Destiny

 Xbox 360
Metascore
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No score yet - based on 1 Critic Review

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 1
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 1
  3. Negative: 0 out of 1
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  1. Meristation
    Sep 13, 2014
    80
    Destiny is a good FPS from Bungie. However, it isn't the definitive fusion between shooter and MMO we expected. Great gunplay, good enemy AI and full of content, but missions can get too repetitive and the endgame needs more variety of objectives.

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User Score
4.8

Generally unfavorable reviews- based on 523 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 192 out of 523
  2. Mixed: 79 out of 523
  3. Negative: 252 out of 523
  1. captainkane
    Sep 10, 2014
    5
    I played Destiny for a few hours. That’s all I could bear. It’s a boring game. Like Titanfall, Destiny is overhyped. Furthermore, it’sI played Destiny for a few hours. That’s all I could bear. It’s a boring game. Like Titanfall, Destiny is overhyped. Furthermore, it’s underdeveloped in the aspects that were marketed most. This proves that the marketing machines employed by Activision and EA are still marvelous. These companies constantly turn out average games, and in a few cases, glitchy unfinished games. Yet, these companies make billions in revenue selling such games every year. Lesson here: Don’t buy the hype.

    What is most disappointing about Destiny is the glaring inclusion of everything Halo. Movement, characters, weapons, and multiplayer reek of Halo. Not everyone likes Halo. The developers can’t shake off its Halo legacy, which could hurt Bungie in the long run. Destiny should be retitled to Halo: (Lackluster) MMO Edition. In a nutshell, for gamers who don’t like Halo, avoid Destiny.

    The graphics and level design are poor. The 360 is old tech, but there are plenty of games which look great on it. Instead, Destiny looks washed out and monochromatic. This results from the abuse of a limited color palette. So areas look overly saturated in brown, stark white, or grey. Level design is uninspired. The maps are so generic that I can’t tell them apart. Some people told me they couldn’t orient themselves on the maps since everything looks so similar. A few actually got lost!! That is poor level design at its finest. Even worse, the maps are fairly linear. Sure they’re big, but exploration is shallow and enemies are sparse.

    Combat is OK, and the AI is good enough. But battles are uninspired. Fight a horde here, explore a bit, and then fight an even larger horde with an elite enemy over there. Rinse, repeat. Boring combat mixed with shallow exploration makes Destiny repetitive. I’ve played a lot of RPG’s, MMO’s, and RTS games. Destiny is the only game I recall where a lowly level 10 enemy is nearly god-like to weaker players. They’re an absurd challenge. And these enemies pop up in unlikely places.

    The multiplayer is awful. Annoyingly, players have to unlock game modes by playing the campaign. I understand why Bungie did this. Many FPS players skip campaigns and go straight into multiplayer. Campaigns set the tone for everything, including multiplayer. But forcing players to play it is a poor decision. Gamers like options, not dictation.

    The multiplayer is extremely unbalanced as well. A strong team with good gear will decimate weaker teams. Battles are often completely one-sided. Destiny really fails here. While multiplayer feels distinctly Halo, it’s a huge step down. Destiny has one of the least enjoyable multiplayers I’ve played in the last several years.

    The tower where players can upgrade gear and buy items is an afterthought. The Citadel from the original Mass Effect is vastly superior, and that game is 7 years old. Character customization is just as shallow. Character progression is limited and locked. No progression trees. No stat points. No choices on how to upgrade abilities means no variation among players in each class. So if a player chooses a warlock, all players among that class will perform the same. Virtually identical characters? No thanks. Armor and weapon customization is equally dull. There are hundreds of games which allow player choice in progression. With so many examples, it's baffling why Destiny's system is so lazy and rudimentary. In fact, the promise of unique character progression was part of Bungie's marketing strategy. It's not there.

    I really can’t say much more because I stopped playing after a hours. This is unusual as I spend 15 hours or more on every game I review. Destiny tries to do everything, and it fails at everything. The specter of Halo haunts the cubicles at Bungie. The developers decided to embrace it rather than make a clean break. That is why the game feels mired in Halo’s universe. And like quicksand, that dilemma is pulling Destiny under. Instead of the promised MMO, gamers get an average co-op shooter. Poor graphics, lackluster level design, limited exploration, uninspired combat, and an awful multiplayer are just some of the problems that plague Destiny.

    For players with decent PC’s, check out Guild Wars 2. It’s epic, massive, deep, and highly interactive. Basically, GW2 is everything Destiny’s not. For players with more humble tech, check out Diablo 3. It’s also an epic and fun game. Plus, Diablo is available on consoles.    … Full Review »
  2. Garfoodle
    Sep 9, 2014
    4
    Meh, its alright...just not very good...I mean, its a poor-mans BL2, If you're looking for a decent console MMO, this is it. If you'reMeh, its alright...just not very good...I mean, its a poor-mans BL2, If you're looking for a decent console MMO, this is it. If you're looking for a good MMO and have a PC, then this one is a miss… Full Review »
  3. ImJTHM
    Sep 9, 2014
    5
    A load of wasted potential, but with solid mechanics, Destiny is representative of an industry with no ideas and more of a focus on spectacleA load of wasted potential, but with solid mechanics, Destiny is representative of an industry with no ideas and more of a focus on spectacle than mechanics.

    Examples of poorly designed mechanics are loot, none of which is exciting. When a new gun is found in Borderlands, it could fire swords or arcing lightning blasts. In Destiny, the bullets could glow red. There are only a handful of gun types, and the few variations to that gun play nearly identically, making it seem more like a traditional first person shooter than an extended RPG.

    The RPG elements are terrible and barebones. Rather than getting a series of points to put into many skills, creating your own unique character and way to play, all of the classes (all three of them) will play identically to someone playing as the same class, the only difference being the skills they have equipped, which can be changed at any time, undermining the entire RPG aspect as a whole.

    The map is massive, but there isn't really much to do in it. It's sort of like if you put tootise rolls on the corners of a football field. Yeah, there are caves and respawning monsters, but the maps have an MMO feel and, in a fast paced shooter, it just comes across as a pointless waste of space, and an excuse to have vehicles.

    Speaking of vehicles, the game has almost no consequences for failure. If your vehicle explodes, you can just summon another one. No money, experience, or level required. If you die, you respawn a short distance away, once again, with no repercussions, unless you are in a "dark zone" for raid purposes, which show up entirely at random within missions and make them more aggravating than fun, just because of how randomly they're sprinkled around. This lack of feedback to the player causes the game to feel old very quickly, because there isn't a sense of accomplishment. You can just bash your head against any boss until you win, regardless of level or personal skill. Combine this with the face that many enemies are simply damage sponges and this makes for a lot of tedium very quickly.

    The story is meh. It's visually interesting in its design, but what starts off as an interesting idea quickly devolves into every single sci-fi cliche in history. Not much to say, it serves its purpose, but brings nothing new to the table.

    And, simply put, the multiplayer deathmatches are garbage. They remind me of the most recent Call of Duty, but even more broken. Prepare to die at complete random.

    As for the good, the game is gorgeous. Landscapes are meticulously designed, and you can tell the world-designers really care for their craft. The voice acting is also great, except for, curiously, Peter Dinklage. He occasionally comes off as flat and bored with everything that is going on, and when he does, it will suck you right out of even the most emotional scenes. Also, the driving mechanics are smooth as better, and are quite possibly some of the best that I've ever played.

    However, all of these things can't make up for the fact that Destiny is just a mediocre Borderlands clone at its core, but where Borderlands succeeded through a dark sense of humor and weapons that were so ridiculous, it was a joy to find a new one, as well as solid RPG mechanics, Destiny wants to appeal to shooter fans.

    The lack of interesting guns, Diablo 3 RPG mechanics, slightly awkward story and repetitive gameplay ruin Destiny. This game was absolutely destined for greatness, but they played it entirely too safe, and now it's just another meh shooter.    … Full Review »
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