FROM FORBES: [url=http://www.forbes.com/sites/insertcoin/2014/12/10/destiny-must-truly-expand-if-it-wants-to-survive/]Destiny Must Truly Expand If It Wants To Survive[/url]
Looks like the complete lack of "expansion" in this expansion is getting some media attention. The focus of the article is essentially that the failure to include any major new areas to explore in the Dark Below will significantly reduce Destiny's staying power. Opening up new "zones" is pretty important for a game like this that is trying to encourage players to grind and play daily. Discuss...
EDIT: Glad to see there is some good debate going on in here but just to be clear for those unwilling to sit down and read through the full article, this isn't a case of someone who hates the game explaining why it is bad. The author clearly loves a lot about the game and he's giving what I believe to be a rather spot-on analysis of the current expansion and the problems Bungie might face in the road ahead if they choose to stay the course .
EDIT 2: Before the expansion launched I brought up the possibility of opening up the VOG as well as the Jovian Complex and Seraphim Vault within patrol to help (artificially at least) expand the world and spice things up. After running into the same wall that I always do in Bunker RAS-2 on patrol, it appears they have chosen to keep what precious few new environments they DO have away from those in free-roam who are looking for a change of pace during bounties. That thread can be found [url=http://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/83257585/0/0/1]HERE [/url].
EDIT 3: With the weekly Deej update incoming, I think it would be wise on Bungie's part to begin laying out, in concrete terms, what we can expect from House of Wolves and whether or not a true "expansion" to our Guardian's world is on the horizon in some form. Communication is key here since a lot of these complaints and concerns crop up because vague promises like "new adventures are on the way" become meaningless and don't help players decide whether to move on or to stick with the game.
EDIT 4: Some more negative mainstream media attention has cropped up over at CNET. Discussion on that article can be found [url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/83781927/0/0]HERE[/url]
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Edited by coffeerox: 12/11/2014 7:14:07 AMThis article is nowhere NEAR spot on. #1 - "This is an MMO" argument ad nauseum Destiny is NOT an MMO. How many times do we have to repeat this? IT IS NOT AN MMO! Stop trying to pin expectations of MMO-like content on game that's NOT AN MMO! #2 - Expectations of new areas This guy fails to realize how the game is designed. The primary force in the game is gear and therefore there's multiple ways to get that. No matter how many planets they add to the game, it's pointless if it doesn't drive the primary force. You all have to accept that the endgame has, and always will be, raiding and PvP. They're not going to add planets for new single player story missions and bounties. When they release a new planet, they'll have to create a brand new story branch, new open world, bounties, PVP map styled after the new world, endgame raid to tie up all loose ends of the story in that world and finally, items to go along all of this. #4 - True "expansions" Again with the MMO. With an MMO expansion, you're paying 50 dollars and generally what you get with that 50 bucks are new quests, zones, raids, etc. Keep in mind though, that 50 bucks isn't all you'll be paying. You're also paying 14.99 a month to play it, therefore the size and scope of MMO expansions are simply not possible on a console title that's NOT AN MMO. The author mentioned Diablo in that same paragraph. Diablo 3 is most similar when compared to Destiny (Diablo is a true Action RPG while Destiny's major concept points heavily borrow from Action RPG's). In Diablo 3's expansion, Reaper of Souls, you only get one act, Act 5, which can be cleared in under an hour. The real gameplay time, and meat of the game, comes from the items and the item grind. SOUND FAMILIAR? The only difference is, Destiny revolves around co-op to earn those items as opposed to Diablo 3 where co-op is optional (but favorable). How much did this "expansion" cost? 40 dollars. Highway robbery for 1 new act, some modes and slew of items. Bungie gave you MORE for 20. #5 - Story Actually, all said and done, the story was well put together (more well put together than the original game). I love how Dark Below creates a creepy almost terrifying atmosphere that comes with going into a place that dark with the kind of monsters that inhabit it. That said, the story itself is NOT JUST the single player stuff. The raid is the centerpiece of it all. All of this complaining about not enough content and waste of money stems from the fact that you're not Level 30 and you're not doing the raid. In reality, if you did the raid, the story for the Dark Below comes together quite nicely. If you want to bring the MMO parallel back (cause apparently people only want to use MMO as a talking point when it suits their narrative), you've always had to clear the raid in order to finish the story line that was started outside the raid (such as Black Temple with Illidan). #6 - Value if you remove expectations, such as wanting MMO-type levels of content, the value in what you get with 20 dollars is actually pretty good. The game time you'll get out of any activity justifies the cost alone. If you're a single player, you're going to be upgrading all your gear to level 31 and do all the strikes, story missions and bounties. If you're a PVP'er, you'll PVP for packages and marks to update your gear. If you're a raider, you'll do the same stuff as single player but progress in the raid on top of that to attempt to get the best items in the game. Whatever activity you choose,you're going to be spending a lot of time with the game. Leave MMO expectations for MMO. You're not paying 50 bucks + 14.99/mo for the game, so don't expect bells and whistles to come with spending 20 bucks worth of content. For what you get with that 20 bucks, it's actually a really good value.