Posted in: Movies, Video Games | Tagged: Bungie, Destiny BETA, entertainment, halo, video games

Destiny BETA First Impressions – This Could Be Special

Published Tue, 22 Jul 2014 14:30:42 -0500

Patrick Dane writes for Bleeding Cool

(All photos were taken in game by yours truly)

I try to be careful with hyperbole. Especially when it comes to games and especially when it comes to games that aren't out yet. Preview culture in the games media has a chequered past, with readers sometimes questioning where the journalist's opinion ends and where sheer optimism (or worse, marketing spiel) begins. That is why I am conflicted when I say, after spending 10 hours with the BETA, that I love Destiny.

Lets take a step back though. For those of you not in the know, Destiny is the new franchise from Bungie, who are the fathers of Halo. The game is a sci-fi FPS as you might expect, but the unique spin here is that the game functions like an MMO. Playing as a 'Guardian', your charge is to protect the last city on Earth. This is all under the shadow of the Traveller, a huge white orb that floats above the city. Your antagonising force comes from several alien races collectively known as the Darkness who are trying to wipe out this last bastion of hope. You get to customise your Guardian's race, being a human, the Awoken (Blue Humans) and Exos (Robots) that can then be a Titan, Hunter or Warlock class.

While Bungie have been hesitant to give it the moniker, Destiny, as far as has been displayed in the BETA, is an MMO. You're main objectives are to explore large areas, take on quests, go on raids, play PvP, level up your character and go through oodles and oodles of gear drops. You'll see other players traversing the world with you and join small 3 man parties to take on objectives together. Mix that with Halo calibre FPS shooting, both as you explore the open world and in PvP matches, and you have an idea of the mechanics at play in the game. This is a key innovation in the genre. MMOs often have archaic combat systems, where the strategy comes from the depth and repetition of its systems. Destiny has the combat systems of a AAA action game. It is a truly unique pairing.

That is all exciting, but it isn't what makes Destiny great. What thus far makes it something special is the beauty of the game. A lot has been said about the game's alleged $500 million budget (this includes marketing), and rightly so. The budgets of AAA games have ballooned uncontrollably. It is a problem. $500 million is too much for any game to cost… Having said that, this game oozes discovery from every pour. While there is a firefight just about anywhere you want one, the BETA has been at its most affecting in its moments of quiet. Be that looking over the Traveller from the hub of the game, The Tower or just exploring the secret nooks and crannies of the BETA's only explorable map, the Cosmodome. Destiny is the closest I've ever seen a game come to living up to the often beautiful concept art we see in behind the scenes artbooks. I haven't been this taken by a sci-fi setting, simply by the implementation of its environments since the Mass Effect series.

There are some potential problems to highlight though. Thus far, there has only been one area accessible to players, set in Old Russia. If you don't like repeating missions or just exploring, you will see pretty much what the BETA has to offer in 3 or 4 hours. If you have no interest in getting better gear or playing PvP, you'll find the area that is on offer will leave a lot to be desired. This shouldn't be a problem in the full game, as there are going to be several planets with multiple areas each, although there is nothing official on how many areas there are or how big they'll be. This does raise an important question when talking about larger audiences though and it's one of repetition.

As mentioned above, Destiny works like an MMO. Anyone who has spent a considerable amount of time playing MMOs know that quests and objectives can become fairly samey before long. There are fetch quests, collection quests, location quests, escort quests and a handful of other staples any MMO player can come to expect from the genre. Destiny will live or die on its variety out in the open world. Will quests be the same thing in a different location or have Bungie found a good balance as well as innovation in its questing? Right now, it is impossible to say with just one area open in the BETA. If it doesn't, Destiny is going to be a hard sell to the more casual players and as mentioned by its alleged humongous budget, it needs that audience. If MMOs have turned you off in the past with these kinds of problems, it is impossible for me to tell you if this will be an issue here.

These are only potential problems for certain kinds of players though. As stated, the game has PvP matches that are comparable with Halo's iconic multiplayer and those players could find their enjoyment in those arenas.

As I opened with, I try to be careful with my language about games that aren't out yet. I have no idea how this game will finally look once all the pieces are together, rather than just the few small ones at player's disposal now. Destiny could totally fall under the weight of its own excess or simply not be compelling for the huge journey it is shaping up to be. My gut feeling is that that won't be the case though. It is rare, even mythic, to see a production this large have such a strong voice directed into a singular artistic vision. The small snippet that is available right now has me, frankly, enamoured with its gorgeousness and how well its mechanics work. This is shaping up to be an astonishing vision. I have all my fingers crossed that all the nuggets of gold come together in the final version. It is rare that I am this excited about a game pre-launch. I hope that faith is repaid.

And I'm betting it will be.

Patrick Dane, once a would be filmmaker, has somewhat accidentally found himself as an entertainment journalist over the past two years. You may recognize him from around these parts, or you may not. Who's counting? From E3 to SDCC to the Top Gear track, Patrick has explored the world of entertainment wherever it has taken him. He is always happy to talk words at you. Hopefully the ones above will suffice your needs.

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