The Problem With Destiny

Millered.com: "Destiny has been out in the wild for a few weeks, destroying the world with millions of dollars worth of hype and adverts dominating every TV commercial you bothered to sit through. If the beta was anything to go by, people were ready for Bungie’s new IP, but the final product, critically-speaking, managed to divide people right down the middle. That isn’t the case with those who are actually playing it."

[Frodosmugins]

The problem with Destiny is that, we all thought Bungie was a great developer!

Think about it, they had the only game worth owning when the original xbox was released, which led them to build up a fan base and a famous franchise! To me that's just luck!
Im not saying Halo is crap but its not exactly one of the best ever!

What other game has Bungie ever done!? They milked Halo like there is no tomorrow!

Didn't Halo2 and 3 have the same ending?

[Immorals]

Like it or not, most console shooters are influenced by the halo series.

I think the problem with destiny was they tried to do too much, where they should have started their new IP with a solid story and world

[Frodosmugins]

I don't know! Halo was influenced by the superior Goldeneye and Perfect Dark!

[poppinslops]

Bungie made their name with the Marathon series (another sci-fi FPS), way back in the days of Macintosh... It too was ahead of it's time, featuring terminals containing lore and info, and also NPC allies (called 'Bobs').

But it was Combat Evolved that redefined the FPS.
It had a proper sci-fi campaign, HUGE levels and the now-legendary multiplayer...
Halo was a huge achievement, and truly deserves the praise.

As to the alleged 'milking', well, you could say the same thing of every series...

Besides, people love milk!

[anwe]

They also made the Myth series, which I thoroughly enjoyed and wish they would pick up again. The problem with bungie however is the cancer that is Activision. Everything they have their hand in gets turned sideways.

[poppinslops]

Then Bungie should've known better...

They were still making Halo when the whole 'Zampella/West' debacle began.

Now they're stuck in a ten year contract that's likely riddled with loopholes and conditional clauses... All of which favor Activision.

[Baccra17]

@poppinslops

Does that include Cambodian?

https://www.youtube.com/wat...

[Baccra17]

I blame Activison for this. Lore kept on their site instead of in game so their websites gets hits, content and story that seems oddly missing so that the missing pieces can be filled in with DLC, trolling Cryptarch that will make buying your gear fro real money not look so bad.

This has shameless milking written all over it, and that to me says Activision- not Bungie

[thorstein]

I've logged over 48 hours on Destiny. I look forward to playing it for hours this coming weekend. We are going after Vault of Glass. Some of my clan have already beaten it.

It comes down to this: There are certainly SP areas and missions to the game. The name of the game though is to do it with a team. Everything from the crucible, to strikes, to raids, to vanguard bounties, you need to go with others...even if you only grab a few wandering around the tower.

[jrshankill]

Media hype.. I think this is the problem.

I think the last game that was hyped so much as Destiny was GTA V. The thing is, GTA V delivered on all accounts.

Still, to this day, website after website is posting Destiny stories, many of these questioning the actual quality of the game and therefore making us question the quality of the game too. The thing is, gamers already know if they enjoy the game or not.. but the media like us to argue our opinions (resulting in clicks for their stories).

If Destiny was released with moderate promotion, I don't think there would be so many afterthought news postings surrounding it. If people enjoy the game, let them enjoy the game.

[jts1891]

Frankly, the reviews I've seen about Destiny only show me that I was right to stop bothering with them. For example, after watching IGN's in-progress review with Destiny, I was astounded to see that they complained about the game's story even though they did the missions without following the game's actual plot lines. It's like complaining about Skyrim's story when you went off and joined the Thieves Guild when you were supposed to be trapping a dragon in Whiterun to go after Alduin.

[360ICE]

They did actually play the story too. And if Thieves Guild had a crappy storyline, that'd be a problem. Oblivion's best story was arguably Dark Brotherhood.

I really like Destiny, but I have to agree with IGN that the story is pretty meaningless.

[jts1891]

I never said they didn't play the story. I said they didn't play the story while following the plot. Like pretty much every site out there, they more or less did the missions randomly. The main plot unfolds in the following missions.

Old Russia: A Guardian Rises, Restoration, and the Dark Within

The Moon: The Dark Beyond, The World's Grave, The Sword of Crota, The Shrine of Oryx, and the Chamber of Night.

Venus: A Stranger's Call, The Ishtar Collective, and Eye of a Gate Lord.

Mars: Exclusion Zone, The Garden's Spire, A Rising Tide, The Black Garden

Every other mission is a side-plot. And that's not the problem. If you are in the middle of the main quest, and you suddenly go off on a tangent to do an unrelated plot line, complaining because the game suddenly becomes 'incoherent' or 'disjointed' is silly.

And that's exactly what pretty much every major review site did. They complained because the story was 'erratic' but didn't bother to realize the reason it was erratic was because they weren't following the plot lines laid out in the game structure and the mission descriptions.

[360ICE]

@jts891
Did anyone really not go off on at least a couple of tangents in Skyrim? Or in Grand Theft Auto? Or in Assassin's Creed, Far Cry or Fallout? Or in any game with side-missions for that matter?

I don't think taking a break from the plot is the issue here. If you forget about the plot the second you divert from it, something is obviously not that great about the plot.

If pretty much every site out there and tons of users can't follow the plot, the presentation is probably not that great. Especially if it's in a game where you can, and are encouraged to, explore.

Personally, I tried pretty hard to follow the story, and have replayed a lot of the missions to see if I missed anything. I didn't, though, and as such I think the story was incoherent, unfocused and paced badly.

That is, however, my one big quarrel with the game. It was still tons of fun.

[jts1891]

Depends. In Skyrim, I personally play the main quest all the way through before I ever touched the side quests because there was no reason for my character to be joining the Thieves Guild, the Dark Brotherhood, or the College while I was supposed to be training with the Greybeards, or while I was searching for Alduin's Wall.

And I'm honestly curious. What made the plot so incoherent to you? I felt it flowed naturally as long as I played the missions in the proper order and paid attention to the dialogue.

[360ICE]

@jts1891

It's unfocused. Too many factions are introduced and the plot seems mission-based and random. The sense of urgency evolves pretty rapidly, and the story only touches on the different aspects of the universe.

I feel they wanted to establish the universe more than anything else and tried to touch on too many aspects too quickly.

[jts1891]

I personally don't feel that way, at least in regards to the main plot. For example, the Dark Within really sets the game's story in motion. The Speaker asks us to look into something the Fallen are interested in at the Skywatch, and we discover the Hive have appeared on Earth for the first time in centuries. Our Ghost, the Speaker, and the Vanguard don't direct us to the Moon to investigate their reappearance, but the threat they pose is made plain.

The game expects for us to take the initiative to travel to the Moon, rather than being directed there. Once we arrive, we learn that Hive are planning to invade Earth, and we set about stopping them. All the missions on the Moon involve learning of the Hive's plans and weakening them by destroying important weapons and locations. During the final mission on the Moon when we stop the Hive ritual to destroy the Traveler, we are contacted by the Stranger for the first time and we are directed toward Venus.

The rest of the plot flows smoothly from there following the Black Garden narrative.

So I don't really see how it's mission-based. The only portion of the game that's really like that are the side-plots where the game's various factions like the Vanguard or the Cryptarchs ask us to do something like defending the Archives on Venus, or fighting the Cabal on Mars.

[360ICE]

@jts1891

And do we learn anything about the motives of any of the factions involved? Do they touch on the mysteries surrounding The Traveler? What you're describing is just a series of events that lacks any real substance.

I'd like to have characters that serve as more than either mission-givers or narrators. There's for instance, not one interaction with Ghost that feels natural, because there's no time spent on relationships between the characters. I mean, I think the main character and the Ghost share maybe two light-hearted moments.

That's why I think it feels mission-based. Because so much of the story is "This is why you're going to that place" and "this is why you're going to shoot those guys". Obviously though, I respect your opinion. The story didn't hit me quite right, but if it works for you, then that's good at least.

[domford1981]

Tired of hearing this, Destiny is a great game. It could do with improvements, and I have no doubt that Bungie will implement them over time

[Peanuts110]

Enjoy the game now. Once the servers go down that's the end of the game. It's a limited time engagement. It's hard to see it last ten years unless there is more changes to content. It's been hard for people to let go of Halo and other similar games to see Destiny in it's own light.

[LifeSaver]

They shouldn't have change the story less then a year before release. Things they show in earlier trailer are nowhere to be seen in the actual game.

[averagejoe26]

Your* problem with destiny