DLC down the road. Sounds like $$$ for thim and we get a game that "is next gen" but feels like last gen, thats just me.

[BattleTorn]

To be fair, it is cross-gen.

[OMNlPOTENT]

I feel like everyone unfairly judges the game based on their solo experiences. Some of my favorite moments in the game were when me and another person were on the same mission and ended up buddying up and working surprisingly well together. It happens far too scarce though. I really wish the worlds felt more populated with other guardians. Instead they feel pretty empty. Also theyre pointless to explore. They created some beautiful semi large environments. Could they not have hid some secret bosses in these areas that added challenge and exploration? Pros: shooting feels amazing, game isn't too easy, visuals are beautiful, coop is amazing when it works (we need more community events these happen all too rarely), PvP is really fun, game just has a really nice atmosphere altogether. Cons: I named a few already here are more. Classes hardly feel different, game is really short, PvP isnt too balanced. Some guns are plainly better. Story is lackluster, not all that much to do after game except pvp. I feel like bungie could have done better but everyone is way too disappointed. The game isnt bad its actually really fun and ill most likely buy single player dlc if they release any.

[Kalowest]

I the game is too easy!!!

[PONTIAC08G8GT]

The fact that you can die and not be penalized is annoying. I did a firefight last night and died probably 50 times because we were level 5 against level 8 enemies and bosses. We just took turns dying until we killed it. Took forever but was beyond boring. The spider boss just turns and shoots. So many spots to hide.

[LazyGoron]

Can anyone help me understand what would be better to make it more "interesting" and less shooting hordes of enemies? To me, I enjoy the landscapes, the exploration, the waves of enemies, the integration of multiple people on a planet doing a bunch of different things, but together.

I have only played a few bosses and it was a lot of cover and shoot and run around then shoot till they died. Is this all most bosses are? There's no trick or special unique way to beat certain bosses (a la Zelda bosses)?

I guess it would be a lot of replaying of missions once you hit max level? What happens at max level and how does the game open up as Bungie has stated?

[lameguy]

Would have liked to have more story. There's just nothing here. Nothing that makes me care about the world and nothing that makes me care about the characters. It's just 1 'firefight' battle straight into the next.

It doesn't much matter what end-game content comes. Still won't be any story. Just more shooting groups of enemies, for no reason since there's no story, with standard mission tropes (plug space usb module into that space usb port over there). Not very interesting.

I mean it's not much deeper than "You are on the red team, you MUST kill the blues. That is why you exist!" That pretty much sums up how I see why we're fighting in Destiny PvE and PvP.

[PONTIAC08G8GT]

I don't even care so much about the story. I'd rather is be a giant open world area instead of linear. You find little caves or garages and theres nothing in it. Feels almost pointless finding these areas. No real reward for exploration. Would be nice to have more armor customization. There are really only a handful of gun designs. Last night I got the choice of 4 guns....all 4 looked identical but one was automatic, one was semi automatic, one was burst fire, and one had a bigger magazine but they looked identical.

Each class needs to play differently. If you play Borderlands, each character is so vastly different. Certain bosses its great to have a certain character or group. This game it doesnt matter really. The environments are lifeless. No NPC characters around, no animals or anything, its just you and enemies.

I;d like destructible environments. Not like BF but stuff falling over or shooting through thin items.

And the MP feels like an afterthought.

[LazyGoron]

@lameguy

I agree, I am skeptical because it does seem like from fire-fight to fire-fight the only difference is how much damage they do to you and how little you do to them.

I don't need a story but a larger variety of activities would be nice. Stealth missions, survivor missions, control area missions, collectible missions, shooting gallery/arcade style mini-game that tracks leaderboards, a barter/sell system (instead of breaking down gear I can offer for sale for a little more than breaking it down and if someone doesn't want to find it, they can take it automatically for the price I list and it immediately goes to my account)

@Pontiac

I wish the world had things in it as well, moving spaceships/cars/animals or random events that happen like a meteor crashing or something exploding that changes the course of my current objective. It'd be nice if the world reacted to me, like, if I kill some enemies, have them respawn at some point but don't have them spawn a few minutes in the same exact spot. I've notice this and I don't like it. Let me encounter them again but let it be in another area for a different reason. They can keep the same # of enemies available just randomize them some.

[gamer4lifeyo]

That's it, I'm waiting for this game to hit the bargain bin. I was hoping for a stronger story. 10 yr game my ass. Sounds like you do the same shit the whole time. If you're gonna do that at least make a good story that sucks you in.

[GUTZnPAPERCUTZ]

Great Game so far, just to think of all the content they will add over time makes it worth it! Love the Halo style gameplay and mechanics as well, easy to pick up and play!

[mrpsychoticstalker]

Very similar to halo, they could have done better.

[LazyGoron]

The good: I like this game

The bad: not everyone likes this game

The ugly: people who want to ridicule me/the game if I like it and they don't

[BattleTorn]

Yup!

[Meltic]

I have no friends too play with. Add me if you want. My PSN name is Meltic90

[GiggMan]

You on PS4?

[Meltic]

Yeah im on the ps4. I try play everyday when im not working or working out :).

[Umbasa]

You forgot to add time zone and hours you play, system you're on.

[shinrock]

I got Warframe to hold me down until the price drop, dont got alot of online friends so that cuts out alot of the game for me. No real matchmaking really turned me off. Im just more of campaign story type player.

[ThatOneGuyThere]

youre playing warframe for the story?

[shinrock]

Noo, im playing because it's free! And their damn near the same game= kill, customise, repeat. Oh and i almost forgot pilot tthe loading screen.no dancing though.

[ThatOneGuyThere]

ah ok. lol your reasoning confused me! destiny is a lot of fun if you play online with a friend or two, or just meet new ones and do quests and missions together. I think im in love with the shooting mechanics. speaking of free to play, blacklight retribution is pretty good too.

[CorndogBurglar]

My only complaint is that there are only a couple different looking guns for each type. Also, armor is all very similar looking per class, just different coloring. For all the customization they claimed would be available in this, i'm a little let down by that.

I love everything else though.

[blakstarz]

Good to hear the game is still fun to play after all the mixed things I'm hearing.....may pick this up next week.

[NewAgeisHere]

a 7.5-8 at best imo.

[Trekster_Gamer]

Story is almost non existant.
Repetitive
Lame and limited voice acting..

I was expecting a deep immersive story driven campaign!

[MrCherry]

@blakstarz

I see more gamers on hear who dont like it, what are you reading? (not saying no one likes it, just a little)

[blakstarz]

I'm not seeing where people are not liking at all, I'm hearing its fun but not something that will have you begging to come back for more is what I'm reading from other sites.

So to me, it sounds like the game is not bad, but nothing to write home about either....but I'm going to have to play for myself to see. I was part of the beta and I did have some fun with it, but I myself wasn't rushing home from work to play it (I played a like 3 times and never jumped back in, not to say I didn't like it).....but I figure with all the tweaking and polish they did to it, it will be spreading the news...but I digress.

[GundalfDeGrej]

I've managed to avoid all hype for this game and now when I've looked into it a bit more I still don't see the big appeal. It just doesn't look like a game I could play for more than a few hours. I might get it when it gets a PC release (I mean come on it's Activision) but I'm still waiting for reviews.

[daBUSHwhaka]

Online sucks ass.Roll on Halo.

[DVAcme]

I just did a raid boss last night. We were a 3 person fireteam and it was TOUGH, loads of dropships bringing in more mooks and the boss himself sponging damage like crazy. You'd see every player doing as much damage as possible, then scrambling to revive any member of the team that dropped. Then a few more players came in by chance and started helping us out. When the boss finally fell, every player gathered in the middle of the boss arena and started dancing.

It was fucking awesome.

[Umbasa]

That sounds cool as hell but i thought Raids and there bosses where end game not to mention raids are not even in game yet, do you mean strike mission or pubic events cause i don't think anyone has killed a raid boss yet?

[CorndogBurglar]

They're putting pubic events in this game?!?! Man they thought of EVERYTHING!

[DVAcme]

Yeah, it was a strike boss. But they ARE kind of like mini raid bosses. The way the game's designed, it's impossible for a player to solo one. It's not like Borderlands, where with some twinking you can actually solo a raid boss and destroy him in seconds (I've seen it happen, I had a guy in my team who destroyed Terramorphous on his own in like 6 seconds in BL2).

[NicSage]

I think the only thing I can gripe about this game is the load times, they seem really lengthy at times.

Other than that I love this.

[mediate-this]

I dont understand the hate for destiny, who has high expectations to the point where its ge killing for them? This is good, can i name a few things i would like bungie to have added? Yes.

If bungie promises ever evolving story thrn great, buy if they fall short of adding more to do then i will be choked. But right now destiny is good, and i guess i was never hyped for destiny, so when i played beta my expectations werre low. Played beta and i thought it was great. Just stop with the over hype and have realistic expectations

[tenacious_b]

$380 isnt a bad price for tacos

[kaizokuspy]

Destiny is not story driven and yet it is. Download a companion app via your phones store to read the grimoires you unlock. THATS THE DEPTH of the story adding to the lore. Just because it isn't spoonfed to you through lavish cutscenes and expensive voice acting (Peter Dinklage is awful) doesn't mean there isn't a rich story. The problem is that most people who are playing scream level 20 level cap. That is not true. You get to 30 by acquiring exotic/legendary gear which takes at least a week or so to get all slots equipped. There is a limit to how many Vanguard points you can get a week, so no one has fully completed everything this game has to offer. They do not understand the fundamentals through their own comparisons and **** This is NOT Halo. This is NOT COD and NOT Borderlands. PVP's pace and skill mostly resembles Unreal Tournament's, but with a sensible aim assist since it's so fast paced. There is a learning curve to develop skill. It happens. I've fallen in love with this game. Yes, there is ability differences, but at one point you finally develop your playstyle to compete against your enemies. Basically this games core mechanics are solid. You have to get accustomed to it. 10 hrs isn't enough to hone your ability to stack up against those who are better suited for such fast paced play. If you solo this game, that's your fault. You need to make friends and be social. MMO's are impossibly boring alone. This is a SOCIAL game. The HYPE is well deserved.

So heres how you enjoy Destiny:

1. Make friends
2. Read your grimoires to enrich the story
3. Hit LVL 20 and start working on Legendary/Exotic equip/weapons
4. Find all the gold chests
6. PVP takes time to get accustomed too. Play 3 matches, explore a bit and gear up, then return and eventually you'll be top 3 in matches.
7. Remember this game sold a **** ton. More than likely in PVP, there are a lot of better players. It's life, as we get older, there is always someone to beat our ass.
8. Strikes/Raids/Public Events: check the bounty board before you do them, so you can claim bad ass **** for doing them.
9. Patrol Missions are your friend when you want to screw around. Continuously doing mission beacons can set up enemies just to kill, a place you have to fight your way to scout out, or collecting materials.
11. Don't play this game with the intention of comparing it to anything because Destiny is it's own game. It plays like Destiny. Not like COD, Battlefield, Halo, or Borderlands. It borrows some concepts that we've grown accustomed too (sprinting, abilities, and what not) It has its own definitive feel, but with a bungie style.
12. You can't trade items. That's a GOOD thing. Why play a game where higher leveled characters just give you their gear so you don't play or experience the game fully? It adds to the game, not take away from it.
13. Remember, reviews are **** including this one. If you aren't having fun, it's because you haven't spent enough time, don't understand what this game really is yet, did no research on whats after level 20, used walkthroughs and gaming tips to speed through the game. Play it on heroic if it's not a challenge.

Just keep playing it, it will grow on you like a tumor regardless once you find your pace. :D

[mysteryraz11]

its a fun game not as good as halo but I enjoy it

[schnodder]

talk about OVERHYPED.

that's why i play games from Nintendo. Zero hype and best gameplay.

[XbladeTeddy]

Reading those impressions, I'm pretty sure I'm just gonna skip this game now. It rally doesn't sound that interesting. I think the hype didn't help this game either.

[Phish]

I played the Alpha and Beta, and I'm really enjoying this game. I'm playing it on PS4 and it still seems a bit odd to be playing a Bungie title on that platform, but Bungie is just such a great developer. The quality in their games is always there. I don't care how anyone else rates Destiny, it scores high in my book.

[solidt12]

people have unreal expectations for this game. this is a great game but you can't expect a game to have everything. That's why we have more than one type of game.

[Surt]

played the alpha and the beta, so i knew I was getting, and I'm having a blast. Lv 16 hunter and kicking ass on PVP and PVE.

So many hipsters now a days. When did it get cool to blast the AAA games on day one of playing it? Let me guess the indie scene is new thing? LOL

8bit looking fluff gets a 9 for being "new" but all your doing is playing 8bit retro game. The day we all bloody gather at starbox to discuss the lack of "meaningful" messages in games is the day the gaming industry as gone to hell in a hand basket.

EDIT: "But why support the BIG CORPORATE GREEDY COMPANIES?!" When I want to get a good bloody steak and a woman to wash it down, I go to a 3 or 4 star restaurant, I don't go to the back alley of McDonald.