Destiny 2 has been available to players for over a week now, and in that time, several of its special modes happen to be released to give a far more well-rounded consider the game. Using the main campaign, first raid, and hours of the various Crucible modes under my Hunter's belt, you're ready to address if Destiny 2 is the revolutionary advance for players that's been promised. When i discussed in my in-progress review of the sequel, my contact with the series entering Bungie and Activision's preview event was low. However, I've since dedicated many hours to becoming another well-versed Guardian combined with the remaining community, giving this recent in-depth playthrough of Destiny 2 excess fat.
Right from the bat, the best feature Bungie corrected was the means of travel. To have an epic adventure that pushes players to understand more about new areas, the first Destiny made that a daunting chore by forcing a launch into orbit just to change from one a part of a planet to another, in addition to requiring them to go back to the Tower often. Now, zipping around a planet is seamless and provides much more support to truly explore every corner for loot, side missions, public events, and the many on-going challenges scattered across the worlds. The fast travel markers unlocked through the story mode makes it simple to open up the map, see a public event about to take place, and teleport near it to join other players. This more efficient system also translates well when moving in one planet to another, as moving from, for instance, Io to Titan, still allows a player to choose which fast travel zone to enter when landing on the planet.
The excitement and easy exploration is a great feeling that Destiny 2captures well, with the welcomed larger planets and patrol zones, however it does come with some odd downsides. For one, the sparrow Guardians received in early stages in Destiny's campaign are actually locked behind reaching level 20, the game's current cap. As i can easily see in which the developers were coming from with probably wanting us to be on foot for a most of exploring, it will feel like a step to keep a handy vehicle behind an accomplishment that can take longer to attain than the run from the game's story. As well, the later game Patrol missions bring out the more monotonous task of grinding for unusable items came by enemies rather than trying to push more exploration of areas like the new Lost Sectors.
Lost Sectors are another new place to explore, which are placed throughout each planet marked by a three-tiered symbol. While it's enticing to head into the often dungeon-like settings, these sectors dwindle interesting as you find more. Typically, a high-valued target will be waiting in front of the locked loot chest, requiring the gamer to gun them down to generate the passcode. The loot options earned can be helpful, but the process of acquiring them isn't not the same as Lost Sector to Lost Sector.
Adding for this repetitive feeling are the methods to every mission. While it's obvious to expect to shoot 90-percent of the time in a shooter like Destiny 2, the series also touts itself as you that attracts from RPG elements. These are mostly seen through the customization options based in the gear and weaponry using shaders and mods, along with the ability to use various elemental subclass abilities for the Titan, Warlock, and Hunter. However, when it comes to gameplay, only the subclass options offer a variation on overall gameplay, as well as with the new feature of receiving three different subclasses through the game, it does not feel as immersive as it should. My Hunter started the sport off with the brand new Arcstrider class, giving him an Arc-charged staff that was wielded more like a sword. It was a surprisingly fun departure from the normal gun toting mechanics. I understand from my very first time using the game the Warlock's Dawnblade provides a similar variation on gameplay that feels just as joyfully varied in the run-and-gun style. It's understandable not to focus a shooter around elements that aren't typically contained in the genre, but Destiny has said from the start it wants to become more than only a shooter. Sadly, this time around, they still haven't perfected whatever formula it is they're attempting to create.
Outside of the originality realm, Destiny 2 does succeed at providing a simple entry into the lore, thanks to its more robust story. Fixing the meandering storytelling from the first Destiny, players old and new will be immediately thrust into why is Destiny tick when starting the game. Beginners will experience a valuable and well-animated slideshow to describe who the Guardians are, how they protect the remaining people of Earth, and just how the Traveler suits the entire scheme of things. Returning Destiny players is going to be greeted with concept art of past missions they implemented to remind them of their accomplishments within the first game, as well as the player handles of those that joined them in the various raids and post-game content. It is a simple but well-executed way of honoring the dedicated group of followers and giving new gamers a chance to get up to date around the basics. Thankfully, the clear and concise storytelling is carried well with the main campaign, with special nods to the opening mission, which clearly defines our new villain and also the stakes involved with continuing on within the journey.
Arguably the most crucial element to obtain right would be the fire team quests like raids and Nightfalls. As the first Destiny remedied its mediocre story and repetitive gameplay with DLC, Destiny 2 released probably the most challenging modes quickly, as seen through the first raid, Leviathan. Not surprisingly, the whole experience is really a lengthy one, providing a need for teammates to have interaction together as frequently as possible to overcome the droves of enemies and high-valued targets leading them. Missions such as these, along with Strikes, do create a strong need to continually overcome their challenges and earn better loot. In fact, apart from the shader fiasco of turning them into consumable items, there's a nice mixture of gear and weapons to attain, particularly when proving your worth in Raids, Strikes, and Nightfalls. Objectively, the bread and butter of Destiny is still these post-campaign quests.
Apart in the fun variety of weapons overall, there is a sneaky problem with the brand new categorization of them. Instead of the previous game's Primary, Special, and high categories for weapons, Destiny 2 calls them Kinetic, Energy, and Power, respectively. Similarly to Destiny, the Power weapons include the more hard-hitting choices like Rocket Launchers, but unlike last time, other weapons like Shotguns and Fusion Rifles are only able to be located within the Power category. The Kinetic and categories house exactly the same kinds of weapons, with seemingly the only difference between, for instance, a Kinetic Scout Rifle and its Energy version, being an elemental perk. With this new system, the Kinetic weapons didn't seem to pack because a punch his or her Energy counterparts, making me only want to make use of a Kinetic weapon to save my Energy weapon's ammo. The sport continually offers new weapons to test and lift a Guardian's combat level, but understanding the new Primary weapon category doesn't offer much other than a placeholder for saving ammo just feels underdeveloped. On top of that, taking out Shotguns like a possibility from Energy, for example, makes the previously higher-ammo weapon get treated as a low-ammo weapon such as the Rocket Launcher. It requires awhile hanging around before the kept in feeling sets in, but once it does, it simply seems like an enormous step backwards inside a game that wants to enhance everything that came before.
I would compare Bungie and Destiny 2 to the way Apple fans respond to their services. Bungie made its mark using the Halo series, just as one industry standard for sci-fi shooters, similar to Apple's first iPhone set the stage for touch screen smartphones. Since then, both Bungie and Apple have been successful, putting standard ideas into well-made packages. However, they often tout features that have been around for some time from competitors, making their presence within their respective fields less revolutionary and more of the prettied-up version of repeated concepts. Destiny 2's launch came with the fanfare and excitement expected around a very anticipated game, but looking underneath the surface doesn't make it feel like the sequel everyone deserved. Consequently, Destiny 2 isn't a failure but much more of a nicely updated version from the last game, and fans of Bungie will most likely love every minute of it. But it's difficult to know how the sport will fair against other popular shooters nowadays, where players are now used to more in-depth customization and varied gameplay options. I enjoyed my time as a Guardian, but it's hard to see a reason revisit something that's about epic exploration and sci-fi operatics that isn't pushing its very own genre forward in some manner.
