REVIEW - Destiny 2 - One Man's Destiny is Another Man's Destiny

Title: Destiny 2

Developer: Bungie

Publisher: Activision

Platform: PlayStation 4 (reviewed), Xbox One, PC

Release: 05/09/17

: Electric Boogaloo

Unlike a lot of people, I didn't really play the first Destiny. I finished the story (for what there was of it) and faffed about for a bit in the original incarnation of the post-game stuff. (which was pretty sparse) Needless to say, I wasn't exactly blown away by the experience. Going into Destiny 2 my hopes weren't too high. I've now been playing it pretty solidly for two weeks now and I don't regret a second of it. Firstly, it remembered the character I created all those years ago for the first game. It was like seeing an old friend. (An old friend that could shoot blackholes from their hands. The best kind of friend) You then get dropped into an intense situation with most of the powers you knew and loved. Pew pew, you're kicking ass while everything is going to shit around you. New Big Bad shows his face. Breaks your powers. Disposes of you. Oh.

Any chance of sorting this out over a pint? No? Okay.

There's actually a story this time. Yay! You have to get your powers back and beat Dominus Ghaul (pictured) before he kidnaps the Traveler and gets superpowers of his very own. Luckily, as the chosen one, you find a way to regain your powers in pretty short order and are sent all over the solar system rescuing those necessary to save the universe. I have one little problem with this. Throughout the game, you are referred to as the only one to have been able to regain your powers. The place you got them back is accessible to everyone. Why doesn't everyone just form an orderly queue and get suped up again? Also, as an MMO, literally thousands of players have gone through the same process. Why can't we just pull together and finish this invasion 5 minutes after it started? I know. I'm picking holes in a story I couldn't come close to writing myself. It just removed any immersion for me, story-wise.

I love the way my eyes really bring out my eyes

Have I mentioned how pretty this game is? It's pretty. There you go. I've said it.

There are so many screenshots of me pointing a gun at beautiful scenery

Bang bang, take that stunning vista

Alright, alien landscape, this is a stick-up

I've played the majority of what the game has to offer at the time of writing. (Everything except the Leviathan Raid, which is a pretty big undertaking if what I'm told is true) Story missions and side missions (adventures) can keep you occupied for a fair amount of time. Like I say, I'm two weeks in and I still have a few to do. Activities unlock as you progress and if anything, the main story acts as a prelude to the actual game. Once you're done with it you're then presented with a whole plethora of new quests and activities to challenge you. As this is an MMO, you are encouraged to team up with others and take on these challenges together. This is done best with friends (in my experience anyway) as playing with strangers can result in encountering the worst examples of humanity. (Again, in my experience) Post story I've pretty much played with a couple of friends exclusively and it really makes the game a lot more enjoyable, especially when enemies are coming at you like rats from a sinking ship.

I've found my new summer getaway

PvP is something I've dabbled with as much as to get a feel for it. That feeling is "Eww, I suck at this, nevermind". Some matches are good, some are embarrassingly bad. My overall experience makes me glad there's so much more to do in the game to advance my character and get decent loot. Speaking of loot, it's everywhere. Hidden chests, tradeable tokens, Legendary and Exotic drops from bosses. There's loot for days. Don't get me wrong, a lot of it you'll look at for two seconds and scrap. In a way, it makes finding the better stuff that much better, but it can also be where the game can be it's most grindy. I haven't experienced too much of a grind which is nice and, again, I think that's in large part to having played with other people. It takes your mind off it so you can just concentrate on blasting aliens and explore new worlds. 

SPACESHIP!!!

The worlds are big, as you might expect. Each one is split into areas that have tonnes of hidden little objectives for you to find. The best of these being the Lost Sectors which act as mini-dungeons for you to explore and fight groups of enemies. The reward at the end of them won't blow you away but I really enjoyed the act of exploring and finding these areas. Strikes are good fun as well. Here you're teamed up with two others and sent on a tougher than average mission with the chance of a pretty decent reward. These do have a habit of repeating themselves as you get assigned a random one when you select "Strike". (Not a massive issue and more Strikes will become available over time) The various quests and adventures (side-missions) reuse a lot of the map you may have already explored through the story missions though they can do a good job of guiding the player in a different direction to keep the gameplay interesting.

Oh, Nathan Fillion is also the best damn robot ever btw

Of course with it being an online game, Destiny 2 is at the mercy of it's servers. Scheduled or not, if the servers are under maintenance then you aren't playing until it's done. This can be a little frustrating, especially if you've planned a game with others. On the other hand, the maintenance is there to improve the game over all and add new features as they're released so it's a bit like complaining about a cake having to be baked before you can eat it. (Also, we can assume you have a few other games you could be playing while you wait. Like Enter the Gungeon *wink*)

The one Grunt that would give Master Chief a run for his money

Would I recommend Destiny 2 to you, most valued and gracious reader? I'm currently having a lot of fun playing with others. If you have a reliable group of friends then go forth and Destiny together. If you have an unreliable group of friends, play something else. Solitaire, maybe, I dunno. (If you want to join a clan, I hear the Pangender Space Octopus [PGSO] is pretty cool, just putting that out there)

Currently £55 for the standard version of the game, £70 to include the season pass and £80 for a little bit extra. (Not, in my opinion, £10 extra though) A bit on the steep side and you can guarantee something happening over the Christmas period when it comes to the sales. Or just ask for it from Santa. (Like a grown-up)