Destiny - Brief Review

I'm certain I'm not alone in being excited about finally being able to play Destiny. (I bought myself a PlayStation 4 to be able to play on launch day - well that and because I want to play Tom Clancy's Division when it launches).

But really, the hype for this game was huge. (And probably rightly so - I think everyone has a bit of a Master Chief withdrawal and this game is after all made by Bungie - maybe we're hoping for a Master Chief cameo? That would be awesome.)

Anyway, the best way I can describe the game so far is - it's like Halo & Mass Effect had a baby together. A first-person shooter baby, with RPG aspects.

The graphics are absolutely jaw dropping (especially on PlayStation 4 - don't start a console war). But it's not just the graphics - the game draws you in. The story line is quite intriguing and although I'm only level 4 at the moment (and I have more questions than answers) this is what really helps motivate me to continue exploring and playing the game.

Turns out the co-op issues were, as kingcrimson24 suggested, a problem with the NAT settings. :) Easily fixed and sorted - to anyone playing on PlayStation 4.

My second complaint is this - if the game is co-op friendly, why on earth can you not TRADE with friends in the game? It's frustrating. Even if the game did just launch, this is something essential for me if I'm playing co-op. I need to be able to trade with my team members to maximize killing effectiveness. You play co-op because you enjoy the social aspect of gaming. Getting together with friends (or even strangers) to aid each other for a common goal - whether it's taking down a boss that's ridiculously high leveled or just standing around in a circle looking awesome because you're in a group. I ended up with a gun I know for certain I'm never going to use and thus wanted to give it to my team mate, but alas I got stuck with the gun. I could dismantle it, but that doesn't do any real good. Ultimately if my team mate has good gear and does well - I do well. So really, I'm being selfish at the same time. But anyway, point being - you can't have a proper co-op game without trading (or at the very least being able to 'drop' guns that your team members can then can pick up).

A counter argument by kingcrimson24 is that it helps to keep high level gear (I mean rare gear) away from low leveled players that really haven't done anything to deserve their good weapons/armor (since they most likely got it in a trade). So I would like to bring up that there are positive things with no trading. If you have high level/rare items - you probably worked hard and deserved it.

With that said though - the game is very promising. The graphics are amazing and the voice actors are clearly chosen wisely - with famous names such as Peter Dinklage (you may know him from his role in Game of Thrones as Tyrion Lannister) and Bill Nighy (Davy Jones in Pirates of the Caribbean, High King Emeric in Elder Scrolls Online).

I'll write a detail review when I'm higher level and have experienced the game more in-depth.

@sweeneykill: Nice review . I don't know if you played Borderlands or not , but Destiny really plays like Borderlands . i feel like I'm playing borderlands but set in Halo universe . and hell the game looks really great on xbox 360 and its no wonder that it looks amazing on PS4/X1 .

for the first problem that you said about your friend getting kicked , its probably related to NAT settings and internet stuff on your or his side . most likely its not the game's fault .

second thing about not being able to trade things . I think it has it's pros and cons . you explained the bad side of it but the good thing about it is some Noobs who can't even shoot probably can easily win and level up because they got very good items from their friends . I think they should've added Trading . BUT , also don't let low level players get high level armor and weapons . that would be really great , trading was still there but players had to play and put some time and effort to get the good stuff .

so far its looking really nice . and i think it is worth the money .

@kingcrimson24: Thanks for the feedback! You're probably right about the NAT settings. It seemed to sort itself out after the settings were tweaked.

I agree that there are benefits to no trading, even if I didn't mention them in my short review. Avoiding the hoarding of rare items which are given to low level players that don't deserve it. I think they could implement a system where you can only trade armor/weapons with a person the same level as you. I think that could help minimize the 'hoarding' possibility of noobs obtaining rare items without deserving it.

I'm sure they will be implementing a trade system of some sort eventually. With the sheer size of the game and things to do - it's understandable they didn't prioritize trading.

Yes, I have played Borderlands and the game play is smooth like Borderlands, but you have to agree that it gives you a feeling of Halo and Mass Effect. Or it might be the whole universe/space thing that does it for me.

I haven't had the proper time to play uninterrupted but will try this weekend. It really is looking nice!

Get ready to get disappointed with the story aspect of the game and the repetitive missions.

I've played it and loved it so far. Made to lvl15 finally, and I'm loving every minute of everything.

PS4PRO's review is out as well...

It's a more positive one this time around.

http://ps4pro.eu/blog/2014/09/11/destiny-guardians-of-the-galaxy/

Unfortunately this is becoming the case for me... The story just isn't engaging me, and the missions are feeling repetitive. As I suspected all along, the game is built around MP and that's just not my thing.

It's by no means a bad game, and there are aspects I really like, but I the most important thing for me is story & SP, and that isn't doing it for me.

did gamespot review it yet?

whats the score I mean

Great game. Lived up to my expectations.

After playing destiny so far the best way to describe is it tries to be too many things at once and does not succeed well with any of them.

Still not many reviews out there, but it's averaging about an 8 so far.

But I'm still keeping my distance. It just seems like a boring version of Borderlands to me, and I grew a bit bored with Borderlands 2 after a while. And what's worse is the forced co-op/online connection in this game. Plus I found the world, voice acting, and much of the gameplay to be dull in my time with the Beta. Also, there's just not much sound going on during fights. And when you aren't constantly shooting stuff, it's almost completely silent. I know I'm just shitting on the game without playing the full thing, but I'm just not grasping how its so hyped and everything.

I just think the game is repetitive seems the mission structure ends with you defeating a boss then next mission plus the gameplay is nothing original.

@SoNin360: forced co-op?

If I recall, in the live stream the staff said you could level up strictly by just playing PVP and then past a certain point all skills will be capped aka PVP is equalized. They clearly don't want MMO players devs shouldn't used the word period. Anyway I haven't played it, but from what I see I like resistance 2 co-op better. However, since I never played Halo, the PVP looks fun but PS4 users already have Killzone.

@notorious1234na: I mean as far as the campaign goes. Single player isn't a viable option. And if you are taking missions on alone, you still have to be connected to the Internet and will probably be running across people anyway.

@SoNin360: It actually is. When you get into the real mission boundaries, anybody who's not in your fireteam--which could just be you playing solo--immediately disappears and you have to go it by yourself or with your already established fireteam. So yes, single-player is a viable option. I've done about half the missions playing solo so far, so I know this for a fact.

Quite frustrated with not being able to play Destiny offline, especially as my internet is useless on weekends.

Forces me to try and play Monday to Friday when I don't actually have the time.

I tried to play Destiny yesterday (Friday night), just wasn't possible. (Maybe cause I had two PS4's hooked up on the same internet).
I'm surprised they have forced an internet connection, even to play solo?...

@SoNin360: avg is 6-7 now lol kevin went Ape on that game

@notorious1234na: It's still a 7.5 on Metacritic right now, at least for the PS4 version with the most reviews. Seems pretty generous from what I can tell about the game. Kevin was actually pretty positive about the game in some respects like the core mechanics, but stern and unforgiving for it having repetitive gameplay and a bland story. Basically about how I felt after playing the Beta. Oh well, it's not like Bungie cares. This game is going to turn out to be a massive commercial success.

@SoNin360: might as well buy it, only care for PVP and it looks like the new Halo of this generation looking at sells aka might as well.

COD effect its the game that our friends will be playing.