A first-person shooter with massive multiplayer elements, “Destiny” offers vast sci-fi space exploration and combat against alien creatures that is reminiscent, in a good way, of the first levels of Bungie’s “Halo: Combat Evolved.” Set among the remnants of humanity after a post-apocalyptic event known as The Collapse, “Destiny” casts players as guardians of Earth by an alien creature known as The Wanderer, tasked to defend it from an onslaught of alien creatures.
Whereas the “Halo” series focuses on the clichéd lone hero, “Destiny” differs in its focus on customization, socialization and interaction. Players can come across and interact with other players both competitively and cooperatively, drift in and out of other people’s games at random and are given the choice of how they want to interact with each other.
Players begin by choosing one of three classes: hunters, warlocks or titans. Hunters draw inspiration from westerns and the classic bounty hunter. Warlocks are gifted powers by The Wanderer and are best described as “space wizards.” Titans draw the most inspiration from Bungie’s “Halo” series and are designed similar to that series protagonist, The Master Chief.
Throughout the game, players will be able to upgrade their characters through various armor and weaponry. When enemies are slain, they drop armor and gear that players can pick up and use to customize their characters. The game offers a robust number of options allowing players to craft their character to their own play style and appearance.
The enemies in “Destiny” flesh out the vast world around you. With five distinct types, enemies differ widely from each other in both appearance and tactics. A recurring enemy type seen in many different locations is the Fallen. The Fallen is a race of roving space pirates that have four arms, armor and cloaks. The Fallen is just one of the different enemy types players will face in the game.
“Destiny” looks to be a much-needed boost to the first-person genre through its vast customization and innovative interaction.
