Destiny
Since the release of Halo: Combat Evolved back in November of 2001, Bungie has been a favourite of the video game industry’s many fans. In fact, the series has become synonymous with the medium, much like Nintendo’s Mario Bros. So, when it came time for the American developer to announce Destiny, its first post-Halo effort, the Internet blew up as hungry gamers became fixated on the game’s development process.
After putting approximately five hundred million dollars into development and advertising for Destiny, the men and women behind it were looking to bank on their hard work. That definitely happened, and the game has paved the way for an inevitable sequel, but things weren’t (and aren’t) all roses for Bungie and its publishing partners at Activision. Reason being is that, although it was highly touted as being the next big thing in cooperative online gaming and first-person shooting, Destiny didn’t release to acclaim. Instead, the expectedly popular title now exists as the most expensive “7/10” in the industry’s history. At least, it does to many, especially those who continually bash the game on forums like NeoGAF.
In an attempt to create positive publicity, Activision released a commercial that advertised the game’s high review scores, of which there were, admittedly, quite a few. However, those paled in comparison to the many average and mediocre ratings that the first-person shooter/MMO hybrid received during its September launch. It was all the result of repetitive and unspectacular gameplay, too, which is something that has continued on with the release of The Dark Below, Destiny’s first major add-on.
The hope is that Destiny 2 will be a more rounded and far less repetitive experience. To be great, it needs to continue on with the fantastic gunplay found in its predecessor, and not rely on repeated environments, boring missions and grind-focused post-campaign content. Variety is needed, and if this is going to become one of the best franchises in gaming, that facet is going to have to become a priority.
-Chad Goodmurphy