Destiny, anyone?

[WestofHouse]

"One thing I will say for Destiny - they did a horrible job at communicating its systems.

 

Otherwise they did a fantastic job at making a compelling game."

 

Compelling?

 

 

[cimerians]

 

The game play is certainly fun, and obviously lots of folks are enjoying it. I'm just at the age where I've determined life is too short and there are too many good games out there to waste time grinding.

 

I'm in the same boat, I dont have a lot of time with a kid and all.....and I'm not saying their system is flawless, its definitely flawed.....the loot\reward system obviously. They could have done a better job and it does feel "unfinished". Very interesting game but somehow not quite there.

 

Still I'll be keeping this around for sure and I'll play around with it when I can.

 

I blame Activision

[cimerians]

 

Compelling?

 

 

 

 

You keep using that word, I do not think it means what you think it means.

[+remowilliams]

Still I'll be keeping this around for sure and I'll play around with it when I can.

 

I'm holding on to it to see where it goes, but it's pretty firmly 'on the shelf' now.

[cimerians]

 

I'm holding on to it to see where it goes, but it's pretty firmly 'on the shelf' now.

 

Yes, I got Shadows of Mordor I'm curious about, Dragon Age and Driveclub looks freaking amazing.

[Video]

Heh, I got home the other day and one of my friends was like "I got you Destiny since you can't afford it" I was just like WTF?! I didn't say anything about being physically able to buy it, I said I wasn't interested in buying it. They were just like "what, but, but, but you'd like it if you'd just play it" With that kind of look a little kid gives someone when their puppy gets kicked or whatever.

 

Ohkay god damn it, I'll play it I guess, but it's going to be exclusively for your benefit, not mine.

 

We played a while, admittedly I hadn't put much time into it before, but I started another character. Didn't really like the titan dude. I was just like, I've already played this level. We played another level, I've already played this level. The game has lots of locations marked on the map, but apparently, they all go to exactly the same place, and you're really just doing the same mission over and over and over. Really, that's it? One level on each planet? If they were really huge so you could go to a different area in the same level to do different tasks, instead of the same place over and over, I could maybe see it, but no.

 

They commented on the music, "I really love this music". Really? To me it just sounded loud. I'm sorry, but I don't think loud and good are mutual. And that damn robots voice, just a constant monotonic droning about blah blah blah, it just grated on my last damn nerve. (I think this is being confused as "story" by a lot of people) "don't you like this music" Uh...no. It's loud as fuck, not good, and seems to have no basis to anything in the game. In fact, since about 30 minutes in, I've actually been playing with the TV muted.

 

"How come you don't ever use your bike?" Uh, I'm trying to find stuff/ezploring/fighting enemies without you guys around/etc It's honestly a hindrance, not a help. You can't shoot while on it, as near as I can tell, you can't run people over, so it just serves to help you to miss the few useful items between point a and b....which are almost as rare as meaningful fights.

 

"push right on the dpad" Why? "just F(boop)ing do it" Right....dude jiggles. My eyes roll. Really? You think this adds to the game? It's just stupid. "you can sit if you push down" And the point of that? (to watch someone dance, I guess) "if you push left, you poi.." Ok....This day in age, we have a thing called a headset, which we are currently using. Why the FUCK do I need to point? Ok, what's up do....up...dude bows. Wow, really? That is....incredibly massive, levels of gay. (and to the two people on here that are going to front like they don't know what that is, here's a hint. It's not a good thing) How about using the Dpad for something useful? Weapons selection? how about using your throwing knife? (I actually like that, on the VERY RARE occasion I get to use it, instead of the game deciding to randomly throw it away, which is quiet often)

 

Speaking of the knife, and grenades for that matter. They recharge. You don't pick them up, you uh...I guess make them or something. That makes ammo make less sense. If I can generate a grenade or a knife from nothing, how come I can't generate purple ammo? (I go through entire stages without getting to use any of my good guns due to lack of ammo) If you have to pick up ammo, why not grenades/knives? If you do one or the other, go the whole way, don't half ass it.

 

"Wait till you get a new ship" Uh...what does it do "uh...it's just a graphic" Ok, I couldn't give two shits less then. You don't fly it, you don't do anything with it, it's a place holder on a loading screen. Hell, you never even get to see the inside as near as I can tell. (someone mentioned your own house? that would have been cool)

 

"But you like borderlands, this is the same thing" Uh, first, no. I LOVED borderlands. Yeah, there was only three levels on there (supposedly unless you downloaded some stuff, have to see about goty sometime) and second, no, it's not the same thing. You had huge levels, and like I said, various missions actually involved going to different areas (of said same level) some missions involved going to multiple levels and doing tiered mission objectives. And as for weapons, you had shotgun, 23 dmg, shotgun, 17 dmg, shotgun, 32 dmg (for whatever reason, 1 weapon, the exact same name but they have slightly different specs) On destiny it's, shotgun, 23 damage, big shotgun, 23 damage, the splinter, 23 damage, the one that shoots square bullets (we think) 23 damage. 5 million different weapons, and they somehow have the exact same specs. I got a level 2 gun, and a level 11 gun with exactly the same damage (and the specs look the same too) WTF?!

 

And the menu, the menu, the god damned menu. A slow clumsy artificial mouse marker that slowly slithers its way across the screen to the other option, the relevant one always seems to be on the opposite end of the screen for no other reason than to make you have to slowly shove the cursor over to it. Then, you have to hold the button down to get it to do anything. Delete this weapon? (how many games have you seen where a game will pop up that message, ever, god, damn, time. And how many did you not become totally annoyed with before finishing the tutorial) What's wrong with, I don't know, tap up or down, or left or right and go to the next available menu item, like, I dont know if you ever heard of the title or not, but, every other title in existence? And seriously, whats wrong with, tap the button and the game goes to work? The Post game stats is the absolute worst. Seriously, why the FUCK do I have to hold Y down for 10 god damn seconds to get rid of that and go to the menu? (And I kid not, I actually measured that one)

 

"Hey, so and so wants to get this game too..." Oh really? I have a great Idea *disconnects from live* shows up in the other persons room "what happened? Did you get discon..." Here, give them THIS copy.

 

"but, but, but, but...." gee, someone seems to be missing the "I" and "don't" and "give" and "a goddamn" and "less" and "about this game" part of "I don't give a goddamn less about this game"

 

Just to bad that you can't actually delete your profile. All that shit is online now. Used to be something satisfying about getting rid of something that was slightly less fun to have than cancer.

 

[edit] Oh, and this game begs to be played one playered. In fact, unless you and your friend/s are ABSOLUTELY PERFECTLY SYNCHRONIZED, you actually get punished for playing the game. As near as I can tell, you only get experience for the kill shot. Not for shooting an enemy, not for putting the most damage in, not for doing anything special to damage the, but only for the kill shot. That means 90+% of the time, the person who is higher level will get most, or all of the kills, meaning on the next level, it will be that much more lopsided. Oh, and someone mentioned not knowing how it deals out bonuses at the end of the game? It's easy. The person that does the worst will get the interesting loot (happens when we played 100% of the time) You killed 97 enemies and the other dude killed 23? He's going to get the loot. All because the one to get experience will be the one that does the kill shot, even if you whittle away 99% of the enemies health, you won't get shit unless you get that last 1%

 

Not to mention boss fights. I was like "ok, you go do that, I'm going to go kill these dudes over here" my friend got killed and I got booted "the darkness consumes you" WHAT THE FUCKING MUTHER FUCK?!!? I wasn't even in that fight.

 

This is in fact, one of the worst, most piss poorly designed pieces of shit I've ever had the displeasure to interact with. (and that's coming from someone who used "neato" on the computer)

Edited September 29, 2014 by Video

[WestofHouse]

[Mendon]

Very nice review, Video. You hit on several things that I believe Bungie totally screwed up within the game.

 

One thing you didn't mention that I found completely screwed up was matchmaking for Raid's. Whats the problem? There isn't any matchmaking:

 

If you want to go on a raid, you have to have 5 Lvl 26 people already in your party when you approach the starting point. You don't go there solo or in a party of 2 or 3 and the game matches additional players to your party, such as in Call of Duty or FFO. Nor will the game put you into a party that needs an additional player. Nope, you have to have the 5 members already there.

 

And how do you form a party? You can't go to The Tower or anywhere else within the game and "shout" that you are forming a party or ask if there is a party for you to join because there is no text chat within the game. Nope, you go to a special forum on the Bungie website and try to join or form a party there. Or you make arrangements for 4 of your friends to meet at whatever time all of you can be online.

 

Again, I had some fun with the game; I found some nice features in the game. But I have complaints and maybe in a year or so they will really have expanded the world for you to explore, have some great and varied quests to perform, have fixed the loot system, added a way to form parties for raids, and other improvements to the gameplay.

 

Until then, I've moved on.

Edited September 30, 2014 by Mendon

[cimerians]

Aha....this smells of a publisher (Activision), I may have been right but there was a huge fiasco between Activision and Infinity Ward founders years back, this smells of the same shit:

 

Destiny's Content COMPLETELY changed over the last year

http://www.reddit.com/r/DestinyTheGame/comments/2hqmkb/how_destinys_content_completely_changed_over_the/

 

I dont think much of this is made up or false.

 

They are really trying to make me hate this game even though I've TRIED to like it. Well, thats that.

[WestofHouse]

Aha....this smells of a publisher (Activision), I may have been right but there was a huge fiasco between Activision and Infinity Ward founders years back, this smells of the same shit:

 

Destiny's Content COMPLETELY changed over the last year

http://www.reddit.com/r/DestinyTheGame/comments/2hqmkb/how_destinys_content_completely_changed_over_the/

 

 

Wow. Just...wow. I'm so glad I bought the physical version of this game. If I'd paid $60 for the digital version and been stuck with it I'd be pissed.

[Major Havoc 2049]

It is kinda sad, because there is some really good addictive gameplay here, great graphics, music and some great set pieces. Not only is the story lacking, but it is one disjointed mess. I think Bungie lost too much talent and the game just became a clusterf*ck near deadline. Mars has vast hugh areas that are beautiful, such as the abandoned city on Mars, that are awesome to explore and look at, but are almost lifeless, except for a few baddies to kill and a few hidden dead ghosts to find.

 

The gunplay is satisfying though and I find the gameplay to have a some of the addictive qualities of Phantasy Star Online, which I used to love. So I'm still hooked and have a level 26 Hunter/Gunslinger and I'm enjoying myself. The high level strikes are fun to try and figure out different strategies in order to advance and beat the bosses. Having a high level strike team battle through a level with maxed out weapons and powers is fun to watch and participate in.

[cimerians]

It is kinda sad, because there is some really good addictive gameplay here, great graphics, music and some great set pieces. Not only is the story lacking, but it is one disjointed mess. I think Bungie lost too much talent and the game just became a clusterf*ck near deadline. Mars has vast hugh areas that are beautiful, such as the abandoned city on Mars, that are awesome to explore and look at, but are almost lifeless, except for a few baddies to kill and a few hidden dead ghosts to find.

 

The gunplay is satisfying though and I find the gameplay to have a some of the addictive qualities of Phantasy Star Online, which I used to love. So I'm still hooked and have a level 26 Hunter/Gunslinger and I'm enjoying myself. The high level strikes are fun to try and figure out different strategies in order to advance and beat the bosses. Having a high level strike team battle through a level with maxed out weapons and powers is fun to watch and participate in.

 

Totally agree.

[moycon]

that are beautiful, such as the abandoned city on Mars, that are awesome to explore and look at, but are almost lifeless, except for a few baddies to kill and a few hidden dead ghosts to find.

 

This was my problem with the game as well so far. And by so far I mean like early on, level 4. The surroundings are a sight to behold, I don't care about my objective, I just want to set off an explore this awesome landscape. Problem is, there isn't anything to really look for. At least Borderlands had a bazillion caches of weapons, cash and ammo, none too exciting but it was something. There's nothing around in this game, and in some situations (as others have mentioned) exploring can get you killed in the blink of an eye.

 

"Me: Hey what's that creature down there? Looks cool! "HELLO!" Oh....I'm dead. nice.

 

There is a good game here, but it's gonna take a LOT of tweaking to bring it to the surface.

If they have a 10 year plan for this game, they just need to push out all the content for the next 3 years right now, and for free. More random encounters with NPC that kick off unique missions, more weapons, more to explore. Otherwise I can see people losing interest after 10 days, never mind 10 years.

 

I still think my collectors edition Ghost is kick ass. I just need to rig it up to fly.

[Mendon]

 

Otherwise I can see people losing interest after 10 days, never mind 10 years.

 

 

That's basically me. About 10 - 12 days to make it to Lvl 21 and then lost total interest. Others enjoy it and that's cool, but I played enough.

 

Besides, my time is now taken up playing Defense Grid 2 while waiting for The Walking Dead Season 2 on Oct. 21st.

[cimerians]

I still login and do some strikes, its just fun. We got our asses beat in a strike last night but eventually won and of course I didnt get anything to help me level except for some marks and an armor upgrade.

 

They should have made it easier (faster) to level past 20 if they were going to lock away all the cool stuff after 20. Its a crying shame cause so many people just stop. The game begs to be better than what it is.

[WestofHouse]

They should have made it easier (faster) to level past 20 if they were going to lock away all the cool stuff after 20.

 

For me it didn't have to be easier or faster, just fun. I don't mind slow progression as long as there is progression. The whole post-20 leveling mechanic is ridiculous.

 

I hit 20 before I'd finished the strikes and story missions. At level 20 I did a strike and two story missions in the span of two days. I was no closer to being 21 than when I started because XP no longer mattered. I didn't have the right type of armor or enough credits/marks/coins/tokens. That was incredibly disheartening.

[cimerians]

 

For me it didn't have to be easier or faster, just fun. I don't mind slow progression as long as there is progression. The whole post-20 leveling mechanic is ridiculous.

 

I hit 20 before I'd finished the strikes and story missions. At level 20 I did a strike and two story missions in the span of two days. I was no closer to being 21 than when I started because XP no longer mattered. I didn't have the right type of armor or enough credits/marks/coins/tokens. That was incredibly disheartening.

 

Yep I know...after taking down a goliath tank and ultra captains and getting little or nothing for your effort is really deflating. I try not to think of it and simply join in if a friend of mine asks me to

 

But when they do release "new stuff" its still rather crappy getting a high rank in it:

http://www.gamezone.com/news/2014/10/01/destiny-s-queen-rank-3-rewards-kind-of-suck

 

wtf......

[+remowilliams]

"The rank 3 shader is hardly different from the rank 1 shader. It makes your pants purple and it may be a bit darker," he added. "Really disappointed."

 

 

That sort of speaks volumes right there...

[dashv]

Whle I don't quite have the "Raging Hate" that Video has for this game. I did have the opportunity to play this game the other day on my Brother in-laws XBox 360 and I agree with a lot of his points.

 

My bro in-law is obsessed with this game and talks about it all the time. With all the hype I guess I was expecting something epic.

 

I played from the beginning as a Warlock for about 45 minutes before I handed him the controller and said "It's a shooter. Yay. How about we let the kids play Minecraft?"

 

It's not a bad game. The controls are pretty solid in-game. But I completely agree with Video that the menu is a mess and really slows things down. Resident Evil for the PS1 has a better menu system than this. No I am not exaggerating.

 

Also, why can I buy stuff that can't be equipped until I reach a certain level? And why did I waste money on a weapon that's no more powerful than the one I currently have and actually has a LESS frequent firing rate? I thought these were upgrades.

 

The graphics were nearly impressive. I say nearly because I'm currently playing through the latest Tomb Raider game on PS3 and those graphics are friggin amazing.

 

Destiny's graphics are definitely a step down from Tomb Raider. Reflections in the water are obviously fake. The water physics themselves seem to be from the original Unreal engine days.

 

The textures are pretty good yet the environments still feel empty and boring to me. I tried shooting out lights and nothing happens. I can walk around. Shoot bad guys. Open the occasional chest. Oh yeah. I can force push people into walls. That's cool for the first 10 times.

 

What is it with first/third person games on these systems not having more interactive environments!? If I shoot a glass object with a gun I expect it to break. If it's a light. I expect things to go dark. At the very least if I shoot a wall I expect there to be a bullet hole, scuff, or dark spot of some kind. In Destiny apparently the entire environment is invincible to damage of any kind.

 

Duke Nukem 3D to this day still has 90% more life and interactivity in it's levels designs than any of the games I've played since.

 

Crysis comes damn close and this is no Crysis.

 

To be honest Destiny felt to me like a rehash of Half-life 2 but without the interesting story to keep me giving a damn.

 

45 minutes in. I didn't hate it. But I was bored out of mine mind feeling like everything I was seeing/doing I'd seen/done before.

 

I guess for folks just getting into shooters it's a good game. But if you played the Duke Nukem 3D and Crysis and feel like you've had your fill there's really not enough new here to pull you back in.

 

Unless of course pointing at stuff, dancing on tables, sitting down, and watching people jump up and down is your thing.

 

They added that. I think they call it multiplayer.

Edited October 1, 2014 by dashv

[cimerians]

And another small reason none of us should have played the game now:

 

http://www.destructoid.com/destiny-s-loot-is-now-way-less-aggravating-281982.phtml

[Major Havoc 2049]

And another small reason none of us should have played the game now:

 

http://www.destructoid.com/destiny-s-loot-is-now-way-less-aggravating-281982.phtml

It's funny, the author admits he doesn't play Destiny, but yet he is hyper critical of a small aspect of an update in an MMO that maybe affects like .05% of the gameplay. MMO's get updated all the time and this is a minor issue on an update that addressed like 10 different minor issues. Must be a slow news day at Destructoid. It would be like CNN reporting that Joe Smith got a speeding ticket in Boise, Idaho for going 56 in a 45 zone..lol

 

Even some of the criticism in this very thread makes hugh assumptions about gamers and has statements about Destiny that are just flat out wrong. And these statements and criticisms are based on a short amount of playing the game and like I said, some of them are just plain and simple factually wrong. Playing an FPS Action-MMORPG for 45 minutes and blasting it is like watching Blade Runner for 30 seconds and giving a review on it.

[dashv]

It's funny, the author admits he doesn't play Destiny, but yet he is hyper critical of a small aspect of an update in an MMO that maybe affects like .05% of the gameplay. MMO's get updated all the time and this is a minor issue on an update that addressed like 10 different minor issues. Must be a slow news day at Destructoid. It would be like CNN reporting that Joe Smith got a speeding ticket in Boise, Idaho for going 56 in a 45 zone..lol

Even some of the criticism in this very thread makes hugh assumptions about gamers and has statements about Destiny that are just flat out wrong. And these statements and criticisms are based on a short amount of playing the game and like I said, some of them are just plain and simple factually wrong. Playing an FPS Action-MMORPG for 45 minutes and blasting it is like watching Blade Runner for 30 seconds and giving a review on it.

How much of my life and money should I devote to something I am not enjoying before I decide to stop?

[moycon]

How much of my life and money should I devote to something I am not enjoying before I decide to stop?

10 hours, and $50 at least.

How much time and additional money have you invested so far?

[dashv]

10 hours, and $50 at least.

How much time and additional money have you invested so far?

I invested a little under an hour.

 

SONY seems to think 1-hour demos are enough for folks to decide yea or nay on a game.

 

In cases like this I actually agree with them.

[omegadot]

My prime aggravation has really become the out of bounds death zones. I fell off a building trying to nail down where the little white box was telling me to scan and blam - DEAD. REALLY?!?!!?! Talk about not encouraging me to explore at all. I was on solid ground a few feet below where I needed to be and that was apparently just too much. I honestly play the game for a little mindless gunplay. That's fine with me. Killing me for exploring even a little doesn't cut it.