Almost four years of development, costs of half a billion dollar, more than a million of pre-orders, produced by Activision and Bungie. But all that glitters is not gold.

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The game takes place in the year 2700 where humanity do not exists anymore as we know it. After a golden age of expansion to distant colonies, aliens appear from the darkness of the universe. The last humans try to survive in an apocalyptical world. These unknown creatures are eager to kill the last humans and try to get the control over Sol. The player takes control over the so called Guardians.

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Accompanied by a tiny robot players have to explore the lost colonies. Unfortunately we have to say that the about ten hour’s long story missions are not really filled with life. The game lacks in some interesting characters. Furthermore Destiny provides not enough information and background story about the lost civilization.

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Destiny consists of four worlds — Earth, Venus, Mars and Moon. The surface of every lumianiry has its own atmosphere and is beautiful to look at. This atmosphere is also complemented by different enemy types. Unfortunately, the areas seem to be more static than dynamic. And that’s the reason why the great looking areas quickly become boring. The visual highlights of Destiny are the great views and skyboxes. Destiny is nothing new optical and remains extremely static at all time. Thanks to sharp textures and the 1080p resolution, the game world looks outstanding on the current consoles. The light effects and the impressive skyboxes are fantastic. This is complemented by liquid and well-crafted animations and the cool look of different pieces of armor.

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The player can choose between three different classes: Hunters, Warlocks and Titans. We did not notice large differences among the classes. However, each class has a special ability. Mostly players have to investigate artifacts, so they are able to hack something or to protect the Ghost during its activities. However, other shooters – like Halo – are more varied. They contain tasks like sniper missions or vehicle battles.

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In Destiny players are forced to use the Sparrow. A Sparrow is a small, fast, one-person-only, land-based vehicle mainly used for local transportation. Bungie proves once again, that they are able to transmit the weapons feedback outstandingly well. The controls are just excellent. Players have access to a large arsenal of weapons. Also they show how battles should look like in a shooter. The AI is very clever and different tactics are necessary to outplay enemies. Therefore, every new battle feels very dynamic and fresh.

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The RPG elements do not dominate the game and fit well together. Once decided for a class, experience can be gained to develop certain skills. Furthermore, new weapons and equipment can be found during missions. Once a player has reached level 15, he can still reach more levels within a different system. The first 15 levels are gained through experience, the last are only accessible with “light points”.

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The battles against the aliens make a lot more fun together than alone. Establish a team with buddies and complete heavy-Strike missions – simply amazing! That would be even more fun, if there wouldn’t be the boss fights. In general, these final battles are pretty cool, but the fight against the giant creatures comes down to just spraying bullets on it.

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The PvP Matchmaking System operates very well. The game sets on which of the ten maps the battle will be. The PvP-Gameplay is really great. Loads of stuff is happening on the map and we can also take a few hits thanks to shield. The battles are well balanced.

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There is also nothing to complain about the sound in Destiny. Great weapons effects, alien sounds and from discret up to massive dramatic background music depending on atmospheric situation.

Activision and Bundgie also released a Destiny app for smartphones. With the official Destiny Companion App players are able to inspect their Guardians, analyze player stats, compare their Grimoire score and also can keep in touch with their friends. We think it is worth to download the Destiny App. You can find the free app on the App Store (iOS) and the Goolge Play Store (Android).

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We have not let us been infected by the hype surrounding about this game. Accordingly, we did not have too high expectations. As Halo fans we know where Bungie has its strengths and weaknesses.

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Unfortunately, they did the same in Destiny again. The battles with clever enemies, the weapons feedback and very atmospheric worlds are an outstanding success.

The co-op and multiplayer are big fun.

You should get Destiny and become legend!

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Tested and written by Pascal van der Meer & Marcel Krafczyk

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