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xyzzysqrlInsomuch as you can finish Bungie's new online shooter Destiny, I have finished Destiny. Run all the story missions in solo mode, done several of the three-player co-op Strikes, even put in some PVP time. And y'know, I don't regret it. It took me a few days of all-day playing. I had a GREAT time. It's a good shooter.
There's just some things I'm kinda pissed off about. I don't usually go on a bitter gripe festival here, so if y'all want to skip this, I understand. And before we get into it, I'm genuinely serious: I liked the game a LOT. I will probably keep playing it on and off, because a bunch of stuff unlocked post-game.
SPOILERS BY THE WAY. HUGE-ASS SPOILERS. SPOILERS HERE. I TALK ABOUT THE ENDING AND EVERYTHING
Anyway, on to the list of complaints.
COMPLAINT 1: Bungie didn't TELL ANYBODY what this game was. All they kept saying was "It draws from a lot of places." "It's not an MMO." "No, really, it's not an MMO." "It's about adventure." "You bring a character to life."
They kept putting out trailers and talking about the game, and not once did they actually explain how it works. Half the people I talk to about the game think it's World of Halocraft, some kind of weird MMO shooter that lasts forever, and half the people I know think it's some kind of PVP-only deathmatch all the time thing.
As it happens, it's neither. It's basically the mission structure of Guild Wars or Phantasy Star Online. Short little 30-minute missions, meant to be run over and over to get loot and have fun with friends. Which TAKES FIVE MINUTES TO SAY, GODDAMN IT. There's also bigger "Strikes" which are focused around boss fights, and "Raids" which nobody knows about yet because they haven't unlocked.
Just, y'know. huge-ass advertising budget, logos painted on a bunch of bus sides, billboards in Times Square and they can't TELL PEOPLE WHAT THE GAME IS?
COMPLAINT 2: The story. Or... rather there isn't one. There's the rudiments of a story. There's a LOT of lore, lots and lots of lore. You can learn about all kinds of stuff in the backstory. You can learn about the universities of Venus, you can read about how the Cabal name their generals, you can have THINGS IMPLIED at you all day long. It is IMPLIED that cool things are happening. You hear a lot about this and that and the other, the Last Warmind, the lost colony ships...
But the STORY, what your character DOES, is this: You get brought back to life by a floating glow-ball and escape from Earth to the Last Human City, then turn around and go straight back. Then you learn that bad things are happening on the Moon, so you go there. While you're checking that out, a mysterious stranger challenges you to come to Venus, so you do.
On Venus you learn that MORE bad shit is happening and you need help from a third party to open the door to go fight it. So you go check them out and they want the head of a giant robot. You go fetch that. You need to go to Mars to get the key charged, so you do. Then you enter the gate and kill THREE giant robots in a row (this was the only way I could tell it was the last boss fight, aside from the thundering music) and ... you win. In a cutscene, you are informed that the story has now begin.
I started laughing hysterically at this point. "That's seriously IT?! REALLY?! I get IMPLIED AT some more?!"
Then it unlocks the Level 20 Hard, Level 22 Very Hard, and Level 24 Impossible version of all the story missions you just did, unlocks a huge playlist of hard-mode 3-Player Strikes, unlocks the ability to get Faction Credits so you can grind for loot, tells you to come back in a week when Raids are unlocked, and adds the option to roll the credits and listen to Paul McCartney sing about Space Magic.
Now this is deliberately reductionist. I am playing up how little happened for comedic effect. It's just that I kept waiting for Bungie to be BUNGIE. Remember? Marathon? Halo? Big plot twist with the Flood existing, for example? Crazy Gravemind stuff?
Like... There were three parts in the storyline where I was like "Ah-ha." THIS is where the twist comes in. This is where the storyline really kicks off. This is where all the hinting pushes together and things get crazy. This is gonna be great. I think I see what twist they're gonna pull and -- and... it didn't happen?
This is... finished. The mission's over and nothing much happened.
Welp.
COMPLAINT 3: I kept hitting invisible walls. Even when, like...
My target is RIGHT THERE over a hill, and I climb the hill, and nope invisible wall, you have to walk ten feet to your right or left AROUND the hill. I can SEE IT. IT'S EMPTY SPACE. I CAN WALK THERE. I CAN SHOOT IT FROM HERE. Let me jump the goddamn hill!
Infurating. I hated it in New Vegas, I hate it here.
... that's it, though. And like I said, it's a GREAT shooter. I had a good time. I do not regret playing Destiny. I just... have STRONG FEELINGS about it. I wanted it to be more. Maybe someday it will be.
I'm moving on, though!
There's just some things I'm kinda pissed off about. I don't usually go on a bitter gripe festival here, so if y'all want to skip this, I understand. And before we get into it, I'm genuinely serious: I liked the game a LOT. I will probably keep playing it on and off, because a bunch of stuff unlocked post-game.
SPOILERS BY THE WAY. HUGE-ASS SPOILERS. SPOILERS HERE. I TALK ABOUT THE ENDING AND EVERYTHING
Anyway, on to the list of complaints.
COMPLAINT 1: Bungie didn't TELL ANYBODY what this game was. All they kept saying was "It draws from a lot of places." "It's not an MMO." "No, really, it's not an MMO." "It's about adventure." "You bring a character to life."
They kept putting out trailers and talking about the game, and not once did they actually explain how it works. Half the people I talk to about the game think it's World of Halocraft, some kind of weird MMO shooter that lasts forever, and half the people I know think it's some kind of PVP-only deathmatch all the time thing.
As it happens, it's neither. It's basically the mission structure of Guild Wars or Phantasy Star Online. Short little 30-minute missions, meant to be run over and over to get loot and have fun with friends. Which TAKES FIVE MINUTES TO SAY, GODDAMN IT. There's also bigger "Strikes" which are focused around boss fights, and "Raids" which nobody knows about yet because they haven't unlocked.
Just, y'know. huge-ass advertising budget, logos painted on a bunch of bus sides, billboards in Times Square and they can't TELL PEOPLE WHAT THE GAME IS?
COMPLAINT 2: The story. Or... rather there isn't one. There's the rudiments of a story. There's a LOT of lore, lots and lots of lore. You can learn about all kinds of stuff in the backstory. You can learn about the universities of Venus, you can read about how the Cabal name their generals, you can have THINGS IMPLIED at you all day long. It is IMPLIED that cool things are happening. You hear a lot about this and that and the other, the Last Warmind, the lost colony ships...
But the STORY, what your character DOES, is this: You get brought back to life by a floating glow-ball and escape from Earth to the Last Human City, then turn around and go straight back. Then you learn that bad things are happening on the Moon, so you go there. While you're checking that out, a mysterious stranger challenges you to come to Venus, so you do.
On Venus you learn that MORE bad shit is happening and you need help from a third party to open the door to go fight it. So you go check them out and they want the head of a giant robot. You go fetch that. You need to go to Mars to get the key charged, so you do. Then you enter the gate and kill THREE giant robots in a row (this was the only way I could tell it was the last boss fight, aside from the thundering music) and ... you win. In a cutscene, you are informed that the story has now begin.
I started laughing hysterically at this point. "That's seriously IT?! REALLY?! I get IMPLIED AT some more?!"
Then it unlocks the Level 20 Hard, Level 22 Very Hard, and Level 24 Impossible version of all the story missions you just did, unlocks a huge playlist of hard-mode 3-Player Strikes, unlocks the ability to get Faction Credits so you can grind for loot, tells you to come back in a week when Raids are unlocked, and adds the option to roll the credits and listen to Paul McCartney sing about Space Magic.
Now this is deliberately reductionist. I am playing up how little happened for comedic effect. It's just that I kept waiting for Bungie to be BUNGIE. Remember? Marathon? Halo? Big plot twist with the Flood existing, for example? Crazy Gravemind stuff?
Like... There were three parts in the storyline where I was like "Ah-ha." THIS is where the twist comes in. This is where the storyline really kicks off. This is where all the hinting pushes together and things get crazy. This is gonna be great. I think I see what twist they're gonna pull and -- and... it didn't happen?
This is... finished. The mission's over and nothing much happened.
Welp.
COMPLAINT 3: I kept hitting invisible walls. Even when, like...
My target is RIGHT THERE over a hill, and I climb the hill, and nope invisible wall, you have to walk ten feet to your right or left AROUND the hill. I can SEE IT. IT'S EMPTY SPACE. I CAN WALK THERE. I CAN SHOOT IT FROM HERE. Let me jump the goddamn hill!
Infurating. I hated it in New Vegas, I hate it here.
... that's it, though. And like I said, it's a GREAT shooter. I had a good time. I do not regret playing Destiny. I just... have STRONG FEELINGS about it. I wanted it to be more. Maybe someday it will be.
I'm moving on, though!
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no subject
Date: 2014-09-11 02:44 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-09-11 02:48 pm (UTC)It's just at some point you have to STOP world-building and actually DO something with the world, and... they didn't.
no subject
Date: 2014-09-12 09:44 pm (UTC)Is this sposed to be, like... the first game in a series of games? Or what?
no subject
Date: 2014-09-13 04:42 am (UTC)I am hopeful.
no subject
Date: 2014-09-13 08:53 am (UTC)Hopefully the eventual overall something is cool! And has more plot things actually happening! I like plot things.