Is Destiny the first 'real' console MMO? - part one
Destiny is in alpha right now, and VG247's Dave Cook has been playing it on PS4. Have consoles received their first made-to-order MMO or is this genre simple incompatible with Sony and Microsoft's plans? Find out here.
Looking for part two instead? Go here.
For whatever reason, Activision really doesn't want to call Destiny an MMO. Perhaps it's because that genre has a lot of preconceptions floating around it, or maybe it's because those three letters suggest something that isn't a 'real' game in the eyes of console purists? I'm not entirely sure where the issue lies, but that's what I'm looking to discuss here.
I've been playing Destiny now for just three hours. That's not a long time I admit, but I rather quickly found myself eager to jot down some initial thoughts here, because for many of you out there yet to rub shoulders with MMOs, Destiny's first impressions will be quite important. You might even be looking to upgrade to the new generation for this game alone, while others - I'm certain - aren't quite sure what to expect.
It's a largely untested concept on consoles, so that's why this is a two-part article; I want to hit you with that first wall of expectation and give you an insight into what Destiny stands for, before hurtling into the finer points in part two.
Ready? Let's go.
Welcome to the downfall of humankind
What struck me most tangibly during those first few hours was Destiny's sense of place. I went a Hunter class - skilled in the art of long range and blade combat - and found myself in a starting zone amid the ruins of Old Russia. Amid its snow-capped fields and cliffs lies the rusting wreckage of space craft, once destined to ferry humanity to the stars, where a prosperous future lay. It's clear that the dream died before lift-off.
Destiny brings this graveyard of metal and rock to life as snow twirls through the air and brilliant sunshine trembles through the twisted wreck of lopsided shuttles, forever rooted to cracked launchpads. This backdrop serves as stage to all of your initial questing, which can be tackled solo or as part of a three-player Fireteam, although you will still see other players running around the environment as you go. You can choose to interact with them and help in their battles, or not. The choice is yours.
”Early on I found enemies to be quite aggressive, but with a little perseverance I defeated them all and headed back to the Tower, which is where Destiny is at its most ‘MMO.’“
If you're unfamiliar with MMO tropes; just think of other players as NPCs in any other shooter. They're certainly not intrusive, and aren't capable of attacking you or stealing loot dropped from enemies you've killed. You can fight them via PvP in The Crucible arena, but I'll get to that in part two. The closest games I can liken Destiny to right now are Borderlands and Guild Wars 2, due to its open world nature and co-op play.
My first quest involved checking out a congregation of Fallen, a hostile race of creatures found lurking around an old space hanger. I encountered a pack of their footsoldiers outside the complex and engaged in my first battle which, to my surprise, felt quite different to Halo. My Hunter class came with a double jump skill, so leaping around did feel a bit similar to Bungie's series, but the gunplay felt faster and definitely slicker than Master Chief's handling.
I darted between decayed containers and wreckage to cover myself while unleashing my fully-automatic rifle and shotgun into anything that crossed my path. My instant reaction was that it all felt quite good in my hands, and the intelligence of the AI largely surprised me. Troops scramble for cover and pick alternate routes to get the drop on you, which is a damn sight better than the MMORPG staple of clicking to attack, or circling each other while issuing commands. It's a fluid shooter.
Venturing into the complex, I happened across a Titan who had been downed by a pack of tougher Fallen, and with a simple hold of Square he was revived and back on his feet. The interiors were dark and illuminated by eerie lighting, once again delivering a great sense of place, while the music dropped back to up the tension. As I stalked the halls, taking out more grunts, I earned Glimmer - Destiny's currency - and even progressed my character to level four.
”Destiny is the story of humanity’s losing war against alien invaders, and the Tower is the only thing standing between them and extinction. It stands as the game’s social hub.“
This unlocked my Hunter's Golden Gun skill, which enabled me to summon a flaming pistol capable of discharging three high-power rounds. What it boasted in power, it lost in accuracy due to being iron sights only, which was a nice piece of balancing on Bungie's part. At the heart of the complex I found myself attacked by a horde of Hive, Moon-dwelling aliens that attack in packs like zombies. They were being led by smarter, gun-wielding types and their wizard leader.
In something of an RPG twist, the wizard blasted me with a bolt of magic that inflicted poison on my Hunter, and corroded her health over time. Similar to Halo, you have a health bar that depletes then regenerates as you avoid damage, so survival was simply a case of staying hidden. Early on I found enemies to be quite aggressive, but with a little perseverance I defeated them all and headed back to the Tower, which is where Destiny is at its most 'MMO.'
Next: Into the Tower.
Tower of Power
Destiny is the story of humanity's losing war against alien invaders, and the Tower is the only thing standing between them and extinction. It stands as the game's social hub, and it's overseen by The Traveller, a giant metallic sphere that hangs over the city to ensure its survival. I have to say, the mystery of what that globe is and what it's doing alone kept me intrigued enough to play on. It's the big question mark hanging over the whole campaign.
This is the place where Destiny's true MMO sensibilities shine through, starting with a switch to third-person view. Seeing a crowd of Guardians crowding in front of vendors as they make their purchase, or dancing with each other under the Traveller's shadow absolutely screamed 'MMO' at me, but did this water down the experience? Not at all in fact, although one guy followed my Hunter all the way through there while dancing. I get it dude. Knock it off!
”One thing I did find odd however, is that Destiny’s menus use a cursor format, rather than letting you cycle through options. It’s a strand hybrid between mouse and keyboard play, and controller inputs.“
You can also check on your personal mailbox - I received a 'thank you for playing' letter from Bungie (aww) - sell your gear for Glimmer, and buy yourself a space craft. So far there have been no sections that put me in direct control of my ship, rather, it only appears in loading screens whenever I decide to fast travel. The idea is that you hit the DualShock 4's touchpad then hold triangle to enter orbit, before coming back down to Earth or another planet to resume the gunplay.
It is possible, however, to summon your hover-bike using the same process, but by holding square instead. These nifty vehicles can only be used in hostile areas, but they're great for travelling across the vast world at speed, or launching off deliberately-placed debris. For example, one mission tasked me with mapping out a cave network in the Old Russian Steppes, but it was elevated, so I had to boost up a piece of shuttle wreckage and bail into a double-jump to reach it. Clever.
Back in the social zones, you can visit a variety of vendors to buy armour and weapons. You have four key gear slots for your helmet, arms, chest and legs, along with an accessory slot. In the Hunter's case, you can change up their cloak to add stat effects to your build. There are only two weapon slots to begin with for standard and special weapon types, along with the ability to bind skills to buttons. It's similar to an MMO, but optimised for console play.
One thing I did find odd however, is that Destiny's menus use a cursor format, rather than letting you cycle through options. It's a strand hybrid between mouse and keyboard play, and controller inputs. I was a little surprised to find that you can't use the DualShock 4 touch-pad to scroll the cursor however. It seemed like a wasted chance to use it.
”These tasks were hardly awe-inspiring, but of course I had to remember that they were simple side-quests designed to keep your XP ticking over between story missions. They’re largely inoffensive.“
With my arsenal stocked and my new gear purchased I rocketed back into orbit then landed back in Old Russia to get some questing done. This is another area that feels similar to MMOs. Missions are doled out by beacons found scattered around the environment, and there are an absolute ton of them, each tasking you with different chores. Most of the early side tasks are actually quite pedestrian if I'm being honest, and felt a lot like low-level distractions found in other MMOs. But of course, these are just early assignments designed to ease you in.
In those first three hours I mapped out the cave network I mentioned previously, which involved me literally just standing in a small chamber, while another asked me to scout the Fallen's capacity for attacking The Tower which, again, was a matter of standing on a mission marker until a gauge filled. Granted, I had to kill a lot of enemies to ensure the spot was safe first, which was made quite easy by other players in the vicinity. Had they not been there it would have been a fair bit tougher.
Another mission saw me killing a certain enemy type until the quest was fulfilled, while another saw me scavenging parts from drones flying around an abandoned rail-yard. These tasks were hardly awe-inspiring, but of course I had to remember that they were simple side-quests designed to keep your XP ticking over between story missions. They're largely inoffensive and helped show me the ropes at that early stage. At the time of writing I'm not about to hit level six after three hours of slow meandering and trying to figure Destiny out.
Want more? Check out part two of this article, in which I try out Fireteam Strike raids and The Crucible's PvP modes.
Destiny releases September 9 on PS3, PS4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One.