Ever since I began playing this game, I have felt like there are some key elements missing that would make this a truly great gaming experience. And I am not saying that this isn’t a good game, I’m only saying that it could be much better. Now, I understand that this is supposed to be a “10 year” game, but if it is expected to last that long and go that far, it must be an experience that will out-shine or be on par with that of anything that will come to us in the future (gaming wise). So with that said, here are the things that I believe were lacking in this game that could have changed the experience greatly. 1. The [b]story telling [/b]of the game and in the game was unexpectedly lacking. The concept of the Grimoire cards on the Bungie site is not something that you would normally see in a console game. For me, it seems like a lazy way of telling the story of Destiny. Rather than have compelling cinematic cut scenes and informative NPCs, which would have gone a long way to really bring players into the universe of the game, we gain information cards here and there that we can read at our leisure outside of the game (if you even care to do so). I have read them myself, but I am not fond of the concept. I may just be old fashion, but I like my game to tell me a story the way a momma bird feeds her young. (I’m also slightly lazy, so that is my hangup) 2. [b]Character creation [/b]and [b]development[/b] lacks a uniqueness that lets players really jump into a game and create their own avatar they can identify with and care about. Essentially, it doesn’t seem to matter what race or class you choose to play as, because they will all end up at the same place, doing the same thing. I feel like it doesn’t really make any sense for there to be different races to choose from, if they’re just going to do the same thing. They all have different back stories and origins, yet they all end up starting off in the same spot and do the same thing; that just seems rather weird to me. I feel like there should have been a different start point for the different combinations of races and characters. As far as looks go, everyone is pretty much a doppelganger of everyone else, which is due to the inability to actually customize characters – aside from using shaders (which I am not really fond of). 3. [b]The Tower [/b]is the “home” for the guardians. The place where you find vendors, vanguards, crucible handler, the speaker, and others. All of these are supposed to serve some sort of purpose, but in the grand scheme of things, they don’t do what they should – from my stand point. People like the gunsmith and shipwright are, for the most part, useless almost immediately. The only thing the gunsmith has that you will need is ammo consumables and rare fusion rifles for a specific exotic bounty (if he is actually selling them). The Cryptarch is just a jerk (we aren’t on good terms). The Speaker is kind of a creeper, but I suppose he is the most knowledgeable person in the whole tower, though he will not tell you anything (also a jerk). As for the Vanguards, they are pretty much glorified vendors of armor. They really don’t do anything that you would expect them to, like advise the different classes and hand out class specific missions. The bounty tracker, Xander, is the one handing all of the missions for both vanguard and the crucible. Why is that? The different factions can pretty much be ignored unless they have a specific weapon or armor that you want, but they are kind of just there to take up space. Xur is cool; seems like a pretty solid dude. I just think no one in the tower really plays as vital a role as I am supposed to believe. 4. [b]Planet exploration [/b]is rather weak sauce, that is to say it is limited. The amount of underused space of all the planets doesn’t really inspire one to want to see all they can in the universe. Three planets and a moon are a good start, but only a single muliti-layered location on each one isn’t very adventurous. Russia is the only place you can go on earth (for now), which seems lazy and not in keeping with the concept of eliminating the threat to the entire planet. Mars and Venus feel pretty big compared to Earth and the Moon, but the loop concept on the planets – while convenient – does make everything seem rather small. Though I will say, the caves and unground structures add a level of depth that is very impressive and adds to the exploration as you find new cracks and crevices; though sadly have nothing in them except maybe some chests and some pretty scenery (which could be compared to the experience of a teenage boy sneaking a peek into the girls locker room). Those are some of the things I feel could have been better in the game. I will say, however, even without all of that, it is a very solid and entertaining game. It has done some cool things and put me into something that I haven’t really experienced with a first-person shooter. So in the end, I will continue to play and look forward to new content and updates, but there may come a time when I put down my gun and stop fighting for the light the Traveler has bestowed upon us, but only because I suspect that new and great things will come out in the future. Go ahead and let me know how you feel fellow guardians. Please reframe from hurting my feelings, I am only human. Also, sorry for making this so long.