My Journey with Destiny; A Taken King Review

Hey all, Kiki here and welcome to my first game review!

Had you told me a year ago, that the game known as “Destiny” would be the primary consumption of my gaming time, I’d have laughed. Prior to its release, my gaming friends had hyped up this game for me by filling up my news-feed on articles and countless teaser videos. So, on September 9th of 2014, I was at my local game store buying my pre-ordered copy. But alas, the hype that was built around this game came to a blistering fail.

My initial response to Destiny was disappointment. For $60, I received very minimal game-play, story and lore, along with a big jumbled mess of a game that couldn’t decide if it wanted to be FPS, MMO or RPG. I truly wanted to enjoy the game that I had been taunted with for a year, but the eight hours worth of story and continuous grind to get any good loot or gear, really lost its value to me. I had wasted $60 dollars on a game that was worth, at most, $40.

But what I love most about Bungie, was they listened to their audiences and fans, and pushed out an Expansion that was truly deserving of the hype it built for so many years.

STORY: 

For many, fans of Destiny are unaware of the crisis that happened within the year before its launch. Joe Staten, one of the original writers of Destiny and former writer of Bungie, was released after his original story was scraped and changed. The producers of Destiny were unimpressed with the content he had created, some even labeling it as “Messy” and “Too Complex”. Having to, essentially, start from scratch, was the primary reason why the story of Destiny remained so vague and “empty feeling” to the majority of critics.

Taken King, however, was able to fill many of the gaps left by its predecessor. Cinematic sequences were added throughout the early story to reveal information in regards to why earth is in the state its in, the Traveler and the mystery of what it is, guardians and their significance to the galaxy, NPC involvement with the story and your character etc etc. Despite these much needed improvements, much could be tweaked and perfected.

As an avid RPG gamer, I thrive on story and lore. I want to learn as much about the game world I am thrown into. Elder Scrolls: Skyrim is a perfect example of this. The world is huge, the lore is immense; but what makes it a great example, is this lore is at your disposal. The world can be read up on, studied and explored within the game. Destiny, however, leaves grimoires throughout the game that can only be read and accessed via internet web browsing. With a long history of RPG gaming under my belt, it was hard not to desire to want to know more about the world of Destiny. Unable to access this world unless going on the internet, I was and remain disappointed.

GAMEPLAY:

The entire selling point of Taken King is its game-play. Being in first person could be hard for some, but the easy controls and quick aim makes it easy for long time FPS gamers, or new ones to enjoy. The missions come in variety with wide-ranged level of enemies to battle. The co-operative game-play is optional, but makes the game that much more fun. Daily bounties, which have existed since the beginning, continue to replenish themselves to help level up your character, or to give incentive to travel to old map regions. And the Crucible still provides plenty of PvP action for those competitive players.

The strike missions and raids are the most enjoyable aspect of Destiny, at least in my opinion. These have existed since the beginning; but have only improved since the release of Taken King. King’s Fall, which is the most challenging aspect of the game, relies heavily on teamwork and coordination to complete. It contains a mixture of jumping puzzles, bosses to battle, and even features an in-game maze to complete. Despite its difficulty, its a great time for a group of six friends, or randomized players to enjoy.

And if I do say so myself, Oryx is one hell of an opponent. 

The biggest downfall of the raids and strike missions, is the unpredictable loot system. The grind that was exhausting in the beginning, has continued over on Taken King. I really have no other way of describing it without showing imagery.

This is what we all want our Cryptarch visit to look like after our raids, and strikes. Which by the way (of my several months of playing Destiny) this is the best loot I have had to date. And this was after about six or seven strike missions.

But unfortunately this what a typical visit looks like;

Okay, maybe I am being a bit overly-dramatic. But there is some truth to this…

GENRE:

The most unusual (or groundbreaking) thing about Destiny is its attempt to venture into multiple genres. As mentioned before, it takes elements from FPS (first person shooter), RPG (role playing game), MMO (massive multiplayer online); where it then mashes all these genres together. The FPS is fairly obvious; it’s in first person and you are running around shooting alien creatures. The RPG comes from the character creation, development leveling system, and multiple subclasses. And the MMO comes from the mass amount of players you can interact with and mingle with in the social areas, such as the Tower or the Vestian Outpost.

FINAL VERDICT:

Destiny had a rough start, but after a year of tweaking, expansions and updates; it has proved to be a most enjoyable and fulfilling game. The graphics are stunning, the co-operative game-play is excitable, and the adventure is endless.

What are you guys waiting for? Create your Guardian, and venture the galaxy!