Cary Smothers

Destiny nailed its gameplay mechanics perfectly out of the gate and those carry beautifully into Destiny 2. Aiming and shooting feel fantastic, while platforming has been tightened up with Guardians now able to clamber over ledges. Jumping is still a little floaty, but the clambering should help players avoid some unnecessary deaths.It has been a long time since we’ve seen a proper Bungie game on PC. Outside of the first two Halo games ported well after the fact, the now Washington-based studio wasn’t always well known for their console releases. After splitting off from Microsoft and the Halo brand, Bungie worked on their next major project, and while it was met with mixed reception, it quickly became one of the biggest new IPs this generation, inevitably spawning a sequel. Destiny 2 was released last month with numerous improvement to the formula, and even though it didn’t completely blow everyone away, it still has a strong, dedicated fanbase. One group of gamers that still needs to experience the Destiny love is PC players, but finally that has been rectified. Activision and Bungie have released the multi-million selling sequel to the open platform, but is it what PC gamers had hoped for or is this a franchise better left on dedicated consoles?With 2018 in full swing, a solid first quarter down and plenty of games to keep anyone happy, Destiny 2 beginner guide 2 is likely not on the mind. Bungie has been straightening Destiny 2 out, though, and it finds itself on almost the exact same path that its predecessor took. This isn’t a bad path, but it leaves a a bland taste in the mouth. It’s medicine that can be swallowed with maybe some slight discomfort from past experiences. Destiny 2 will continue to course correct, and those improvements do help the game, but do they help it enough? That’s up for the player to decide, because making things work that should have been working all along isn’t a reason to come back.As for the Crucible, it seems to be an uneven blending of old and new, and like any good shooter, will probably need a few matches under its belt to see where it stands. I was grouped with teams that either know shooters or know Destiny the first few matches tackled. My team dominating match after match, while hapless players threw themselves at our Guardian-trained reflexes. It almost didn’t seem fair, probably because the other teams weren’t making use of their powers and treating the Crucible like any other shooter. Jumping in on day two, however, was completely different. Being on the receiving end of the stick was just not fun. My team wandering off to play "team deathmatch" instead of the actual objective. At this point, it’s confusing when other players don’t know mechanics. Most games use the same objective-based gameplay with personal slight variations, but to see my team run to the meat grinder, completely away from the very thing we were supposed to be protecting, was disheartening. I had to quit while I was ahead. Not because the other players were bad, they just didn’t seem to care.All activities in Destiny 2 can be played cooperatively, but the real test of a Fireteam’s comradery comes in Strikes, which Destiny 2 provides plenty of. There are five Strikes in Destiny 2, and each is meticulously crafted to test a Fireteam. They’re far more exciting than the Strikes in vanilla Destiny and dole out some quality loot. Those looking for a challenge and some of the top-of-the-line loot will want to try the Nightfall, however, which is unlocked later in the game.Loot boxes make money. This is still the unfortunately reality of things despite the absolutely massive backlash that hit the likes of EA and Activision six months ago. Despite everything; despite the massive outcry and governmental investigations into this slimey practice, gamers are still buying loot boxes frequently enough to make them worth all the trouble they cause. They’re still in Overwatch, PlayerUnkown’s Battlegrounds is still developing theirs and now Bungie has unveiled yet another type of loot box to Destiny 2 as their response to the massive outcry against their baffling insistence on walling-off much of the game’s gear behind RNG loot boxes. The developer has even gone on-record to acknowledge fans’ dislike of the loot boxes and promised to explore ways to improve Eververse for players. Yet here they are with another loot box; they either don’t have any idea what the issue is or they think they’re going to make a lot of money from it. With Destiny 2 in such a sorry state, they’ll need to make that money fast.Bungie has received massive amounts of criticism ever since Destiny 2 launched and they’re now poised to launch the expansion that will either make or break the game moving forward. They need Destiny 2: Warmind to be a success. They need it to convince players to come back and get invested in the game again. If neither of those things happen, then they’re going to have a hard time getting anyone to fork over more cash (probably forty dollars) for their major expansion coming this fall. Warmind might not be Destiny 2’s true final chance, but one would think that Bungie would still be doing everything it can to show gamers that they’re committed to improving the game, and that they’re eager correct the multitude of mistakes and exploitative policies that have defined its life thus far. That doesn’t seem to be the case, though. Instead of implementing an à la carte system like Fortnite or even just dialing back the cash shop to something closer to how it was in Destiny 1, they’re just adding a slightly less random loot box into the mix.

Where does this leave Leviathan then? Answer: Not in a good place. Out of all Destiny 2 pvp Guide raids this might be the least fun yet. With plans of still completing it, now having joined a Clan I feel confident in, especially when it comes to gaming positivity I know it can be done. What sucks is the time, emotional energy and all feelings that get rolled into trying to complete this raid. Once I do finish it, that’s it, it will never be attempted again, because it’s just not worth it. Bungie stated they wanted to create a raid that would draw more people in to the ultimate end game content, Leviathan is anything but inviting, even if Calaus is literally inviting you on to his opulent ship. It's hands down the most deterring raid every created for Destiny. Which is why Bungie's messaging on what this raid was going to be could have been a bit clearer. Why say it’s going to be inviting when also saying it’s going to be the most challenging raid ever? That’s just an oxymoron. Who is this raid made for? The ultimate Guardians (streamers) that Bungie knows will complete it or the players they say they want to join in the end game content? The messaging is mixed and muddled with leaving little hope for the future of end game content.Destiny 2 is headed in the right direction. Perhaps it's too little too late or maybe it could pull a healthy player base back in. For now, Destiny 2 is trying its best and is showing signs of quality of life for its future. Today it’s no surprise when buying a new game to be hit immediately by a patch, because what game makes it out of the door ever without having to go through a few updates and patches once it’s out the gate? Usually a major update will hit games freshly released within the first month followed by the steady stream of content and improvements. All of this is commonplace in the video game world and yet we as the audience still find time to get mad that games aren’t the perfect embodiment of what was envisioned. Developers do have a responsibility to be open with their audience and it does become a let down when certain things promised are nowhere to be seen or the game is more broken than let on. So let the saga of Destiny as it continues through the ages be a lesson, one that we are seeing more and more frequently – Anthem is on the horizon, after all. But it's our responsibility as players and developers to keep the dialogue going to get the best experience possible from all sides. Good luck out there, Guardian.OK, yes, loot has not been talked about and isn’t that what Cayde-6 made a firm point of mentioning at the end of the trailer? Well, seeing as we already know the outcome of what happens to said "loot," it might not seem to matter — wrong. Just like everything else, loot is in full-swing. It might as well be raining guns and armor from the skies because the loot is real and it’s good. Aside from the sweet Raid armor mentioned above, the drop rates on loot have all been set to maximum. I’m talking exotics, I’m talking legendries and everything in between. My guardian has never looked rawer. I’m a space wizard and I’m here to party. All this loot also means that catching up has never been easier for those who might have fallen behind coming back to Destiny. Getting to 400 light level should take no time at all and again, Destiny 2 isn’t out until September, so there is plenty to do until then.We think that a lot of players are going to be pretty surprised about how 4v4 changes the landscape. In terms of being on a big team in Destiny, that’s the Raid. The pinnacle activity in our game is all about being in a Fireteam of six and solving the biggest mysteries in the game together.The story campaign has more missions and cinematics than you’ve ever seen in a Destiny game. The player experience has more variety, more types of activities, and more ways for you to enjoy the experience by yourself, or with other players. It is, in terms of the action you’ll enjoy, a more diverse experience than any Bungie game ever.It’s a difficult thing to predict. I know that we’re going to constantly pay attention to how the community plays the game. We’re going to listen to the things they talk to us about. We’re going to take their suggestions and blend it with our vision for how the franchise can evolve and change. We’ll always give those who play Destiny new challenges to face, and we’re going to send them to new worlds. We’re always going to tell new stories and keep players guessing. We don’t want Destiny to become stagnant or predictable.You talk about the four-people having different and important roles in the Crucible. I’m curious as to why you didn’t add a fourth class. Every match will have at least one duplicate class. Doesn’t that defeat the idea that each player has an important role to play?The other ill feeling aside from Destiny 2’s launch is knowing we're following a path already taken that doesn't seem totally trustworthy. In fact, it's the same merry-go-round many have already been talking about. We've been here before, we've seen it. Yes, Destiny 2 will drop some Taken King sized expansion and it probably will fix a lot, but it just doesn't feel like enough or that Bungie or Activision are trying. Give us guardians something fresh, show us something shiny and new; not a lackluster experience that continually rides on the coat-tails (hardly any to begin with) of the previous title. The gimmick can work for anyone experiencing Destiny for the first time, but it's not going to work for the players that have been with Destiny since the beginning and the newcomers will pick up on that. When creating a space to play in together, it's creating a social dialogue, which happens inside the game and out.

AI has been improved to where enemies don’t just stand there waiting for players to off them. They will duck and weave and attempt to drive players out of cover. They aren’t as aggressive as, say, Uncharted or Halo, but it’s a noticeable step up from the original game.In terms of maps, only six have been announced so far: Midtown, Javelin-4, Altar of Flame, Vostok, Endless Vale and Retribution, which is PS4-timed exclusive. The final count has yet to be revealed, but no maps from the original game and expansions are returning.We want to continue experimenting and evolving Eververse to improve player experience, and give more paths to earn Eververse rewards. Please give us your feedback once Season 3 begins, as we’re dedicated to improving these systems moving forward."Destiny 2 is a full-fledged sequel to the original game and not an expansion. It contains all new locations, weapons, armor, characters, etc. You will not need to have played the original game and its expansions to hop into the sequel, but those that have can carry-over their character. Plus, there will be areas within the game that will acknowledge that you have played the previous content.All activities in Destiny 2 Strikes 2 can be played cooperatively, but the real test of a Fireteam’s comradery comes in Strikes, which Destiny 2 provides plenty of. There are five Strikes in Destiny 2, and each is meticulously crafted to test a Fireteam. They’re far more exciting than the Strikes in vanilla Destiny and dole out some quality loot. Those looking for a challenge and some of the top-of-the-line loot will want to try the Nightfall, however, which is unlocked later in the game.But anyway, the Inverted Spire is all about putting a stop to Protheon, the Modular Mind. To get to him, you'll have to fight through hoards of Vex and Cabal who are also fighting each other. They take you down into a dig site, where the Cabal have been looking for Protheon. It's pretty straight forward, but there are some cool set pieces, like the dig site itself, which has you dodging huge drills as you descend, and Protheon's temple, which changes as the fight goes on.We have all-new worlds to explore. Immediately after the opening act, your character is exiled into the European Dead Zone. It’s an Earth destination and the biggest map we’ve ever created by far. You will explore this destination and its lush forests. That’s really where you’ll start your new journey. You’ll journey to Titan, an oceanic moon. The entire moon is one big sea, but there are these human installations that were erected during the Golden Age. You’ll go to Io, which is one of Jupiter’s moons and is the last place the Traveler touched before the Collapse. It’s a place of magic and mysticism. Finally, you’ll go to Nessus, which is an unstable planetoid that has been completely transformed into a machine world by the Vex.The story campaign has more missions and cinematics than you’ve ever seen in a Destiny game. The player experience has more variety, more types of activities, and more ways for you to enjoy the experience by yourself, or with other players. It is, in terms of the action you’ll enjoy, a more diverse experience than any Bungie game ever.The people running Bungie and Activision aren’t stupid. It takes a great deal of smarts and business acumen to successfully run and grow any kind of company; they know exactly what they're doing. They’re trying to make it sound like they’re doing their fans a favor, but we wouldn’t be seeing this if that were truly the case. If they really wanted to do their consumers a favor, they could do any of the following:Bungie has received massive amounts of criticism ever since Destiny 2 launched and they’re now poised to launch the expansion that will either make or break the game moving forward. They need Destiny 2: Warmind to be a success. They need it to convince players to come back and get invested in the game again. If neither of those things happen, then they’re going to have a hard time getting anyone to fork over more cash (probably forty dollars) for their major expansion coming this fall. Warmind might not be Destiny 2’s true final chance, but one would think that Bungie would still be doing everything it can to show gamers that they’re committed to improving the game, and that they’re eager correct the multitude of mistakes and exploitative policies that have defined its life thus far. That doesn’t seem to be the case, though. Instead of implementing an à la carte system like Fortnite or even just dialing back the cash shop to something closer to how it was in Destiny 1, they’re just adding a slightly less random loot box into the mix.Of course, that’s not all. All the original subclasses return, kind of. You can play as a Nightstalker or Gunslinger Hunter, a Voidwalker or Stormcaller Warlock, or a Striker or Hammer of Sol Titan. A few of the subclasses have been tweaked to be more effective in Destiny 2. For example, a Striker Titan’s Super now allows players to run about and perform multiple ground-pounds, making it a far more useful class. Abilities from the Defender, Sunginsger and Bladedancer subclasses have been absorbed into he new subclasses.

Fallout 4 and Dead Space 3 were both the standout best sellers of their respective series. More gamers are familiar with these series thanks to their widespread success. On it’s own, this success is a good thing. In the case of Fallout at least, it means that the series has a future. Just like with Destiny 2, however, that success came with a price. In the case of Fallout 4 , greater success and mainstream appeal came at the cost of its RPG depth. Instead of defining what kind of character they want to play at the outset of the game, players can instead develop them as they play. The Sole Survivor’s identity is fluid. They can be anything and everything given enough time. They’re basically competent in everything from the outset of the game and developing them is mostly just a matter of increasing their damage with/resistance to different types of weapons.A series of new locations on Earth, Titan, Nessus and Io replace the locales from the Destiny 1 era, and are mostly huge improvements. The open areas may not necessarily be bigger but are filled to the brim with more geometry, exploration, and activities. Returning activities like Public Events have been revamped to offer more engaging encounters, and new activities like Adventures allow players to dig deeper into the lore of the world. New Faction Leaders populate each destination, but they feel lonely and out of place. Exploring the open areas still feels too empty as the player count has not been increased, nor are there any other NPCs to interact with. Faction Leaders are a great start, but it’s disappointing that there isn’t more to the open areas other than to mine Lost Sectors and Public Events, walk up to a flag to initiate an Adventure or kill infinitely respawning enemies.At the moment, there’s probably no finer example of this than Destiny 2 . Among the many problems afflicting it, the most basic is probably the fact that, at its core, the game is a compromise. It’s a watered-down version of what made the original Destiny enjoyable, done for the sake of attracting a more casual audience. Annoying grind or not, Destiny 1 was more about the hunt than it was the acquisition. Rather, it might be better to say that the hunt was what made the acquisition fun. The hunt took commitment though. Gathering exotic, raid and perfectly-rolled gear took time. It took patience. It meant throwing oneself into the grind until they finally earned the prize they sought. The lack of content variety was certainly annoying, but the way Destiny was set up made the effort feel rewarding all the same. Not everyone enjoys this sort of game though. It’s not as easy to drop in and play as, say, Call of Duty or Halo 5. This is what Bungie "fixed" in Destiny 2. Now, the hunt is basically gone. Every piece of gear one can get is exactly the same as everyone else’s. "Rare" loot can be earned by literally doing nothing, exotics no longer feel special and character builds are practically nonexistent. It’s much easier to jump in as a new or casual player, but why should they bother? In its pursuit of the casual audience, Destiny 2 wound up sacrificing the very thing that made the original fun engage in: the actual hunt and effort required to obtain rare loot. Destiny 2 isn’t the only game to suffer in this way though. Just look at Fallout 4 or even Dead Space 3.At the end of the mission, we finally meet Ghaul, who is terrifying in his all-white armor and his Darth Malak-esque mask. He gives a great speech and welcomes us to a world without light, as he strips the Traveler of its power. He then promptly kicks your de-powered self off the edge of the Tower and the Destiny 2 logo fades in to end the Beta's mission. I assume the next mission will take place within the city. But the first mission of Destiny 2 Edge of Fate 2 impressed and if they can keep that up with the rest of the campaign, it could be great.What is surprising is the antagonist, Gaul. Presented in trailers as a hulking brute, Gaul appeared to be a walking cliché. The end product is the complete opposite with Gaul having much more depth than anticipated. Gaul doesn’t get the amount of screen time he deserves, which is disappointing considering he’s the best part of the story. Completing the campaign can last anywhere between 6-8 hours, and that time is mostly filled with well-written and varied missions. Sure, some cookie-cutter missions are just there to pad out the length, but for the majority of missions, there’s more than enough context and agency to keep players going. One mission you may be driving a vehicle, in another you’re escorting a valuable object and then you may be teleporting around areas to save a friend. There’s a lot more variety on display in Destiny 2’s missions.[MW]: We’re just aware of it as you are. It’s harder for us to tell a story, but it has it’s moments. There’s one part in the story where you’re told to speak and Ghost cuts you off. So, we have fun with that.

Whether you’re a grown adult or a child, who doesn’t love Pokémon? The release of the Gameboy Advance began arguably the best era for handheld games, and leading the march was Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire. These twelve year old games brought us the third generation of Pokémon we love today, so it seemed only fit for Nintendo to remake the duo. With their new 3D engine, Nostalgia hits hard for those who grew up in the late 90s and early 00s, as Game Freak was able to recreate everything you’ve come to love, while at the same time adding on top of it. While it would still be great to see new Pokémon adventures, this is one of the few cases a remake was warranted. Now all we need a second remake of Red and Blue.Shaders, ships and sparrows, which could all be obtained as rewards in the Destiny 1 era, are tied to Destiny 2’s microtransaction system. Sure, common and rare shaders can be found be exploring the different worlds, but the most desirable shaders are all locked behind microtransactions and are now single use. It’s cool that shaders can now be individually placed on each piece of armor or weapon, but turning them into one-time consumables tied to microtransactions is terrible. Swapping shaders in and out in Destiny 1 was a fun piece of customization, but Destiny 2 strips that away.But anyway, the Inverted Spire is all about putting a stop to Protheon, the Modular Mind. To get to him, you'll have to fight through hoards of Vex and Cabal who are also fighting each other. They take you down into a dig site, where the Cabal have been looking for Protheon. It's pretty straight forward, but there are some cool set pieces, like the dig site itself, which has you dodging huge drills as you descend, and Protheon's temple, which changes as the fight goes on.Assassin’s Creed II, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves and Mass Effect 2 are some of the greatest sequels of all time, but why? Each of these games had a flawed predecessor that showed great promise, which the developers were able to take and refine into strengths. With Destiny 2, Bungie is looking to achieve something similar. After three years of growing pains throughout the Destiny 1 era, the developer is finally ready to look to the future with a numbered sequel. With an actual campaign, new worlds to explore and an update to the game’s progression systems, is Destiny 2 the sequel fans deserve or is the number at the end warrantless?The most immediate change is the environment. The Tower always seemed like an elusive thing; my Guardian didn’t feel close to those she was supposedly protecting. How is one supposed to feel like a hero when there really isn’t anyone worth saving? Heroes come in all shapes and sizes, whether fighting actual battles or just being that person someone looks up to, heroes aren’t made without those to protect. Although, it could be argued Guardians are more warriors…never mind, no need to go down that path. Needless to say, Guardians are now invested in the people they are protecting; they are going out into the world and fighting back whatever might threaten a community broken. It connects Guardians to something worth fighting for: relationship.The most significant aspect of Destiny 2’s campaign is that it has an actual campaign. After Destiny and Rise of Iron’s cookie-cutter missions, it’s nice to have something with more variety and substance than "bad guy over there, go kill it." That's not saying Destiny 2’s campaign is anything deep. Characters jump in and out of the campaign quickly as the story moves you from world-to-world. While the quick pacing keeps things moving, it never slows down enough to create any connections between the player and the world. Worst yet is the player’s Guardian who, in Destiny 2, is relegated to a silent protagonist. Ghost ends up speaking the entire time for the player and comes off as annoying. The current set up with the Ghost quickly becomes grating, and even more annoying when other characters point out your silence. This was purposefully done so that players can become invested in their Guardian, but in execution comes off as cartoonish.After that first mission, though, players are immediately ejected to space, where a limited number of things to do sits in a classic Destiny menu. Like, what? I can’t even land on a planet and just wander around? With nowhere else to go, it’s either hop in the Strike or hop in the Crucible.Destiny 2 is laying the groundwork for outstanding storytelling and unforgettable moments. It's setting a solid foundation for the game it always wanted to be, while delivering the things Destiny never could. It’s an exciting time to be a Guardian even if it means the Last City falling only to pick ourselves up one more time. At least this time, there are those worth fighting for.Bungie is not the same developer that created Halo; that much has been clear ever since the early days of Destiny 1. Ever since Destiny 2 was announced, though, it’s as if they’re not even the same developer that made Destiny 2 Update 9.1.0.2 1. The first Destiny had many flaws, as did the company that made it, but Bungie made up for those flaws with real improvements to the game and a passion for it that poured through their announcements, trailers and developer diaries. Fans were willing to stick around because they could feel that passion and the game really did get better.