Destiny 2: The Story So Far

Arguably the most dangerous force alive, The Hive are a deadly ancient race hell bent on war. While their appearance seems more of a feral and radical race, they’re actually quite organized, with hierarchy of ranks and stature. With their current residence in the Solar System being on the Moon, with constant plans to advance on Earth, these beings originally came from the gas giant of Fundament in a galaxy far, far away. They are the most advanced race known to anyone, tapping into the Ascendant Realm which houses their gods, and constantly researching alternate dimensions. They also have the most connections with other races, most in particular with the Vex and the Darkness. They have been known to use The Darkness in their favor, creating The Taken in the process, which are just enemies who are possessed by the mysterious Dark force.

I wasn't a huge fan of any of the guns in the Destiny 2 Beta, although I'm usually picky and stick with the ones I really like, but they do seem different and cater to different needs. You're also given a lot of options in the Beta which is nice, including the ability to test out all of the different kinds of guns. They've changed the organization of guns as well, and I'm not too much of a fan, although I could see it working once you have a whole host of guns to choose from. Instead of Primary, Secondary, and Heavy, it's Kinetic, Energy, and Power. Heavy and Power are synonymous, while Kinetic means regular weapons with no energy ability attached and Energy simply means that they do. Energies, remember, are the Solar, Void and Arc powers that a weapon might come with. So now, if one is Kinetic and one is Energy, you could have two assault rifles, two hand cannons or any mix of what we think of now as Primary and Secondary weapons in those slots. What I ended up using, though, was a sidearm in the Kinetic slot and an assault rifle in the Energy slot, which meant I spawned with the sidearm, which was weird. It's different, but I think that when I actually start using it it will make more sense.

With 2018 in full swing, a solid first quarter down and plenty of games to keep anyone happy, Destiny 2 Update 9.1.0.2 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.

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.

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 impressed and if they can keep that up with the rest of the campaign, it could be great.

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.