Support NeoGAF

[Ubiquitar]

Color me surprised by the reception of this game. I never bought into the hype myself, but this was supposed to be the next big thing. It's kind of too bad that their lofty goal and vision for this game never really materialized.
I will say one thing though, if Bungie takes into consideration all of this backlash and criticism, we consumers might be getting one killer sequel.

 

[patjburns89]

I wonder what those of you who have also played a lot of Borderlands 2 think about Destiny.

Destiny just doesn't hold up. Borderlands had weapon and enemy variety, and it felt massive.

 

[AlfredX1990]

Aren't Polygon scores a work in progress?

Yes, but the 6/10 is going to be in the metacritic page forever

 

[Indiedevs]

Never mind.

 

[Dreams-Visions]

Destiny just doesn't hold up. Borderlands had weapon and enemy variety, and it felt massive.

I hope people that missed it now go back and give Borderlands 2 a try. It won a myriad of GoTY awards for a reason.

 

[Alienous]

Something has become really apparent to me. Bungie needs a co-developer for the Destiny franchise. You have 4 teams per Call of Duty release (A main development team, Neversoft making maps, a team working on the network architecture and a team working on the social features). Battlefield 3 & 4 have offloaded (in most cases) each expansion pack to a different EA developer, even developers who only usually work in different genres. It lets them bring creative new ideas to the core experience.

If I were taking the lead with Destiny, I'd have Bungie work on creating a single area for each new planet, to set the tone, and I'd task each capable Activision studio with making their own areas within the the planets already established. For instance have Neversoft design a 'Old Chicago' like in the concept art, then have mission designers work within that area.

 

[Jobbs]

I was having a lot of fun at the beginning, but with each new sub 80 score review I can feel my enjoyment of the game diminishing bit by bit.

people are diverse and everyone has their own opinion, and on its merits *I* think Destiny is a poor game, bereft of content and structurally flawed. They should have just gone the borderlands route, give us a world to run around in and grab quests. This fragmented mission thing with a "patrol mode" is so inherently flawed, I can't even begin to imagine why they did things this way. If the game's structure weren't so bizarre, then they could easily correct the game's glaring problems by just adding onto it-- building it up like a big lego tower. The problem is stuctural and I don't see how patches or DLC can fix it.

I send some extra vitriol the game's way not because it's, again, in my opinion a poor game -- but because of how misrepresented the game was by Bungie prior to release. The positives are hard to deny (nice graphics and beautiful views along with solid gunplay) but the negatives are, in my view, even harder to deny.

 

[Lucent]

I'm level 24 and think I'm done with the game...The repetitiveness comes from the few selection of weapons, small amount of loot, limited space to play in, hollow planets with very little to do... The loot is actually bad, you definitely get more doing PvP if you're on the winning team but it's just so random.

Worst offender of all,some mp maps are really sucky to play in, I didn't think they could do a shittier map than the one on the moon but the one on Mars with vehicles topped it off

Yes. I mentioned the limited weapons. And loot from chests is dumb. It's hard to get excited when you find a chest (which rarely happens). It's usually glimmer or a material that you can farm on the planet (like Spinmetal). Sometimes gear that's worse than what you have already. Even the gold boxes suck most of the time. And there are only 5 per planet.

I know people are saying stuff like people expected too much, but what do you expect when other games have a ton to see and do like Fallout and Skyrim? It seems like Bungie put most of its focus in trying to make it seem like the world is alive because other players, but you only see a few at any time and it doesn't matter cuz you can't talk to them or anything. I guess this is their start/foundation, but they're going to have to add a lot to keep me playing. And I'll definitely be a lot more cautious about buying DLC and the sequels before buying blind again.

 

[Shpeshal Nick]

It's great game. If you liked Halo and Borderlands, you'll probably like it.

No. Not if you liked Halo you won't. Borderlands, yes. Halo no.

 

[Duxxy3]

My copy is still in the shrink wrap. To open or not.....

If I already had it in my possession somehow, I would play it. Almost rented it earlier, but I'm still loving Diablo 3.

 

[ArkkAngel007]

Color me surprised by the reception of this game. I never bought into the hype myself, but this was supposed to be the next big thing. It's kind of too bad that their lofty goal and vision for this game never really materialized.
I will say one thing though, if Bungie takes into consideration all of this backlash and criticism, we consumers might be getting one killer sequel.

That's where I have my mind right now for the future of the franchise. Hell, I'm even going to go out on a limb and say that maybe we'll start seeing some changes with the second DLC early next year.

 

[Deku Tree]

"@PeterMolydeux: Maybe I should give Destiny a chance? GiantBomb gave Destiny 3/5. They gave Beyond:Two Souls the same score, is Destiny really THAT good?"

 

[Marcel]

No. Not if you liked Halo you won't. Borderlands, yes. Halo no.

Um, I like Halo a lot and I enjoy the game. Bungie's good "shootfeel" is rightly on display. It's some of the other elements that are problematic.

 

[ffejeromdiks]

No. Not if you liked Halo you won't. Borderlands, yes. Halo no.

Lol what the hell. Loved Halo and I love Destiny. This anti Destiny crowd sure is insufferable.

 

[Captainbojanglesiii]

"@PeterMolydeux: Maybe I should give Destiny a chance? GiantBomb gave Destiny 3/5. They gave Beyond:Two Souls the same score, is Destiny really THAT good?"

Destiny: It's as good as Beyond: Two Souls

Can't say I'd want that quote with my game.

 

[Chaplain]

I will say one thing though, if Bungie takes into consideration all of this backlash and criticism, we consumers might be getting one killer sequel.

This is the same line of thinking my wife and I had about Watchdogs. That is, that the game sold to consumers was a large focus group that people had to pay-to-play so that Ubisoft could take user feedback and money to make the game fans would actually want to play in Watchdogs part 2. Hope this isn't a future trend, but it seems that the first iteration of large open world games will now be developed in this manner.

 

[ArkkAngel007]

"@PeterMolydeux: Maybe I should give Destiny a chance? GiantBomb gave Destiny 3/5. They gave Beyond:Two Souls the same score, is Destiny really THAT good?"

Bahahahaha.

I like Destiny more than Beyond, but I still liked Beyond too.

 

[Krilekk]

Color me surprised by the reception of this game. I never bought into the hype myself, but this was supposed to be the next big thing. It's kind of too bad that their lofty goal and vision for this game never really materialized.
I will say one thing though, if Bungie takes into consideration all of this backlash and criticism, we consumers might be getting one killer sequel.

Or this IP is already burnt and people will ignore the sequel even if it is better. See Killzone 2.

 

[Timmay]

I wonder what those of you who have also played a lot of Borderlands 2 think about Destiny.

I loved the style and enemy density of Borderlands 2. It made every moment exciting. Lots of empty, dead space in Destiny by comparison, IMO. Less inspired weaponry thus far too.

I played the hell outa BL 1 and 2. Destiny doesnt hold a candle to those games unfortunately. No personality. No charm. No soul. It's weird that the makers of Halo made something so generic. The shooting mechanics are much better in Destiny though. The loot and everything else is infinitely better in BL. Each game dispenses quests from inanimate objects, but I much prefer BL's method as well as the fact that missions in BL don't feel random and generic-as-fuck.

 

[Jacksinthe]

To those saying Bungie made a mistake with review embargo, I really dont agree.

Most games sell huge day one and week one (then drop off dramatically) and we basically had almost an entire week before the bad reviews came out in force (and yellow'd the metacritic)

I think poor reception will hurt it in the long run given the 10 year plan, but it looks like the game is a big sales success regardless.

Personally, I think the game is great in some ways, bad in others. I have this urgent need to play it however, which I cant really explain since in practice I am using same guns against same enemies but its so addictive.

Reviews are there for the consumer to make an informed decision, not coddle the developer and their mistakes to help with initial sales. Bungie stated its due to a connected world and the need to see that connection. Why? You can't interact with anyone outside of watching them dance. There's no chat, no clans, no guilds, no guild hubs, your Fireteams are people you invite (and probably know already) and for all the people playing, there's barely anyone to bump into in the open world. I can count on one hand how many players I've come across out in the open. It was a bullshit excuse through and through.

But hey, you can watch people run around in the city, I suppose.

 

[Redrop]

Or this IP is already burnt and people will ignore the sequel even if it is better. See Killzone 2.

People ignored Killzone 2?

 

[MormaPope]

Something has become really apparent to me. Bungie needs a co-developer for the Destiny franchise. You have 4 teams per Call of Duty release (A main development team, Neversoft making maps, a team working on the network architecture and a team working on the social features). Battlefield 3 & 4 have offloaded (in most cases) each expansion pack to a different EA developer, even developers who only usually work in different genres. It lets them bring creative new ideas to the core experience.

If I were taking the lead with Destiny, I'd have Bungie work on creating a single area for each new planet, to set the tone, and I'd task each capable Activision studio with making their own areas within the the planets already established. For instance have Neversoft design a 'Old Chicago' like in the concept art, then have mission designers work within that area.

I was thinking the same thing.

 

[george_us]

I hope people that missed it now go back and give Borderlands 2 a try. It won a myriad of GoTY awards for a reason.

I'll probably be playing Destiny longer than Borderlands 2 solely because of the combat. Destiny has some of the best FPS combat ever in a shooter while B2's is pretty mediocre. If Destiny 2 gives me Destiny 1 combat combined with Borderland 2's everything else, my life would be over.

 

[AlfredX1990]

"@PeterMolydeux: Maybe I should give Destiny a chance? GiantBomb gave Destiny 3/5. They gave Beyond:Two Souls the same score, is Destiny really THAT good?"

Has Kaz said something about Destiny?

 

[ArkkAngel007]

Or this IP is already burnt and people will ignore the sequel even if it is better. See Killzone 2.

I think the sales of Destiny dwarf those of Killzone, which has never been a major hit as far as I'm aware to Shadowfall's sales as a launch game were impressive for the franchise.

So even if there is some burn out or whatever, it's still going to do well at least for the next game. And Killzone 2 wasn't ignored. It came out on an unappealing platform at the time.

Has Kaz said something about Destiny?

Somebody is slacking up there. I demand a change of management!

 

[Captainbojanglesiii]

So I'm going to go ahead and say my opinion on this game. Honestly, no, I have not played it yet. I played the beta for quite some time, so I know what the game plays like. I expect nothing but repetitious levels and a lack of content. Obviously those things will hurt a game to a degree. I'm not going to say Destiny is a perfect game, but I am going to say that it's probably better than a decent chunk of these reviews are giving it credit for. Personally, I believe that the thing that ruined this game is the same thing that ruined Watch_Dogs, the hype. People expected so much out of this game that their expectations went wild and ultimately it hurt the reception of the game. Should this game have been a bit more quiet or not advertised as heavy, etc. I think this game would have scored quite a bit higher.

 

[ffejeromdiks]

I played the hell outa BL 1 and 2. Destiny doesnt hold a candle to those games unfortunately. No personality. No charm. No soul. It's weird that the makers of Halo made something so generic. The shooting mechanics are much better in Destiny though. The loot and everything else is infinitely better in BL. Each game dispenses quests from inanimate objects, but I much prefer BL's method as well as the fact that missions in BL don't feel random and generic-as-fuck.

I agree that BL has more diverse and fun weapons, but I disagree about the actual "loot game" aspect of it. There is way too much fuckin' loot in Borderlands, sorry but if half of my gameplay is comparing weapon stats I'm not really playing a game then am I? Destiny has what i'll call "loot pacing" I'm not having to get rid of a gun I just got used to because I got a new one that's barely better every 5-10 minutes.

 

[Deku Tree]

Has Kaz said something about Destiny?

@KazHiraiCEO: The PS4 version of Destiny will come with an exclusive first level at launch called "Error NW-31201-7"

Spoiler

that's not kaz

 

[void666]

Destiny just doesn't hold up. Borderlands had weapon and enemy variety, and it felt massive.

Borderlands also had rewarding exploration.
So far everytime i try exploring in destiny i: hit an invisible wall, a "go back or else..." zone or a insta death zone.

 

[Zakalwe]

Tonight on Destiny:

Three hours and 3 different fireteams trying to beat the Weekly heroic lvl 22 strike at level 20. Utter failure each time but still incredibly fun.

1-2 hours farming goblins for blues and chatting with new friends

A couple of strikes.

A few crucible matches.

This game is really good. Flawed but the flaws that matter (social options) are surmountable (actively engage people).

Best fps of the year so far, the fact it has so many glaring flaws and still achieved that for me means it must have something special about it.

 

[ArkkAngel007]

So I'm going to go ahead and say my opinion on this game. Honestly, no, I have not played it yet. I played the beta for quite some time, so I know what the game plays like. I expect nothing but repetitious levels and a lack of content. Obviously those things will hurt a game to a degree. I'm not going to say Destiny is a perfect game, but I am going to say that it's probably better than a decent chunk of these reviews are giving it credit for. Personally, I believe that the thing that ruined this game is the same thing that ruined Watch_Dogs, the hype. People expected so much out of this game that their expectations went wild and ultimately it hurt the reception of the game. Should this game have been a bit more quiet or not advertised as heavy, etc. I think this game would have scored quite a bit higher.

You haven't played the game, but can judge the mindset of people that have?

And the bullshit keeps going round and round.

But to entertain it, perhaps that would be the case, but then there's the fact that Bungie's name is attached to and that the game isn't the first of its kind to do what it does and fell short of even that. And there's the most important part where it falls short of exactly what it is doing. There's a point where expectations are valid and can't be reasonably be brushed aside.

 

[NullPointer]

1-2 hours farming goblins for blues and chatting with new friends

What do you mean by farming goblins? Patrol missions? Or are there 20th+ level non-mission areas where you can tackle a bunch of goblins?

 

[Kyoufu]

So I'm going to go ahead and say my opinion on this game. Honestly, no, I have not played it yet. I played the beta for quite some time, so I know what the game plays like. I expect nothing but repetitious levels and a lack of content. Obviously those things will hurt a game to a degree. I'm not going to say Destiny is a perfect game, but I am going to say that it's probably better than a decent chunk of these reviews are giving it credit for. Personally, I believe that the thing that ruined this game is the same thing that ruined Watch_Dogs, the hype. People expected so much out of this game that their expectations went wild and ultimately it hurt the reception of the game. Should this game have been a bit more quiet or not advertised as heavy, etc. I think this game would have scored quite a bit higher.

The game being hyped or not wouldn't change the fact that the voice acting is trash, the story is junk, mission designs repetitive, social interaction virtually non-existent, loot uninteresting, boss encounters tedious and loading times tiresome.

 

[ArkkAngel007]

@KazHiraiCEO: The PS4 version of Destiny will come with an exclusive first level at launch called "Error NW-31201-7"

Spoiler

that's not kaz

I don't believe him. Where's the animal name?

 

[AlfredX1990]

@KazHiraiCEO: The PS4 version of Destiny will come with an exclusive first level at launch called "Error NW-31201-7"

Spoiler

that's not kaz

Spoiler

I know

 

[Jacksinthe]

I'll probably be playing Destiny longer than Borderlands 2 solely because of the combat. Destiny has some of the best FPS combat ever in a shooter while B2's is pretty mediocre. If Destiny 2 gives me Destiny 1 combat combined with Borderland 2's everything else, my life would be over.

Only the gunplay is good. The class specializations and everything else that makes up "combat" is egregiously uninspiring. It makes bland look exciting, IMO. Its as if I want to play with a hopped up alcohol guzzling remote controlled buggy on a kick ass dirt course and all we got was a Fischer Price: My First Remote Controlled Car. Its bonkers how little there is in the way of anything interesting. The gunplay is spot on, though.

 

[MonkeyNuts]

Looking beyond all this review shenanigans though... you have to wonder where the game will be in 2 months. All the holiday season heavy hitters will be upon us and I just don't think destiny has staying power..

I think the game will see a massive drop in player count and many people will not return to it... until the PC release maybe.

It feels so weird saying this about a Bungie game, every Halo game had incredible staying power but I feel a lot of people will plow through what destiny offers in 2 weekends..

 

[Apathy]

Hate PvP maps with vehicles. Wow those maps are the worst. Also with strikes taking so good damn long and the bosses being annoying sponges, it's so much easier to do crucible for gear and rep.

 

[Gestault]

I hope I'm not the only one who's going to benefit from waiting a bit to jump in because of (1) having my expectations checked by the less positive reviews and (2) having more content released over time while I wait. If the beta is still the bar for gameplay (which it is), I'm easily going to get a satisfying 15-20 hours our of this game.

 

[meanspartan]

I totally acknowledge and don't disagree with the reasoning behind giving this game scores in the 60s/70s, and yet, though I see the repetitiveness they talk about and the dumb ai and the lackluster story, the game is still sucking me in and I'm loving it.

Weird case where a game I couldn't really review higher than an 80 or 85 at best is gonna be one of my most played of the year. For me, it's greater than the sum of it's sometimes lacking parts.

 

[ArkkAngel007]

I'd like to throw out there that some of you are putting way too much emphasis on review scores, instead of the actual content of the reviews.

 

[Occam]

How can a game cost that much and have so little content and variety?

 

[Captainbojanglesiii]

You haven't played the game, but can judge the mindset of people that have?

And the bullshit keeps going round and round.

But to entertain it, perhaps that would be the case, but then there's the fact that Bungie's name is attached to and that the game isn't the first of its kind to do what it does and fell short of even that. And there's the most important part where it falls short of exactly what it is doing. There's a point where expectations are valid and can't be reasonably be brushed aside.

I never said the game was perfect or even that good, but a 5/10? Come on now.

All I have to say is that, yes, sometimes hype does impact a game's scoring and even if slightly, it did for this game. From what I've heard and played in the beta, taking into consideration the bad story and voice acting as well as repetitious levels, I think this should probably be a 7 or a 7.5. I don't think calling this game "average" is very fair. You have rights to your opinion and I have rights to mine

 

[QaaQer]

I hope people that missed it now go back and give Borderlands 2 a try. It won a myriad of GoTY awards for a reason.

I hope so too. Destiny makes me realize just what a great game it is.

 

[Occam]

I wonder what the verdict will be a few months from now... Titanfall part 2?

 

[Deku Tree]

How can a game cost that much and have so little content and variety?

It has a lot of content IMO. They are also stretching it out with the DLC.

 

[Eddie Griffin]

How can a game cost that much and have so little content and variety?

They thought the bungie name alone would cause a halo.like sales and review boom. At least Activision (claims) made the $500 million back.

 

[AlfredX1990]

How can a game cost that much and have so little content and variety?

$498 million marketing campaign

 

[knitoe]

I wished I played the beta. Wanted to be a virgin for retail. After all the great beta impressions about it being a FPS Diablo, preorder the digital guardian edition. What can go wrong. Love FPS and Diablo. The FPS is so generic. Playing the same area over and over again is OK as long as the loot is good, ala Diablo, but where the fuck is it. You barely get shit in this game. I fell for the hype again...

 

[a916]

Reading these reviews and then going back to read the reviews these publications did for Borderlands 2 really make me wonder what the hell these guys were smoking when they were handing out 9s across the board for BL2...