home > Solitaire Solitaire > Destiny review. Destiny is a new epic

Destiny review. Destiny is a new epic

it is obvious that Activision was able to convince not everyone in the world that to live without Destiny - absolutely impossible. Which is definitely good news, as the $ 500 million budget definitely raised concerns about how journalists would write reviews. However, Activision has clearly done its job, so many have already bought the game, and those who do not will no longer pay attention to the reviews, since Bungie itself directly descried them, indicating that Destiny needs to be played for a week or two to evaluate it as it is.

One way or another, the first reviews of Destiny finally began to appear on the network. And, among other things, two of the largest Western sites - gamespot and giantbomb. And both sites rated Destiny unexpectedly and harshly. 6 out of 10 and 3 out of 5. Not very good for AAA +, right?

Most surprisingly, both reviews point to one major and serious problem in Destiny - its emptiness. Outwardly, the game turned out great, especially when played on the next generation consoles. The shooter world is built as you'd expect from Bungie, the people behind the Halo franchise.

Destiny has all the elements of a great multiplayer shooter, but it just feels like they just don't add up.

“When you collect all these parts, you get a game where missions are designed to be repeated, but all missions are so repeatable that you are no longer interested in going through the same zone over and over and over again for the purpose of grinding reputation or loot. a game with empty feelings. "

"Story missions also suffered from repetition. With the exception of one or two, each mission presents you with the opportunity to run around an area (which must first be reached by going through zones already passed several times in previous missions), find an ancient or alien computer, or something like In addition, send your drone to scan and analyze the object so that you can continue the mission.Many missions end with the drone just hanging by the artifact while you fight off waves of enemies, listening to a couple of sentences from the generally meaningless dialogue. The menu is built in such a way that it indicates the need to go through these areas many times on different difficulties, but since most missions are hardly different from each other, I felt that I had nothing else to do in Destiny right after the end of the story. "

"Its fantastic graphics are often a distraction from game mechanics, which are very frustrating. Destiny has a bit of a touch of genius, but much of it feels like it was made by people who weren't quite sure what kind of game they were creating. Loot shooter? Sort of, but the loot isn't very good. Or maybe it's an MMO? No, although you occasionally bump into other players. A shooter with a strong storyline like Halo? Of course, if you don't mind playing this story outside of the game , but on the developer's site, where there is a lot of information about the lore. Maybe Clans? Again, they exist on the site, but are not reflected in the game. All the elements of great games and genres are here, but many of them cause a feeling of flaw -realizations, so Destiny is not a recommended buy. If you're interested in this game, you should see what Bungie does in the coming months before spending any money on it. "

Bungie has come a long way since its inception. She managed to release such popular series in the nineties as Marathon and Myth. But the real success brought her, of course, Halo. It was not just a must-buy for every Xbox owner - the console itself was acquired for the opportunity to plunge into the amazing universe of the future, where for many decades humanity has been at war with the Covenant - an alliance of hostile aliens. But the story of the Master Chief continued without its creators, and the studio changed Microsoft to Activision as its publisher. And you can blame the latter for greed and squeezing money for a long time, but the fact is that the new publisher gives Bungie complete freedom in working on Destiny. Indeed, despite the developer's vast experience, this is a really new project for him.

⇡ The last battle

Ironically, Destiny, like Halo fifteen years ago, was originally conceived as a third-person action game. But the developers, it seems, have no destiny to do TPS - and soon Destiny turned into a fantastic shooter. With the naked eye, it is noticeable that the universe and history are based on many of Halo's developments - they would look so natural in the next part of the saga about the fight against the Covenant.

A distant but not very bright future has come. Humanity began to explore space outside of its native planet: it built its colonies on the Moon, Venus, Mars and in more distant corners of the solar system. But then the earthlings were subjected to a swift attack by aliens. As a result, all outposts were abandoned, and the Earth was almost completely destroyed under the onslaught of aliens. When people were on the brink of extinction, they were saved only by a miracle - a certain entity called the Wanderer. A huge sphere hovered over the last bastion of earthlings and gave hope for survival: mysterious strength and high technology. Humanity perked up, gave a decisive rebuff to the invaders and began to gain its former strength. The Golden Era has come - but it did not last forever. Another mysterious force drove people back to their home planet. The survivors took refuge in the Last City - the stronghold of the earthlings, built under the Wanderer. This is where we, the Guardians, come into play.

The Guardians are the best fighters who have learned to harness the power of the Wanderer. They are divided into three classes: hunter, titan, and sorcerer. Taking on the role of one of them, the player will have to get out of the huge walls that protect the City, and arrange a fun life for the invaders. The choice of profession does not affect the available weapons in any way, but it limits the amount of armor. It is also allowed to use special abilities called Focuses to fight the aliens. Some of them only indirectly affect the parameters of the hero, for example, increasing the damage from certain weapons. Others allow you to teleport, throw bunches of energy and do god knows what else.

⇡ Loner or not?

The developers are in no hurry to lay out all the cards on the table in terms of the gameplay. From a shooter standpoint - judging by the videos available - Destiny retains the best of Halo: a good shooting feel despite fantastic weaponry, and a combination of spacious locations and corridors that provide some tactical freedom. The latter is especially important given the strong emphasis on the cooperative.

Bungie promises a unique symbiosis between single player and online play. I would like to believe, but so far it is very difficult to imagine how this will work. The creators call Destiny only Shared World Shooter, that is, a shooter in the common world. In words, everything is simple: if desired, any player can get to the final in splendid isolation (some episodes, however, will still have to be held in the company). But it's much more fun to play as a team. Users will be able to unite in special units - "strike groups", whether it is a pre-planned trip with friends or random meetings in the game world. We dare to assume that in the latter case, the scheme will probably be implemented in the manner of Dark Souls.

Initially, everyone travels in their personal universes, which "intersect" in a random order. For example, you are in a certain area, where at the same time there is someone else - you got into his playing space, passed a section together, and then your roads may diverge again. In any case, now it looks like this. But the creators went further. During the passage, special events will occur, during which you will need to unite in large groups. For example, in one of the demonstrations, right in front of the hero's eyes, a portal opened in the sky, from where the aliens knocked down. At the same time, several more detachments of other living players suddenly appeared, which need to jointly fight off opponents, and then defeat their leader. Having dealt with this problem, everyone can go their own way again.

Despite the fact that, according to the developers, Destiny is primarily an FPS, the game has many elements from other genres. Considering the significant bias towards online, it is not surprising that we will have rich options for customizing the appearance of your character and his pumping. Enemies (mostly bosses) will drop unique weapons, armor and tricks. Moreover, each gun has its own skill tree. It should not be ruled out that other used things can certainly be improved in some way.

⇡ The world of the future

The land of the XXVIII century is a rather sad sight. When seeing the world beyond the Wall, Enslaved: Odyssey to the West and The Last of Us first come to mind. Dilapidated, dilapidated buildings overgrown with greenery, rusted metal structures and carcasses - in general, a real post-apocalypse. Interestingly, we will be brought even to the territory of former Russia. However, we have to not only explore the vastness of our home planet, but also break out of it. It is confirmed that we will visit an abandoned lunar colony and ruins on Mars and Venus.

Each area differs not only in its characteristic visual appearance, but also in the opponents inhabiting it. Destiny will face several races: the space pirates The Fallen, the insect-like Hive, the cybernetic Vex and Exo, as well as those resembling rhinos in Cabal armor. Bungie, as it did with Halo, randomly shuffles enemy combinations in every skirmish. When you consider that each type of enemy has its own strengths and weaknesses and its own tactics, any battle turns into a small puzzle. Thoughtless shooting will most likely lead to death, so you have to use your wit and think quickly. In any case, we hope that everything will be so.

In between battles, you have to wander through a peaceful zone, where, in the manner of Diablo, you can sell the loot and prepare for the next battles. Or just explore the world, since Destiny definitely has something to admire. The developers are deservedly proud of the new engine, which they forged for almost four years. The quality of character development is not inferior to that in Killzone: Shadow Fall, and the drawing range, particle effects and volumetric lighting are quite impressive. You can endlessly admire landscapes from the visual materials available before the release. Of course, this applies to versions for eighth generation consoles. Although the game will be released on PS3 and Xbox 360, it will hardly be able to impress anyone there.

Bungie has conceived a revolution in the FPS genre, using fresh principles of interaction between players. There's something of PlanetSide 2, Borderlands, a shooter base from Halo, and probably Dark Souls elements. Destiny looks great, is intriguing, but still a dark horse. To understand how the notorious "shooter with a common world" actually functions, you will have to wait at least until the summer when the beta test starts. We expect a full release in September this year.

Destiny

Video:

I deliberately took the time to release the full Destiny review as best I could. The game was released on September 9, and two months have passed since then. I made this decision because this game project requires increased attention and much more time to study than any other representative of the FPS genre.

pros

The developers have created a huge fantasy world.
Amazing graphics and game design.
Huge room for pumping your character.
A huge amount of various weapons and the possibility of customization.
Almost perfect gameplay verified to the smallest detail.
A large number of PvP modes.

Minuses

The main plot of the game is there just for show.
So far, there is a lack of content and variety.
The animation and character design could be better.
You will have to play for a very long time to earn the optimal set of equipment.

I put the game 9 points out of 10 in advance, because I believe that with the release of add-ons it will become more and more diverse and exciting. Now this game is played with interest by about 3,000,000 people every day (according to the statistics provided by the developers), and this says that something keeps them in this game, despite the current limited variety.

I think Bungie will be fine as they managed to repeat their old trick and create a great gaming universe from scratch. If you are a fan of the Halo series or just FPS, this game is a must-buy. If you are not a fan of shooters, but are very fond of science fiction - I will take the liberty of also recommending this game to you, since the atmosphere in it is incomparable.

I would like to express my gratitude for the copy of the game provided by the New Disc company. Completed the game on a PlayStation 4 game console.

Before the release, it seemed too contradictory: like the handwriting Bungie can be traced, especially with regard to the visual design, but on the other hand, Destiny looked like a clone Borderlandsjust done on a grand scale and budget.

Launching Destiny for the first time, controversy gives way to resentment: from the game Bungie expect a detailed universe and no less interesting story than the adventures of the Master Chief. All this in Destiny there is, but in a narrowed form. The plot tells how a small expedition lands on Mars and stumbles upon the "Wanderer" - a huge floating sphere, subsequently allowing humanity to make an impressive leap in development and technology. But the heyday did not last long - from the depths of space came a destructive evil - "Darkness", which turned life in all the planets of the solar system into ruins. The Guardians are destined to save the universe - the ultimate fighters, for one of whom we have to play. Globally, the scenario does not develop further, you will meet a minimum of any characters, but, however, if you delve into what is happening, you can catch the notes of a good science fiction story: for example, on one of the planets you will encounter the artificial intelligence "Rasputin" - he controls in a certain important complex and speaks Russian.

And the plot is the first and last thing that will disappoint you in Destinybecause at the forefront Bungie staged fun shootouts and socialization. Destiny - this is an MMO, only modern and free from all unnecessary things that interfere with other games of the genre. Knowledge of MMO language terms like "raid" or "strike" is completely optional here; it will not take much time from you - Destiny great for session play. Even giving her two hours a day can be a great time. Destiny gives concentrated pleasure, and each visit here is a separate adventure across the planets of the solar system: here you team up with friends, go to Mars to complete a story mission, wandering in the middle of its ever-red sand dunes, and at another moment your company is brought to the Moon, and there you carry out an additional mission (strike), together exterminating crowds of alien creatures.

Fights with opponents are the strongest side Destiny... Artificial intelligence of enemies in Destiny works in the best traditions Halo- they never stand still, go around you from the side, and those who have jetpacks do sometimes unpredictable maneuvers. Most battles take place over vast areas, providing operational space and a constant search for new tactics. The play styles for each of the three character classes - Titan, Hunter and Warlock - are spectacular in their own way: for example, Technomage can effectively turn an accumulated group of opponents into stardust by sending a destructive energy ball into them.

Eventually Destiny clings with a stranglehold, not letting you go from the screen even a step. After each task, you fly to your home location, buy or receive more powerful weapons as a reward for your efforts, which you immediately want to try out in business, and just for this business a new unknown planet opened on the map - Bungie constantly motivate you to return to Destiny, and they do it very well.

***

The main question is whether it will succeed Bungie keep players in Destiny in the long run. The mechanism for the further development of the game is clear - the release of DLC, which will bring new classes, planets and interesting tasks. In addition, on consoles, Destiny there are no smart competitors. I want to believe that Bungie everything will work out because they managed to make the first well-organized, large-scale and wildly beautiful MMO.

We have everything. And all the power of NASA in your pocket, and mechanical prostheses, and the ability at any second to contact any person on the planet. All this is not fantasy anymore. But for some reason, spaceships still do not ply the vastness of the galaxy. The old mankind prefers war to the study of distant worlds.

In such circumstances, the prospects for space exploration on their own seem very dim, so science fiction writers like Bungie still dream of outside help. But, judging by the fact, even after getting out of the cradle, we will continue to shed blood. It looks like war is our destiny.

Fatalism

A real artist puts a piece of himself into his work. This piece is author's style... Bungie style, the creators Halo, guessed from the first minutes. Branded pathos in the plot, branded craving for gigantism, branded shootings - everything is in place.

However, there is much more ambition than usual. A big story-driven MMO game (technically not an MMO at all, but from the player's perspective, it feels that way) that is suitable for both singles and those who like to play with friends? This has already happened in and, and after some time both of them became seriously ill with the outflow of players. We'll be playing for ten years - that's what Bungie promises us.

We create the character ourselves, choosing not only the appearance and class, but also the race.

Surprisingly, the authors did a great job with the key MMO mechanics, but left the game with almost no plot. The plot brings to mind the "2001 Space Odyssey" - a huge something called the Wanderer flies in and lifts the helpless people from their knees. But, as soon as everything went well (cities were erected on Mars, Venus turned into a blooming garden), following the Creator, according to the laws of universal harmony, the Destroyers flew into humanity from the depths of space.

The solar system soon fell into the hands of alien invaders, humanity was almost exterminated. The remnants huddle in the shadow of the Wanderer, in the last remaining city. You, like other players, are the chosen ones, guardians, and only you can stop the invasion. A typical plot of an online role-playing, don't you think?

In the first hours, travels in Old Russia and flights to the moon are so fascinating that obvious shortcomings are simply not perceived. However, the further into the forest, the clearer it becomes that the whole plot is in the conversations of our ghost companion. We are decrypting ancient Russian broadcasts, destroying the plans of aliens on the Moon, dealing with the devices of aggressive robots on Venus, but all this is only in the words of the ghost accompanying us. In fact, we just shoot, shoot, shoot.

Take away guards ghosts - small servitors of the widest range of applications - and the enemy system will be hacked and entertained with conversation.


Full-fledged characters in the plot appear very rarely and do not play a special role.	Full-fledged cut-scenes are a little more frequent, but in them we are shown either the hero's landing on another planet, or a short dialogue scene. Don't even dream of full-fledged action.

Looks great. The world wants to climb up and down, to learn everything, everything, everything about the life of people in the last city, about the relationship of different groups of aliens, which are at enmity with each other. I want to watch, walk, listen, discuss, read. But, alas, all the information is only in special cards on the game's website or in the accompanying application, and you also need to open it, fulfilling the conditions in the spirit of “kill a thousand aliens”. And if you previously thought that it was impossible to smoothly combine the online world and the action storyline, then ... well, another proof of that.

On two chairs

You shouldn't expect any production in the spirit of expensive single-player action movies. And the world itself generates interesting game situations not too willingly - mainly because the open world is conditional: all three planets plus the Moon are divided into small locations, where guardians disembark on assignment or so simply. And you just go and solve the problem. No surprises.

There are a lot of weapons, but quantity does not interfere with quality - all samples look great, feel and sound.


As in any action movie with role-playing elements, in battles the character is tempered and grows in levels.	You won't be able to use everything at once, but you can shuffle the skills as and when you want.

All missions are built according to the principle "go to that tower, clean it from opponents, scan another ancient computer, keep the defense, take the reward." About the same, only without a plot background, you can do it in free mode. It turns out not much more fun, but they are allowed to rush around on a huge map. Sometimes, for the sake of variety, at the end of the story level, a mini-boss is slipped to us. But this is just an ordinary enemy with a fairly increased health bar and a few vulnerable points.

Combining MMO and story-driven shooter, Bungie inevitably stumbles upon the conventions of online games that simply prevent them from realizing the world's full potential. But here are the shootings inherited from Halo, really succeeded. The local aliens do not allow to relax, actively maneuver, avoiding bullets, and do not forget to help each other.


The locations are so mesmerizing that even just walking around them is pleasant.	And this applies not only to open spaces. The authors succeeded in numerous caves-corridors just as well.

A warrior focused on close combat will not go at you alone, from the flanks, most likely, attack aircraft will cover him, and from the nearest hill a couple of snipers will aim at you. They also do not allow to sit out behind the shelters; if you gape a little, and a couple of bursts will fly to the back of your head. And no two skirmishes are alike.

The war does not end

It's not easy to fight organized enemies alone, so it's better to go through the company, especially since it's not at all difficult to find it. While you stomp to the desired point, you will meet many players. They, as a rule, are busy with their own affairs and will not interfere, but they can always be invited to a group and go on a mission together. This will not only be easier, but also more fun.

But again, since, among other things, there is a story-driven shooter, there is no particular sense in turning back a complex development scheme, a bunch of professions and others like them. Leveling is linear - all skills are opened strictly in turn, and there are three classes: titanium, hunter and witch... The titan is strong in defense, the hunter deals maximum damage, and the sorcerer specializes in supporting allies.

We will be opposed not only by the fallen ones already seen more than once, but also by other types of aliens. True, the difference between them is purely visual.


Even if the boss is a couple of levels younger than you, it won't be easy to kill him.	Between missions, we spend time in the main tower of the last human city. All players gather here, and all traders are located here.

Tired of story missions, you can test yourself in Strike mode. Well-coordinated teamwork is indispensable there - opponents are much stronger and more agile than their "plot" colleagues, and bosses are generally capable of sending them to the next world with one blow. In fact, these are MMORPG instances - it turned out interesting, but how exciting they will be when people fully explore the weaknesses of the bosses is a big question.

The plot ends quickly, leaving the player alone with a ton of classic MMO entertainment. Here you can hunt for legendary items, build reputation with factions, and search for resources to improve armor and weapons. Following the precepts, over and over again you come to the locations already studied far and wide, only now, as it should be, on new, heroic, difficulty levels.

But the main entertainment after completing the story should be classic multiplayer battles, for the victory in which a special currency is given: you can buy very rare equipment for it. Team deathmatch, capture of points - everything is like in Halo, which can be regarded as a compliment.