Destiny does a lot of things good, and a lot of things bad. But what shines really sparkles. So lets start with that.
The gameplay is great. Bungie has a pretty good track record for that as evidenced with the Halo games. Your character moves well, both across and up the levels, and the gun mechanics (and variety) are excellent. Everything is quick and responsive, pretty much the best you could hope for out of a FPS. Whether you're playing PVE or PVP, the gameplay aspect will leave you satisfied, even if you get mowed over by a player with high powered gear. The music and audio design are both also really good, with the music reaching pretty epic levels when things get tense. The graphics are also very nice across all platforms, and the level designs really showcase whatever distinctly unique planet you're on. Destiny has a lot going on aesthetics wise.
But you guys, the story and story-telling in this game is abysmal. Story and world building is an important part of sci-fi, especially since Bungie hyped the story for Destiny. But it's not there. The lore is literally not in the game. You unlock it in game, then login into a website to read it. That's such a stupid design choice that it's mind boggling. And the way the game's story is told to you is horrible. A shorter floating Peter Dinklage reads off exposition while poking stuff with a laser pointer. Just repeat that a few times, then that's it for the storyline. No dynamic scenes or immersive levels that push the story forward, and no interesting dialogue to describe what you're doing and why. I think Bungie punched Peter Dinklage a few times in the head so he was barely conscious while recording his lines.
Story isn't important for everyone though. But repetition is. As in nobody wants to be told to blatantly do the same thing over again for tiny or no gains. That's exactly the majority of Destiny, which is to be expected somewhat due to the heavy MMORPG influences. But this game makes no attempt to disguise or vary the repetition. You'll do exactly the same five or so "Strikes" over and over again, and the same "Bounties" and missions over and over again. The rewards are randomized, and they'll almost always suck- either bad items, or small increments of influence within a "Faction." But hey, the Raids (large team based dungeons) are actually really fun. But it's like the cherry on top of what is otherwise a poop cake. You know, a cake made of poop.
The character classes show a lack of depth too. Again, MMORPG designs work so well with their audience because of the options available. In most of those games, you can make a unique character that plays different, often to a party's strength. In Destiny however, every class basically plays the same. You shoot aliens in the head until they have no more heads. You have "Supers" you can activate that are pretty cool, but they're short and infrequently charged. Everything else doesn't do much to vary your play style, let alone your role in a fire-team. On the other hand, if you're not used to (or don't care for) the deeper mechanics often found in RPGs and their ilk, then Destiny's system might actually impress you. Which isn't a bad thing in that regard. As far as shooters go, there are more options available for your character than standard. But you can see what Destiny was trying to emulate, and you can't help but wonder why they didn't take it a few steps farther. A little stronger push into the whole support, tank, dps thing, or even just the option to make those kinds of teams, would have gone a long way. But I think that's the real story of Destiny, one that you don't need Peter Dinklage to mumble at you. So many aspects obviously fall short that it makes you feel like Bungie used up everything on the awesome gameplay and presentation, then half-assed everything else.
If it sounds like i'm focusing to much on the negative aspects, you have to realize, these things really stick out. Destiny is a good game. I like playing it, but too often I wish there was more of reason to other than Bungie shamelessly exploiting my urge to kill bad guys and get stronger so I can kill stronger bad guys, but not deliver on it as well as they could have. Give me a reason to grind, and I'll the grind the crap out of you Destiny.
-Cheers