Greetings fellow Guardians! This is an article I have written on the state of Destiny at the moment and why I still play it after 700+ hours. Destiny. Back in September of last year, Destiny was a AAA game that a lot of people were excited about. Being created by Bungie, a developer with a very impressive pedigree from the immensely successful Halo franchise, it was safe to say that this new upcoming title from the FPS giant was in safe hands. Or was it? Sadly the answer would have to be no. For a game that looked to have everything going for it, with a budget of a whopping $500,000,000 from their publishers at Activision, an expert team of designers and storytellers and even a stellar cast of voice actors the question must be asked; how did they go so wrong? And even more importantly, why am I still playing it!? Now for a lot of people, Destiny may seem like old news. Many people I know played on release and then simply gave up after the hype had died down. For me however, Destiny has become a staple of my gaming life. Each week I play the Nightfall Strikes, followed by the Weekly Heroic Strikes, with 3 characters. Then I jump on over to Venus or the Earth’s moon to do battle against Atheon or Crota with fellow Guardians in the raids. Now all this, especially with having to juggle 3 characters is quite a time consuming process and more and more I am asking myself why I do it. I mean, if you are longing for an epic, meaningful story with a varied and interesting cast of characters, the like you find in Halo for instance, then this is not the game you are looking for. For those wanting a replay-able campaign with varied objectives and an intelligent and menacing AI system, sorry you’re out of luck. Destiny’s story is bland. There’s no escaping that. Cut scenes are few and far between and appear disjointed from the narrative. The characters you encounter are also lacking in any depth and there is almost no characterisation whatsoever, no reason to care why they actually exist. And even with the great voice acting talents of Bill Nighy, Gina Torres, Claudia Black and one of my personal favourites Nathan Fillion, the characters they play simply do not have any sway on the story, instead standing around the Tower, the game’s main hub, selling armour or special DLC items. And of course, we cannot forget one of the most controversial characters of the narrative, Ghost. Being your constant companion throughout the game, you would think that he would be a funny and interesting asset on your journey across the galaxy. Especially since he is being voiced by the extremely talented Peter Dinklage, who plays Tyrion Lannister in the epic series A Game of Thrones. But no. His portrayal of Ghost leaves you scratching your head at some of his nonsensical comments and cringing at the poor delivery of his lines. Considering how brilliant we all know he can act, I can only assume that this is how Bungie wanted him to play the role. And it’s not simply just the narrative that may put you off this game. Although the story takes you to varied locations and planets on your travels through the stars; Mars, Venus and even the Earth’s moon, you still don’t feel connected to the world you are in. Often, locations are reused and rehashed for each mission and take only a few minutes to complete. The missions themselves are repetitive affairs, tasking you with going to here and killing this big bad alien, or holding down a button to let Ghost scan some old piece of hardware or evil alien technology. Enemies feel unintelligent, either charging directly at you, or hiding away behind cover and running as you approach. You see, for all of Destiny’s flaws, of which there are many, at its core Destiny remains a solid and enjoyable first person shooter. The gameplay is fun, the weapons shoot and handle smoothly and there is an immense amount of satisfaction to be had in putting down your foes. The 3 classes of the Warlock, Hunter and Titan all feel varied enough to justify the creating of 3 characters, each having their own abilities and quirks, such as the Hunter’s throwing knife or the Titan’s Fist of Havoc ground pound. The enemies that you face, although they may not act as you would expect, are still wonderfully designed. They may not be the most original of creations but each of the 4 races appear different and menacing in their own way. From the Roman-like imperialistic Cabal, to the wild, savage and cultic Hive, each offer their own unique challenge and lore to the world. Destiny is also a very visually stunning game. Clearly demonstrating the power and capability of the new generation of consoles. I have often found myself admiring the ancient colony ships back in the Cosmodrome on Earth or gazing up at the stars on the moon with the impressive remains of a ruined space station, its debris strewn overhead. The score for Destiny, by Martin o’Donell is absolutely wonderful, spurring you on as you cut down your enemies. Although it often feels out of place with the tasks that you are actually performing, it still stands as another great video game soundtrack. I have come to the conclusion that like many tropes that are found in MMOs today, the ones employed by Destiny have ensnared me hook, line and sinker. The use of daily and weekly events such as the strikes and raids I mentioned earlier and also the Crucible multiplayer events like the Iron Banner, all have me coming back week after week. Generally fireteams consist of 3 Guardians, so when I play the Nightfall and Heroic strikes each week, I am usually joined by my Brother and Uncle. Using the best weapons we have available, we thoroughly enjoy the challenge they present. And if we want a harder challenge for greater rewards, then the raids are the best place for this. The three of us up team up with 3 other guardians to fight in the toughest trials the game has to offer. The raids take place on the moon and venus and the challenges presented mean you have to divide your team in order to defend objectives or take down the terrifying bosses when you finally make it to the end. The social element and player interaction is a welcome addition and change from the tedium and monotony of the main story. But of course, it’s not simply for the challenge that I play Destiny. There is one thing above all others in this game that has players coming back each week; one thing that has us grinding at the millstone of the raids, strikes and crucible; that sweet, sweet loot. Let’s face it, who doesn’t like their characters wearing the best armour in the game and holding the fanciest and most powerful weapons? It’s clear that the loot is the greatest draw of players to Destiny and what keeps people coming back every week, trying to earn either that last piece of raid gear or the highest tier items in the game, the exotics. Parading your character in front of your friends with your fancy loot is a great feeling, especially considering how hard you have to struggle to earn it. The weapon and armour designs are truly outstanding and Bungies attention to detail is staggering and it is here that they excel. The raid gear you can earn from the latest raid, Crota’s End allows your character to look like they are wearing armour salvaged from the bodies of the Hive you have slain. But these are not a patch on the elusive exotics that we struggle so hard to obtain. These are the rarest and fanciest pieces of gear you can earn and they certainly look the part. From the gilded and glittering Crest of Alpha Lupi to the wolf adorned rocket launcher of the fabled Gjallarhorn, each one has you striving to get your greedy fingers on them, to wield them in battle against the hordes of Darkness, or your fellow Guardians in the Crucible. So there it is. These are the reasons that I keep returning to Destiny each week. No the game is not perfect and yes there are many things that I would change had I the power. But it still remains, Destiny is a very fun shooter, especially with friends and family and the lure each week as the strikes and raids refresh allowing another shot at the best loot in the game, means I will be returning for some time. This is why destiny remains… well somewhat of a dilemma. Please check out the vid I made if you get the chance :)