Bungie’s Destiny reveals the future of gaming

Prior to its release, I thought Bungie’s long anticipated Destiny would simply be another Halo – a sci-fi first-person shooter (FPS) where a lone, armour-clad hero rises to bring weapon-fuelled justice against an alien invasion. In the basic premise of the game, I was right, but my sardonic pessimism was definitely misguided. Heck, I’ll admit it: I was just plain wrong about the game. With sprawling planets to explore, intense action, genre-defining presentation, and unparalleled multiplayer Destiny is more Mass Effect than it is simply a next-gen Halo. Yet while initial impressions are genre-shattering, there are subtle flaws in the formula that leave it wanting.

Story-wise you are a guardian, a voice of the Traveller and protector against the return of an ancient darkness. You'll have to find the Awoken but once you do, the game shifts from your standard "save the universe from the yucky aliens" to a story of dark alliances and treachery lurking in the shadows. With intriguing, archetypal names like “The Traveller” and “The Awoken” floating around, with three distinct species of enemies (Vexx, Fallen, and Hive) and multiple planets, I expected the game to have a grander scope in its plot and character development. The game’s hamartia lies in the lack of time spent on backstory. The plot progresses a bit too quickly and there is little time spent developing the real threat. This lack of a layered narrative is where Destiny, though definitely grander than anything seen in the Halo franchise, falls short of the operatic epic Mass Effect.

Having said that, the game is amazing to behold and even better to experience. The character screen is not your rudimentary cascade of menus, but a cursor-based interface that feels truly next-gen. Equipment and weapons and crafted in glorious details, as one would expect from Bungie, but the character creation system gives you control over your avatar in a way that sets it immediately apart from Halo.

Then there are the planets. Instead of the game being based on some far off galaxy, the action takes place on planets in our very own solar system. At first I was a little dismayed by this – like seeing Canadian Super Bowl commercials instead of the much better American ones – but it soon grew on me. I enjoyed carving through Old Russia on Earth, zooming across the rocky terrain of Mars, or exploring the ancient relics found on Venus. The planets are immense and superbly rendered, not even by industry standards but by Bungie standards. Equally, voice acting is tenderly employed with a rare honesty and humanity that pulls you into the plight of your solar system with a musical score – a pillar of any Bungie game – that serves as a character of its own.

Where Destiny truly shines is in its multiplayer. The game reflects a modern trend in gaming: a seamless blend of single-player and multiplayer, instead of the traditional separate systems. This allows players to feel truly part of a larger world, with everything you do being set against the common mission of returning peace and justice to the solar system. Most missions you can do on your own, but certain missions will automatically team you up with others to face larger enemies.

The multiplayer in Destiny subtly reminds you that other players are out there. Not only will other players be around when you’re involved in the single-player action, but when you return to The Tower, your home base, you’ll see it populated by other players locked in their own adventure in real-time. You can even wave and bow to them. Daily and weekly challenges as well as a variety of theatres in which to engage with other players – both in the campaign and out – means there is no shortage of multiplayer action.

As impressed as I was with the entire Destiny package, there were flaws that simply could not be ignored. First off, there is a decided lack of direction. Destiny does show you the ropes in its initial missions but then you are on your own to figure out much of the game’s dynamics. Bungie has stated that they wanted players to explore and figure things out, in hopes that it would pull them more into the experience. In principle I agree, but this premise became frustrating. For instance, when my character made it to level 20 but could no longer level up, it took some research to find out that the only way I could further improve my character – and thereby have a chance at performing halfway decently in multiplayer – was to get better equipment as a way of boosting my level. What followed was hour upon hour of grinding through old levels, farming fallen enemies to score better equipment. This is where the game lost me. I’m used to having my … assets handed to me in multiplayer, but one of the reasons I love action-RPGs is that you can always spend time replaying levels and upgrade your character. Not so in Destiny. While many may revel in this challenge, I found myself craving Diablo III or Mass Effect and the levelling system of old.

Though flawed in some respects – the fact you can’t partake in Bungie’s magnus opus without a PlayStation Plus or an Xbox Gold subscription does sting in so many ways Destiny reveals the direction of console gaming: focus on player choice, fuse multiplayer and single-player campaigns, and don’t skimp on a game’s scale or presentation. Just as it did with Halo in the early Xbox days, Bungie has once again not only raised the bar, but ushered in a new era of possibility for an industry that thrives on innovation.

When he’s not teaching high school, St. Albert Catholic High School alumnus Derek Mitchell can be found attached to a video game console.