Massive gaming corporation Bungie, famous for creating the hugely popular Halo series for Xbox, has finally released an original title for the first time in four years. So far, it has made over 500 million dollars for the company and for good reason. Hype has been strong and the product is nothing short of amazing. Destiny is 2014’s first blockbuster hit video game and the first major game release for next-generation consoles.
In case you don’t know what it is, it’s that one video game your nerd friend has been blabbing about for the past year, and if you have played it, you would be blabbing about it too.
Destiny does what others are afraid to do: combine two successful genres into one cohesive package. If you enjoy the multiplayer aspects of MMORPGs (massive multiplayer online role playing games, if you want to be technical) and the mechanics of a first-person shooter game, you should flock to this game as soon as you can. MMORPGs, as a genre, allow players to create a character based off their physical appearance or personality, making them the main character of their own game. This is what Destiny allows you to do. Players can create an avatar of their very own from hundreds of looks and characteristics, creating a huge number of possibilities, and ultimately, destinies.
Players are able to make their personal avatar one of three races. Races include humans which are, obviously, human characters who have large military backgrounds and skills. The Awoken are creatures who can be described as a freak hybrid of elves, vampires, ghosts and angels, and Exo, which are genetically improved android soldiers of the future. Along with these species, players choose a class of character, a type of hero that comes with special attributes and skills that others of other species cannot possess. Hunters have stealthy attributes, are able to kill from far away, and wield any weapon to the highest degree of expertise. Titans are on the other side of the hero spectrum. Titans are large characters, able to take down a foe by simply using physical strength and melee attacks. Finally, warlocks are mechanic wizards, harboring the ability to eliminate enemies with a large array of magical powers.
Destiny takes place in a time following economic prosperity which quickly settled into a dangerous cesspool of chaos. Aliens try to take over the last known human city in the solar system. This is where your character comes in. Accompanied by a ghost (a small cube-like creature who recaps missions and gameplay that has the voice of a GPS unit), your character goes on an interplanetary quest determined to take down these aliens anyway he/she can. If you’re looking for a story, keep looking. The story is nothing more than the “I have to save the universe because aliens…” video game cliché. (cough*cough* HALO!*cough) However, where it lacks in story, Destiny makes up for in literally every other aspect. The graphics are astounding, even more so in next-gen consoles. Shooting mechanics are fluid and work well. There are many weapons and abilities one player can use, adding a variety of tactics to complete a mission. Missions are played multiplayer, not single player. Players are matched with other people playing the same game at the same time to tackle one mission. Because of Destiny’s new aspect of mission-based game-play, Destiny requires a continuous internet connection to play.
With all of these new features and loads of variety, people shouldn’t be able to keep their hands off of it, right? Right! Destiny is the holy grail of addictive video games. Sophomore Jackson Gregory said, “This game is the most addictive game ever. I stay up until 5 am playing it some nights.” There are only two known ways for gamers to quit playing: by passing out cold on the couch from exhaustion, or by the console exploding from the high level of pure awesomeness coming out of it.
Destiny is available today for the PlayStation 3 and 4, and for the Xbox 360 and Xbox One. PC gamers will have to wait until next year. So, until next time, get out there. Your destiny awaits.