ACTIVISION Destiny Limited Edition (Xbox One)

After spending hundreds of hours and have all 3 classes at 28+ with at least 3 exotic pieces of armour and all sub-classes maxed out, I feel I can add my comments now.Destiny's campaign is disappointing and the mission structure is quite repetitive. The universe, back story etc Bungie have created would have made an epic campaign if created in a more traditional style. The potential makes the 'story' we did get seem even more disappointing. That being said, I doubt the Traditional campaign structure would have lent itself to end-game content (the daily missions, bounties, events etc) and would have probably felt more detached from the rest of the game - like a separate part in a similar way to how nearly all other FPS games are - the campaign is separate from the MP or co-op modes. I do get why the missions all seem to start in the same place - It kind of brings everything together, allows a little more freedom - you can explore, loot etc, go where you want, have the same opportunity to engage in Public events and socialise or just head straight to the objectives. I think it would have made more sense to have a docking area here for your ship though to kind of explain why that's always the start point.The 5 Strikes (6 on PS) at the moment are quite limited and the Vanguard strikes would be better on a rotational rather than Random sequence - it would stop playing the same strike 2-3 times in a row!I am not a great fan of the Crucible. I wasn't a great fan of Halos MP either and this feels like that in essence - maybe a little more evolved in that I have more control over the jumps and can ADS too.The Raid is quite challenging - I just wish Bungie opened a room in the tower for people to go to if they are looking to Raid. It would certainly make it easier to find people and negate the need to spam or getting spammed anyone over level 26. That being said it is the best designed and most variable activity in the game and certainly requires communication and co-ordination. You aren't going to get that from random matchmaking with different languages etc. Ideally you need a few certain classes and weaponry too so at least with manual matchmaking you can organise the team balance better.Free roam can be a bit of a grind if you are just looking for materials, loot etc but you can do this during all PvE options. You don't have to farm materials, loot hunt etc just in free roam so you can mix it up a bit. Also playing everything with friends alleviates that monotony to a degree.I know the RNG loot system is very disappointing and the events (Queens Wrath, Iron Banner) rewards are pointless after you reach a certain level. Why would I want multiple of the same legendary items that don't compare to my fully upgraded Legendary/exotic gear?? They seem to cater more towards the lvl 20-24 players still acquiring gear. It would have made more sense if the rewards were maybe more equivalent to the Raid (or at least inbetween legendary and exotic). I know its no different from many games of this nature but it still doesn't make it any better.I also find that Glimmer is pointless! Its capped at 25,000 but there is nothing worth spending it on. There is a limit to how many ammo synthesis packs I need in my inventory - and why can't I get rid of Ether Seeds etc as I have no need for them. The vault (particularly weapon capacity) is too small too - I really don't want to dismantle my exotics and ideally want a variety of weapons - particularly those with elemental damage for different situations.I know the content may seem limited but it has provided me with 100's of hours of game time so far - even without the DLC. It also offers a lot more options than other new IP's and even existing franchises - Look at Titanfall - no campaign (not really), limited weaponry, customisation, game modes, no co-op. Wolfenstein - no MP/co-op.The game play mechanics are excellent and feel very solid. Weapons feel solid and effective, Supers feel super and that combined with the movement controls work really well. The different classes inc sub-classes can be adjusted to suit my play style, situation and mood. Visually and aurally (not inc Peter Dinklages script and delivery) are incredible and enhance the overall experience.Its not perfect by any stretch of the imagination and does have a lot of missed opportunities. It also has a lot of potential for growth/expansion though - after all the universe is bigger than a few places on a few planets. I do find a lot of what Destiny offers too be quite addictive and the desire to acquire and upgrade various items keeps me returning. I don't know many (if any) game that I have completed the campaign missions as many times as I have in Destiny - Like I said that may be the main reason that the campaign structure was designed in this way. It may not be deep and meaningful but I do find it fun. Kind of more old school gaming fun when things didn't have much of story and were quite repetitive but the game play was solid and fun. I would give this a game probably an 8/10 but that score is quite flexible and would very much depend on what Bungie do to fix a few issues, adding new events/continued support and where the game goes from here....I know I have given it 5 stars though - that is mainly down to the fact that I thoroughly enjoy playing the game and considering the amount of hours I have put in and very likely to continue to play, it works out at excellent value for money (cost per hour). I know some of my comments may sound negative but the fact is as a package I find the whole outweighs the sum of its parts. I wouldn't recommend it if you are looking for a just a solo, campaign or MP experience but if you want 'fun' in a FPS shooter that can also be enjoyed with friends - its certainly one of the better games available.

Destiny is not a bad game by any stretch of the imagination but falls short from being great.I have played it for over 500 hours on writing this review.Cons:1. Destiny is hugely repetitive (understatement). It reuses its art assets and set pieces ad nauseam to the point that it makes Dragon Age varied in content. You will be playing again, and again and again in the same scenario. The only thing that will differ is the difficulty level.2. Destiny lacks content. The whole game can be easily breezed in between 10 to 15 hours. The rest of the game is a rehash of what you've already seen in those hours.3. Destiny has no story, no plot. Does anyone understand what just happened when you complete it? I thought so. It throws everything in a mix bag.4. You need to have Xbox live to play it (internet connection). You simply cannot play this game offline. In this sense it is remarkably different from other FPS games.5. Huge connectivity issues mar gameplay. You will soon become acquainted with the whole family of connectivity error codes with animal names. This becomes particularly aggravating when some missions (weekly strikes, nightfall, raids...) require you to play for several hours uninterrupted.6. The loot drop rate (RNG dependent) is simply abysmal. In the raid called `Vault of Glass' you can complete it (clear it) over thirty times on hard mode and still miss out on the best gear and best weapons. Each completion can easily take one to three hours depending on your fireteam. This is simply ridiculous and unfair to the player. This is compounded by the fact that playing the raid is the ONLY way to attain the high-level gear necessary to reach the higher levels. I have played over 500 hours Destiny and I am still missing 90% of the raid weapons. Simply ludicrous. This is just bad game design.7. Lack of matchmaking for raids, weekly's, daily's and nightfall. This is simply idiotic. The level designer of Bungie (Luke Smith) reasoned he did not want matchmaking added to a raid because that would group total strangers and it would not work. Newsflash! Players go to Destiny forums for raid recruitment. So effectively most players find groups of total random strangers to play with. What was his lame point again? In fact you will waste more time looking for players than in the raid itself courtesy of flawed decision-taking by level designers.8. With each new expansion all your gear and weapons become obsolete. You can only upgrade exotics which come at a hefty price as all progress is reset! So effectively you will have to level up again all exotic gear and weapons to bring it to the new level.9. The new DLC `The Dark Below' incredibly reuses AGAIN the art assets and scenarios! No lessons learnt here from fan feedback. It adds little to nothing to the core game. Only three missions, one strike and one nightfall. PlayStation users get more content because of exclusivity rights. Certainly not worth its price tag.10. Destiny seems to have been designed to create addiction - literally. It is not a game, it is a casino. Engrams are like tokens you earn and you cash them in for a prize. This is not good for younger players and should be looked at carefully by Authorities. The structure of its daily, weekly missions, raid etc all force you to continue playing for hours and hours on end (the grind or tread mill progression). Its deficient RNG system (purposely biased to force players to play longer) reminds me of slot machines addiction. The whole game is devised to keep you playing as much as possible, more than is necessary by any account.11. Lack of storage for all your gear and weapons. In game that is loot-driven this is simply unforgivable. Again I believe this done to incentivize players to create new characters to store the extra items with them; thus encouraging even further gameplay.12. Confusing in-game currency system. The game has several different currencies to buy things: Glimmer, Vanguard Marks, Crucible Marks, Strange Coins, Black Idol Wax, Motes of Light etc. New DLC Dark Below adds two more currencies as if it wasn't confusing enough: Crucible Commendation and Vanguard Commendation.13. Glimmer cap. Should be raised from the current 25k cap. You buy two or three strange shards to upgrade your obsolete exotics and you are out-of-pocket despite intensive grinding. The glimmer cap I believe is yet another example design decision to force players to play longer. There should be no cap at all.14. Long load times.Pros1. Excellent first-person shooter.2. Beautiful scenarios; few but stunning.3. Excellent music.4. Excellent sound effects.5. Well-designed memorable fights.6. Developer listens to the community and fixes issues when there are many complaints.7. Interesting weapons.8. RPG-esque elements.ConclusionCompetent shooter but definitely not GOTY material. Giving it a 6 is over generous.Drakan

I have played this game for almost a year. Got all the Dec and updates. I have all three characters and at present lvl 40 with one of them. To start with the game is great fun and you spend a lot of time completing quest and storyline. However this starts to get a bit repetitive. Alternatives are crucible, playing against online players. Unless you have a team this can be very frustrating. You end up as cannon fodder for the elites of the game.At lvl 40 you get stuck. You CANNOT complete this game on your own. The final boos need a group of minimum 3/4. If you do not have that you can join groups on the bungie website, but you still will not receive an invite. These groups are run for and by the elitist top players. Recent updates and future updates are going to make this even more difficult for the lone gamer. Creating higher experience levels you cannot get to with out team help.By the time you have bought the game and dlc's you will have spent close to £100 with NO chance of completing this on your own. Think very carefully before you spend this type of money with this outcome.

Loved this game when i first got it and the limited edition box comes with a beautiful guide book with hand drawn weapons characters and enemies in but after putting in 40+ hours in ive hit a wall ive completed the story OMG 😔😔 The story is terrible and very short makes no sense and chracters have no story to them whatsoever all the story is based on is going in a underground building killing loads of repeated enemies whilst your ghost opens a door or dycyphers a code its very repetitive online is basically like halo only you get random loot at the end of matches im now lvl 26 but is finding it hard to lvl up further with light as my armour is pretty decent i got bored and no longer play it hopefully dlc can save the game but im very doubtful if your thinking of buying it wait till it drops in price or even lend it

The ammount of people who call this game bad and repetitive are completely wrong, it definatly is repetitive but that's what makes it fun it's not a boaring repetitive unless you play it non stop every day. This is one of the best games I have ever played the section of it I dislike is having to do the strikes because they can get heavily annoying but the raiding is by far the most fun I've ever had in a video game and although the story is a little on the not there side if you look into it and you look at the cards on the app after getting them in game you can see more of the story. In short this game is a game you can have a lot of criticisms about but you'll still play it. It's definatly better with friends too so it's better to play with them.