‘Destiny’ calls, Bungie reboots

Sequel feels like more of a polishing of the original game

“Destiny 2” is the latest sequel from the popular first-person shooter developed by Bungie released back in 2014. Upon its release, the game was a huge hit, selling a ton of copies and racking a total of 25 million users. Despite this, many criticized the game at launch for a lack of story, depth and selling vital parts of the story as downloadable content. Three years later, a sequel has finally arrived. And while it improves on some gameplay areas, is comes up short in others ways.

The Cabal forces known as the Red Legion, led by Dominus Ghaul, launch an assault on the Last City, stripping the Guardians of their Light from the Traveler using a mining device. This causes the Guardians to lose their power, making them mortal again. With the Vanguard leaders being separated from the attack, you must venture out to regain your Light, find your crew and stop Ghaul from his evil plans to destroy the solar system.

Bungie has been known for the FPS genre with the first three “Halo” games and once again the gunplay is great. Each weapon has its own unique skill customized to your liking whether you’re better with a rifle or pistol. Subclasses from the first game return but also offer new abilities for your guardian. The Titan can summon a sentinel shield used for defense and throwing at your enemies. Warlock class has the dawnblade, which weaves solar light into blades to do a number on your enemies. But the standout is the Hunter’s arcstrider abilities using a staff, giving lighting fast reflexes and efficiency in close quarters combat.

Raids, patrols and strikes both make a comeback, offering new challenges for players. Teamwork is key to pass through each obstacle thrown at you, so be sure you have your fireteam ready for action. The Crucible matches are more balanced this time around as Bungie fixed the “one-hit kill” weapons of the previous entry, making things fair this time around.

But unfortunately, the flaws that come with this game make it feel more like a reboot of the franchise than a sequel. It makes an effort, having a story mode with a beginning, middle and end at launch but it’s very by the numbers and plays it safe. Things that were set up in the first game don’t have much payoff or barely explain the backstory of some of these alien races you come across. New missions added to the game are “Adventures” with “Lost Sectors” to find. Some are interesting to play but come off as a horde mode, and facing off against enemies and can get repetitive at times.

The game even has its fair share of glitches that can throw off a gamer, including an enemy unintentionally teleporting across the screen and appearing right in front of you. Upgrading your weapons has been replaced with getting “mods” for your weapon, which makes it confusing because the game doesn’t tell you how to attach it to your weapon, making it an unnecessary inconvenience.

“Destiny 2” improves on the first game with its new subclasses, gunplay and online modes but comes short with its by-the-numbers story, making this a reboot rather than a sequel. Wait till this game goes on sale or more content is added.

 


Gameplay: B+

Story: C-

Graphics: A

Soundtrack: B

Overall: B-

 

Twitter: @jonathan10894

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