Destiny - Review Thread

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I was so excited for this game. I don't have much time to game these days and was excited to set aside some time to play Destiny. I shelled out for the digital preorder given Bungies pedigree.

What a shocking disappointment. I don't follow the games media too closely and wasn't aware of the negativity surrounding the beta. I can't believe that this game is really this terrible. I was looking forward to an exciting adventure yarn. Instead it feels like a vapid wasteland. All of the missions have been the same thing over and over again.

I uninstalled from my PS4 tonight and will just chalk this up as getting burned. This is the last time I buy a game based on Dev credit this generation. They should be ashamed of what they've sold to us.

I dunno, this seems like an awesome game if you don't have a lot of time.

Or did you just want an epic story campaign? If so, I can understand being so disappointed.
 
I think a lot of the lower reviews are basically because console gamers (and by extension the reviewers) don't have that much experience with MMO games. All MMO's are somewhat grindy, with limited story since it is hard to maintain a linear story while allowing an open world experience.

People don't give TLoU a 6, and then complain that the world isn't open enough. You have to know going in that Destiny is basically an MMO and it's all about the end game. If you enjoy that type of game, then I'd say Destiny is around an 8-9 for me (some minor flaws, but very good game).

If you are expecting some linear story like Halo or Gears or something, this just isn't that type of game.

If you come at it from an MMO viewpoint then the game fares even worse imo. As a shooter it at least comes across as being in the correct generation at least. As an MMO-lite, it fails to be competitive with the first of its kind on console (PSO). PSO does a better job with content, characters, social interaction, story, loot, etc. Basically anything you can measure it against, PSO comes out on top despite being 15 years old, and having far less to draw from as prior examples. Comparing it to MMO's of today? It's simply embarrassing.

Trying to portray Destiny as an MMO does it no favours at all.
 
I haven't felt this much regret over a game purchase since Manhunt 2. Thankfully I was able to return that one. I need to not make digital purchases of games I haven't played before.
 
I don't think it's that huge of a leap. Bungie, after becoming independent, has lost a lot of its core talent (some of which have returned to Microsoft). I think Microsoft understood how to manage Bungie and it also helped that the studio under Microsoft always seemed to remain fairly small. With that said, I also think Bungie became somewhat arrogant thinking they could revolutionize gaming with Destiny especially after becoming independent that they bit off more than they could chew.

That could be the case, but we'll never know. I'm kind of disappointed that Geoff Keighley hasn't announced a Final Hours of Destiny, if he's still doing that all for that matter.

Edit: Guys and gals, I think a lot of this 'refund' story and hyperbolic talk of trash and such is not suiting the discussion well. Some of it is ok, but just the quick drop in and eject stuff isn't. This isn't the hole to shit on Destiny thread, but one to discuss the reviews and the positive and negative criticism within them. Thank you for your consideration of this PSA.
 
If you come at it from an MMO viewpoint then the game fares even worse imo. As a shooter it at least comes across as being in the correct generation at least. As an MMO-lite, it fails to be competitive with the first of its kind on console (PSO). PSO does a better job with content, characters, social interaction, story, loot, etc. Basically anything you can measure it against, PSO comes out on top despite being 15 years old, and having far less to draw from as prior examples. Comparing it to MMO's of today? It's simply embarrassing.

Trying to portray Destiny as an MMO does it no favours at all.
If this is true that has to be pretty embarrassing.
 
That could be the case, but we'll never know. I'm kind of disappointed that Geoff Keighley hasn't announced a Final Hours of Destiny, if he's still doing that all for that matter.

He really needs to do that. Obviously Destiny was intended to be much more, but for some reason wasn't and it would be really interesting to know what happened. It also would be awesome to understand what went into the exclusivity deals -- why Microsoft seemingly turned down the right to Destiny, how Activision made the publishing deal, and how Sony picked up the exclusive marketing rights.

That stuff in general just seems like there is a huge story to tell.

I still want to caveat this: I really do enjoy Destiny. My main problem with it is essentially two things: the story telling and the lack of content (repeating content is not my definition of content unless it is multiplayer in which case there is enough differentiation to keep things flowing but the story, strikes, and patrol aren't really compelling enough -- Crucible can be though).

Well, the third problem was communication of what the game was (even after people played the game during the alpha and beta, people still believed that Destiny was something more despite knowing what they played -- even I believed this).
 
For a social game, why does the game lack basic comm tools within the game like messaging?

Now that I am enjoying the game for what it is, this is the aspect that really bothers me the most. Feels so lonely to not be able to talk to anyone easily.

Having voice chat work only inside of your group (which can contain only two other people), makes it feel very limited. Keyboard chat would be cool, but if they are absolutely opposed to text, then some kind of optional proximity-based voice chat would really go a long way to being able to meet and group up with people in game. Not even having voice chat in PvP or Strikes is a really weird decision.

Your only option right now to get a group going in game is to send an invitation out of the blue, which just sucks. In the overworld, you have no idea what mission or activity another player is looking to do, so sending an invite out of the blue is often not appropriate at all. On PS4, having to invite in game and then confirm that invitation to play via the OS's interface is annoying, too.
 
That could be the case, but we'll never know. I'm kind of disappointed that Geoff Keighley hasn't announced a Final Hours of Destiny, if he's still doing that all for that matter.

Edit: Guys and gals, I think a lot of this 'refund' story and hyperbolic talk of trash and such is not suiting the discussion well. This isn't the hole to shit on Destiny thread, but one to discuss the reviews and the positive and negative criticism within them.

This thread has been a poop on destiny thread since the first few pages. Now it's just a caricature of itself. A caricature of a caricature.
 
I haven't felt this much regret over a game purchase since Manhunt 2. Thankfully I was able to return that one. I need to not make digital purchases of games I haven't played before.

Me too. I think this has taught me to not buy digital anymore on new releases. I do enjoy the gun play so I'm hoping they can do something to turn this around (kind of like how diablo 3 did).
 
I think a lot of the lower reviews are basically because console gamers (and by extension the reviewers) don't have that much experience with MMO games. All MMO's are somewhat grindy, with limited story since it is hard to maintain a linear story while allowing an open world experience.

The Polygon review specifically had an FPS-based gamer and an MMO-based gamer review it, and they largely came to the same conclusion. I'm an avid MMO player (I've sunk many hours into Everquest, Everquest 2, WoW, Rift, SWTOR, Wildstar, Guild Wars 2, and many others) and I'm not too happy with the endgame myself. The problem is that these bosses aren't good by endgame standards - they're bullet sponges that just have inflated healthbars and upped attack numbers. There are very few actual mechanics to be found here.

Fingers are crossed so hard that the raid is different, but if Bungie has shown me anything in these level 22 strikes, it's that they don't know squat about good boss design in this kind of game.
 
I dunno, this seems like an awesome game if you don't have a lot of time.

Or did you just want an epic story campaign? If so, I can understand being so disappointed.

Yes. I love story centric games. The Last of Us, Halo, GTA, Wolfenstein, Fallout. These are all games I loved. I was expecting Borderlands 2ish from what I had read. I really enjoyed that game. The world seems so dead and I do not care for the way the story is delivered.

No beef or problems with anyone that likes it. I guess I'm just shocked that I didn't love it.
 
He really needs to do that. Obviously Destiny was intended to be much more, but for some reason wasn't and it would be really interesting to know what happened. It also would be awesome to understand what went into the exclusivity deals -- why Microsoft seemingly turned down the right to Destiny, how Activision made the publishing deal, and how Sony picked up the exclusive marketing rights.

That stuff in general just seems like there is a huge story to tell.

For all the DoritosDew King stuff that gets thrown his way and his act on GameTrailers, his work outside of that is pretty damn near what a lot of people are claiming they want in regards to game journalism.

I can't even be mad that he has people pay for that content, though I don't like how they are apps that only work on certain devices.
This thread has been a poop on destiny thread since the first few pages. Now it's just a caricature of itself. A caricature of a caricature.

Gatti, you haven't been exactly a healthy drop in the shit bucket either. At least I'm trying to improve the situation instead of further antagonizing people.
 
Fingers are crossed so hard that the raid is different, but if Bungie has shown me anything in these level 22 strikes, it's that they don't know squat about good boss design in this kind of game.

Actually, after reading this, I got to thinking: Has Bungie ever been good with boss design? I'm thinking back to their Halo games, and I can't really remember a good boss fight (in terms of mechanics).

It just seems like Bungie was perhaps trying to ultimately make a game that didn't lend itself to their actual strengths (would explain why the story made little sense even though the world itself does seem deep and well developed, why the boss mechanics and end-game are pretty poor, and why the world just feels so disconnected compared to other games like it).

For all the DoritosDew King stuff that gets thrown his way and his act on GameTrailers, his work outside of that is pretty damn near what a lot of people are claiming they want in regards to game journalism.

I can't even be mad that he has people pay for that content, though I don't like how they are apps that only work on certain devices.

I like Geoff personally, and I definitely agree with you on his Final Hours series. It is good stuff. The thing with Geoff is that you just gotta know when he's hyping things up -- it's sometimes hard to remember that people often would rather hear good things about games they enjoy rather than bad so that typically attracts more people by default -- and when he's doing actual research with just facts.
 
Actually, after reading this, I got to thinking: Has Bungie ever been good with boss design? I'm thinking back to their Halo games, and I can't really remember a good boss fight (in terms of mechanics).

It just seems like Bungie was perhaps trying to ultimately make a game that didn't lend itself to their actual strengths (would explain why the story made little sense even though the world itself does seem deep and well developed, why the boss mechanics and end-game are pretty poor, and why the world just feels so disconnected compared to other games like it).

Well, the most (in)famous were Tartarus and
Guilty Spark
, neither of which were that hot. They have had some impressive set piece battles that worked a lot like bossfights, though. Halo 3's scarab fights come to mind.

EDIT: Why do these threads slow down right when I'm about to post? Sorry for double.
 
Actually, after reading this, I got to thinking: Has Bungie ever been good with boss design? I'm thinking back to their Halo games, and I can't really remember a good boss fight (in terms of mechanics).

It just seems like Bungie was perhaps trying to ultimately make a game that didn't lend itself to their actual strengths (would explain why the story made little sense even though the world itself does seem deep and well developed, why the boss mechanics and end-game are pretty poor, and why the world just feels so disconnected compared to other games like it).

Myth had pretty decent bosses really. The special enemies took a lot of effort and consideration to take down. I mean, it's an RTS, but still.
 
Well, the most (in)famous were Tartarus and
Guilty Spark
, neither of which were that hot. They have had some impressive set piece battles that worked a lot like bossfights, though. Halo 3's scarab fights come to mind.

EDIT: Why do these threads slow down right when I'm about to post? Sorry for double.


The Scarab fights and whatnot did work somewhat similarly to boss fights, but Destiny wasn't built for that kind of thing given the nature of the game. It was built for boss fights like Tartarus and
Guilty Spark
which boggles my mind.

Myth had pretty decent bosses really. The special enemies took a lot of effort and consideration to take down. I mean, it's an RTS, but still.

I never played Myth, but that's cool to know. It could be the different genres though -- I imagine it would be quite easy to just develop a bullet sponge boss in an FPS game, so making a boss with good mechanics may take some considerable thought.
 
Lol, I just sold my copy of the game on Ebay for 50 dollars. Best part is, I bought this game for 47 dollars off of Ebay so I didn't lose a single penny and played a ton of this game. Great game but there is no point in me keeping it currently since I bought Diablo 3 a week prior to purchasing the game and I have no time to play it. Will buy again when it hits like 15-20 bucks down the road. I think the price for this game is going to lower a lot.
 
I don't think it's that huge of a leap. Bungie, after becoming independent, has lost a lot of its core talent (some of which have returned to Microsoft). I think Microsoft understood how to manage Bungie and it also helped that the studio under Microsoft always seemed to remain fairly small. With that said, I also think Bungie became somewhat arrogant thinking they could revolutionize gaming with Destiny especially after becoming independent that they bit off more than they could chew.

I think Microsoft was far more active in the development of Bungie's Halo games than Activision ever was with Destiny (in part because Microsoft owned Halo as opposed to Activision who didn't own Destiny) and, as a result, Microsoft knew how to reach goals. That's what Bungie needed to do -- reach goals it didn't with Destiny. The very first E3 demo is testament to that as it was described as basically a whole other game (and it was still oddly marketed even still as that type of game).

Shrinnan is right guys, Microsoft deserves most of the credit for Halo.
 
For all the DoritosDew King stuff that gets thrown his way and his act on GameTrailers, his work outside of that is pretty damn near what a lot of people are claiming they want in regards to game journalism.

I can't even be mad that he has people pay for that content, though I don't like how they are apps that only work on certain devices.


Gatti, you haven't been exactly a healthy drop in the shit bucket either. At least I'm trying to improve the situation instead of further antagonizing people.
Saying this thread has been full of hyperbole and hate then spelling it out and using examples from the game and defending it all while keeping a level head isn't the problem (what I was doing in the past in this thread). I don't think I should apologize or feel bad for calling a spade a spade..

there is a reason this thread is so long and it's not because you or anyone else is making some ground breaking headway in the critique of Destiny.

Shrinnan is right guys, Microsoft deserves most of the credit for Halo.

Lol I'm dead.
 
I think the price for this game is going to lower a lot.

For what reasons? It sold well and they'll probably keep the price up until maybe Spring. Don't see this hitting 20 like you're aiming for until this time next year or next November at the earliest.
Saying this thread has been full of hyperbole and hate then spelling it out and using examples from the game and defending it all while keeping a level head isn't the problem (what I was doing in the past in this thread). I don't think I should apologize or feel bad for calling a spade a spade..

there is a reason this thread is so long and it's not because you or anyone else is making some ground breaking headway in the critique of Destiny.

I may have misremembered your older posts, and if so I do apologize. But I'm just as unhappy seeing people who disagree with the criticisms casting nets over everyone as I am with the people just using the reviews for their confirmation bias and worse.

But yeah, I do agree that the unfortunate reality of the thread's length isn't for the sake of discussion. Just want all the shit posting to stop.
 
Shrinnan is right guys, Microsoft deserves most of the credit for Halo.

Wow, that was a gross exaggeration of something that I wasn't even close to saying. I was saying that Microsoft seemed good at helping Bungie reach goals -- that would be Microsoft's goal as an active publisher. Bungie, now being independent for the first time in over a decade, most likely overextended itself -- especially after probably feeling near invincible with the success of Halo. You should also look at what Halo was before the Microsoft acquisition and what Halo was after -- they were completely different games. I'm saying that Microsoft served a purpose, but I'm not saying that Bungie didn't deserve the credit for Halo as they obviously did the work (and Halo 2 was absolutely revolutionary with its matchmaking).
 
Is this really a bad/ok game? or is this one of those games that the "hardcore" audience thinks is bad? I'm having tons of fun and everyone I have talked to is having fun too
 
I haven't felt this much regret over a game purchase since Manhunt 2. Thankfully I was able to return that one. I need to not make digital purchases of games I haven't played before.
Well, maybe you need to stop picking every game left in a trail of games, saying "oh, piece of candy."

;)
 
The Division! So far we're 0-3 for this kinda game.

Unless Microsoft starts marketing the hell out of sunset overdrive, and we start calling that a AAA game. It's a renowned studio, so there's that. (Though FUSE wasn't exactly the greatest thing in the world...)

So far, my money is on that game for being the first one of this generation I unequivocally adore. It seems like the factions are fun, there's a lighthearted tone to everything,(Watch_Dogs and Destiny take themselves painfully seriously) the guns are interesting, the AMPS sound like a cool modifier, and I like the Jet Grind Radio-esque traveling system. I hope that one doesn't let me down quite as much as these last two.

Destiny is so close for me, though. So, so close.
 
For what reasons? It sold well and they'll probably keep the price up until maybe Spring. Don't see this hitting 20 like you're aiming for until this time next year or next November at the earliest.


I may have misremembered your older posts, and if so I do apologize. But I'm just as unhappy seeing people who disagree with the criticisms casting nets over everyone as I am with the people just using the reviews for their confirmation bias and worse.

But yeah, I do agree that the unfortunate reality of the thread's length isn't for the sake of discussion. Just want all the shit posting to stop.

The one thing I will say is Bungie has tapped into some powerful emotions. I don't know why the backlash has been so hard I really dont. But this thread speaks for itself. This goes beyond just the game. It's truly bizarre.
 
Well I RedBoxed it on PS3 and put about 10 hours into the game. Reviews are pretty much spot on.

The things that bother me the most are the completely sterile environments and the repetitive mission structure. I don't have any friends that play on the PS3 so I went solo for most of what I played. It was actually pretty fun and challenging, however the more I played the more glaring the issues became. I'm sure playing with friends would up the enjoyment of the game, but it doesn't hide its flaws.

Once I get a current gen console around the end of the year I can see myself buying it provided they fix some of the issues and more content will be out by then. Plus the graphics on PS3 aren't bad, but not great and look kinda muddy which breaks the immersion for me especially when I know those with a Xbone/PS4 are seeing the game how it should be in all its glory.

Solid foundation and really fun gameplay, but should have been much more right at launch. I may give it a second shot later on down the road. 7/10 for me
 
If this is true that has to be pretty embarrassing.
It's completely true, and basically matches up with what every person and review is saying about this game. The "MMO" aspect is where the entire game fell apart.

They adapted a lot of the worst things about MMOs, like the repetitive quest design and incomprehensible story, but they completely failed in adapting any of the good things about MMOs. There's no way to really interact with strangers, no reasons to care about getting sick loot, no big worlds worth exploring, no bustling cities full of players to make things feel more active. There's nothing really. If you took out the combat and replaced it with standard fare MMO combat, it would easily top vanilla final fantasy 14 as worst MMO ever.

Luckily the combat is good, so that's the one thing saving the game from becoming a full on disaster.
 
So, Bungie held it back from reviewers because it was not expected to review well. How surprising.

The idea that reviewers shouldn't be able to experience and thus review the game until launch so that they get the full (social) experience always seemed silly since the maximum amount of players you could possibly team up with is 6 (and that's only in two modes: Crucible and Raids, which aren't even available yet). The max team size otherwise, and the majority of what most people will experience is that of a fireteam, which is a party size of 3. It was a laughable excuse. You can't even easily talk to other people, so where is the social experience exactly? I mean, Halo had 6v6 and 4 player co-op.
 
I think a lot of the lower reviews are basically because console gamers (and by extension the reviewers) don't have that much experience with MMO games. All MMO's are somewhat grindy, with limited story since it is hard to maintain a linear story while allowing an open world experience.

People don't give TLoU a 6, and then complain that the world isn't open enough. You have to know going in that Destiny is basically an MMO and it's all about the end game. If you enjoy that type of game, then I'd say Destiny is around an 8-9 for me (some minor flaws, but very good game).

If you are expecting some linear story like Halo or Gears or something, this just isn't that type of game.

Lol Destiny's MMO components are actually what I find to be most wrong with it. As I've said they can correct the story and such, but where is the that "shared world" experience they trumped up?
 
Is this really a bad/ok game? or is this one of those games that the "hardcore" audience thinks is bad? I'm having tons of fun and everyone I have talked to is having fun too

Is this one of those loaded questions you already have convinced yourself the answer to and that I'm stepping into it?

It's a decent/good game. It has a good foundation in regards to the gunplay and universe. The loot is also fun when you have the luck of getting semi-regular drops. The core gameplay loop is addictive. A.I. of the enemies is pretty good for the game it is.

The shortcomings of all the other pieces of the game are holding it down a bit though. Repetitive missions that have no reason to be so. No attempt at much variety beyond the brief Sword of Crota. All the social aspects are buggered due to the lack of actual social features. The exploration is unrewarding. No drops in Strikes. A bare and sort of unbalanced PvP. Not much real variety in the gameplay itself and moments to take advantage of them. No agency or significant context to the missions. Forgettable presentation of the story. Spongey and unremarkable bosses.

All these things add up. Some of it counts more to some people than others.

But I still think it's a good game that most of the core stuff can be fixed. The mission based stuff can't be, but maybe expansions will do that.

I'm not going to bother rating it for contention bait. I'll just leave it as a good, enjoyable, but still heavily flawed game.
 
Unless Microsoft starts marketing the hell out of sunset overdrive, and we start calling that a AAA game. It's a renowned studio, so there's that. (Though FUSE wasn't exactly the greatest thing in the world...)

So far, my money is on that game for being the first one of this generation I unequivocally adore. It seems like the factions are fun, there's a lighthearted tone to everything,(Watch_Dogs and Destiny take themselves painfully seriously) the guns are interesting, the AMPS sound like a cool modifier, and I like the Jet Grind Radio-esque traveling system. I hope that one doesn't let me down quite as much as these last two.

Destiny is so close for me, though. So, so close.
Eh The Divison will cease to be gaf's darling when the full extent of the micro transactions are realised.
 
Lol Destiny's MMO components are actually what I find to be most wrong with it. As I've said they can correct the story and such, but where is the that "shared world" experience they trumped up?

Yeah, there's really no point to having the social aspects. At all. Nearly no match making, clans do literally nothing, people you see almost never are doing the same thing. I'm sure it's great if you have a few friends at the exact point in the game you are, but otherwise it might as well be single player with MP IMO.
 
It's completely true, and basically matches up with what every person and review is saying about this game. The "MMO" aspect is where the entire game fell apart.

They adapted a lot of the worst things about MMOs, like the repetitive quest design and incomprehensible story, but they completely failed in adapting any of the good things about MMOs. There's no way to really interact with strangers, no reasons to care about getting sick loot, no big worlds worth exploring, no bustling cities full of players to make things feel more active. There's nothing really. If you took out the combat and replaced it with standard fare MMO combat, it would easily top vanilla final fantasy 14 as worst MMO ever.

Luckily the combat is good, so that's the one thing saving the game from becoming a full on disaster.

Well said. In strikes I find myself reaching for my keyboard to go over a strategy. Oops! Oh you guys don't have mics? :/

After the beta I knew this game was nothing special, not sure why the beta made so many people into the game.
 
There is such little effort shown in this game...I am still enjoying it after 20+ hours but that's only cause of my friends. Honestly feels like a 39.99$ game at best. Thank god I only payed 29.99 so it doesn't hurt as much to the wallet. The only thing hurting is my feels cause I wanted and expected this game to be so much more =-\.
 
Crucible is probably the most entertaining part of the game. I feel weird saying that, because I'm normally not a big multiplayer person, or a big Halo fan.
 
For those of you saying chests have nothing in them.


For some reason on Mars the chests have tons of cool stuff on them. Spaceship blueprints, blue engrams, tons of matts. I opened one with 11 mats 2 blue engrams and a mote of light today all in one chest. Crazy. Same trip I found a cool new ship.
 
The one thing I will say is Bungie has tapped into some powerful emotions. I don't know why the backlash has been so hard I really dont. But this thread speaks for itself. This goes beyond just the game. It's truly bizarre.

It's one of the first tentpole AAA next-gen games, it was created by one of the most famous developers in the industry after a lengthy hiatus, it had been discussed at length and built up over a long period of time, it had a massive marketing campaign with advertisements everywhere, and it's a new IP from Activision with plans to be a 10 year series.

That's why the emotions are so strong with this one. It's a huge combination of different factors that all built it up to be a gigantic cultural phenomenon. Obviously a split opinion is going to lead to more extreme emotions on this one than if Castlevania: Lords Of Shadow DS got some lukewarm reviews.
 
Crucible is probably the most entertaining part of the game. I feel weird saying that, because I'm normally not a big multiplayer person, or a big Halo fan.

I will say this: Crucible is warming up to me. The only problems I'm finding with it is that the Moon maps are terrible (actually, any of the maps with vehicles are terrible which is odd considering that Halo was one of the few games where vehicles weren't annoying) and the multiplayer always seems to come down to shotguns, supers, and heavy weapons.
 
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