Continuing to practice my writing here. I think it's going okay, but I would love to hear what other people think. Thanks again!
Console Played: Xbox 360
Consoles Available: PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Overall Rating: 10/10
Story Rating: 10/10
Gameplay Rating: 10/10
Art-Style Rating: 10/10
Music: 10/10
Destiny is everything I wanted in a shooter MMO. While it is true there are many MMOs available to gamers, but not all of them are created equal. Some are deep, some are cheesy. Some are pay to play, and some are not. Destiny has definitely one of the better stories out there, one of my favorites if I had to admit it, and to make it even better: it's free to play.
Coming from their shooter experience in the Halo series, Bungie brought their skills to the table in this game. They developed a great shooter with a great storyline, plot, and mechanics. However, this time it had a twist: it was an MMORPG too. While many games focus too much on one half of this equation, like too much on the shoot 'em up style or too much on rpg elements. I feel this game was perfectly balanced, making the gameplay and storyline work together flawlessly.
This rich science fiction story flows very well throughout the game, leaving you with a sense of importance in the group of players online and the mysteries of what is going on. It's not leaving you completely in the dark due to a lack of planning and substance, but in fact information is slowly given to you in a way that makes sense. Thus keeping you feel engaged and enthralled by the story as it unfolds.
The gameplay is easy to pick up, flowing well with the use of the controllers. It allows you to quickly use your skills and abilities directly from the controller, without having to bring up many menus. This is more personalized by the fact that the player can pick from three classes: the quick hunter, the tough titan, and the powerful warlock. Each offers something different for the gameplay with different basic skill sets, and each class has two additional subclasses which allows you to personalize your character further in order to make your gameplay fit more for your playstyle.
The many worlds in the story ring closer to the human players, as the main words of the game include many of the planets of our solar system. The planets tie closely to the story and enemies of the game as well, each one offering different landscapes and feels as you travel through the game. This is coupled by the music created to fit with the game, which grows ever more epic the stronger the boss fights you start. This makes the game feel more powerful and like your actions during the game have even more of an impact in the world of Destiny.
Now, since this is a MMO, we need to talk about how the game handles the many players who will be playing together. Most of the game is made of missions that can handle up to three players in your party, when you leave the main over world to fight through their own mission. Now these missions, and the larger raid mission (only one in the normal game itself), do not fill open slots with other players. So you have to bring your own friends or invite others into the game if you want more people with you, which is not necessary to complete these missions, even on harder difficulties.
Other game modes in the game, however, do have matchmaking systems in place. These modes are the strikes, which are like mini-raids, and the multiplayer. Here, you are paired with other people, three for the strikes and up to six on your teams, by the game to start your mission or game. The multiplayer here is pretty good. There are several modes to pick from, ranging from gameplay styles of king of the hill to a normal slayer game, where you simply kill the players on the other team. It plays like an advanced Halo multiplayer game, so the multiplayer is pretty good. However, newer and lower leveled players would not have as good of gear as the higher level players playing the games, even if all players are balanced by the computer with the amount of their health. So this might be seen as the only downside to the multiplayer in this case.
In the end, I would say that if you are into shooter games or rpg games, this is a game I would recommend something to you. It has something for everyone and, as far as games go, it is a game that is very easy to pick up. This game has definitely made its way onto my favorites list and I cannot wait to see what else Bungie wants to do with this game in the future, as they are planning on releasing many expansions for the game in the future.
