Destiny Beta: Thoughts, Analysis & Concerns

Eric Hall:

As someone who came of age during the original Xbox’s lifespan, I was a huge fan of the Halo franchise. Bungie’s iconic shooter hooked me on the genre in a way that no other title has been able to do since. Now, with the company moving on to the interplanetary adventure of Destiny, I’m intrigued by what it can do now that it’s no longer tied down to its Covenant-filled behemoth.

Gameplay-wise, Destiny is an absolute blast to play through, thanks to sharp shooting mechanics and plentiful customization options. Bungie has taken everything they learned from the Halo franchise and optimized it here. Slick RPG options and an impressive upgrade system only add to the package, as the title already stands out as one of the top shooters to come from this young console generation.

The $500 million budget is also put to good use in the looks department, as Destiny is visually stunning and incredibly detailed. From the decrepit wasteland of Old Russia to the Wizard-filled temples of the Moon, the game’s locales are shaping up to be a real treat. It also doesn’t hurt that load times on each level were essentially non-existent, outside of the occasional online hiccup. The fact that worlds as big as the ones found in Destiny are able to be processed and loaded so quickly is a thing of beauty.

I’ll echo the thoughts of my fellow writers here in saying that I was a bit disappointed with the lack of open-world exploration. With the amount of resources being pumped into the game, I should be able to explore almost anywhere in Destiny and not have to worry about slamming into an invisible wall. Accidentally wandering into areas meant for higher-level players was also annoying, but that’s more of a criticism with the MMO genre than anything else.

Much like what Michael said, though, I have some major concerns over the storyline. I understand that the beta only represents the beginning of the game and that the story of Destiny will be fully fleshed out over time, but that doesn’t change the fact that I struggled to care about “The Darkness” and the rest of the sci-fi nonsense going on here. I understand the story and I appreciate that Bungie is concerned about developing an intriguing and deep plot, but as of right now, consider me unimpressed.

There’s a lot to like about Destiny and I walked away from the beta generally impressed by what I saw. The gameplay is tight, the graphics are gorgeous and dancing around fallen foes will seemingly never get old to me. However, my concerns about the story and navigation issues lead me to believe that maybe Bungie’s bold new IP isn’t quite the “game-changer” it has been hyped up to be.