Fans eagerly await
midnight release
of new game,
are not disappointed
Jonathan Garcia / Reporter
Dozens of local gamers eagerly awaiting the recent release of “Destiny,” the newest first-person shooter for the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One, flocked to Gamestop on South Staples at Saratoga for a midnight release party on Sept. 8. Many set up tables outside the store as early as 9 p.m. to get their hands on the highly anticipated game developed by Bungie Studios, makers of the “Halo” trilogy.
Gamestop, in addition to buying pizza for those waiting in line, hosted a “PlayStation: All Stars” tournament with the winner receiving a large “Destiny” promo poster and also being the first person to receive the game.
While this game is a thrill to play and beautiful to look at, unfortunately, there are some things that hold it back from being legendary.
The game is set 7,000 years in the future where most of humanity has been wiped out and the only known survivor is an unknown being called “The Traveler” who now hovers over Earth to give the Guardians a power known as “The Light.” But with hostile aliens of different races occupying many planets and colonies, the Guardians set out to revive The Traveler and stop these hostile aliens from destroying all of mankind.
The graphics in this game are so beautiful that the textures really stand out. There are times where you will want to look around at the planet you are on during a mission.
Unlike most games that have a set character you play as, “Destiny” lets you create your own character by class, race and gender. When you create your character you get to pick from three different classes: a Titan, which is basically the muscle; a hunter for those who want to be more agile; and a warlock for those wanting to blast out some pretty cool powers. Players can upgrade their character based on abilities, weapons and armor and also can swap upgrades as the mood strikes.
The multiplayer aspect of the game is also fun and makes it a treat to play online with your friends. The game has a mission called “Strike” where you basically get to face off against a horde of enemies. Teamwork is required as you come across waves of enemies that end with a pulse-pounding boss battle that puts you and everyone playing to the test. There also is a multiplayer versus mode called “The Crucible” where players capture command posts to score points, and several other modes that will keep gamers glued to the game.
The game, however, has flaws in its campaign mode that stop it from reaching legendary status. Bungie wanted to create a massive multiplayer experience but didn’t put much effort into the game’s story mode. A game can have the greatest multiplayer in the world but if the single-player campaign doesn’t match the level of excitement it’s like having a hamburger without all the toppings and sauce.
Overall, “Destiny” manages to be entertaining and fun to play online with friends despite a bland story mode. It is worth the buy for the multiplayer part of the game but also hoping Bungie takes the criticisms to heart about the story mode and hopefully gives us a better one for the sequel if they decide to go through with it.