Don’t worry- sometimes things actually get better… Well, in my opinion anyway.
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Year: 2017
Played on: PS4
Also on: Xbox One, PC
Developer: Bungie
Publisher: Activision
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Destiny 2, or: How I Learned to stop worrying and Love the Grind
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Date posted: November 21, 2017
PREMISE
About a week or so, I made a review talking about how disappointing the base game for Destiny was. Retreading the same content just for a chance to get better loot. The half-assed story. How the good content was made DLC. So many complaints across the board- but I didn’t say it was bad game- in fact, after playing Destiny 2, I plan on getting the super-GOTY version of the original, because I actually want more…
That’s right. I know my opinion means not much to anyone, but in these reviewer’s eyes, I’m glad to announce, that the base game of Destiny 2 is very much an improvement from the original base game. I know many won’t agree with me, so let me try to explain myself.
To start, ironically, I was not interested in Destiny 2 from the get go. What happened to that 10 year plan that they were talking about it? Was it all lies? Who knows. All I know, was the announcement trailer was, well- cringy. Everyone seems to love Cayde-6, but god, I thought he was just annoying in this trailer. Then you had that awful live-action trailer where Sabotage by The Beastie Boys played. Ugh. I had no interest- in fact, I thought that surly this was the end of Destiny….
Cementing this was the negative and middling reviews from Youtubers I like. Angry Joe- a “Meh” 6 out of 10. I Hate Everything hated it- which is weird- he usually loves everything! Rags thought it was bigger disappoint then [Disappointing Thing that Disappointed you.] All around me, it looked like Destiny 2 was another disappointing games to add to the pile. I put it in my Gamefly Q (A service I have many negative things to say about. Look for that review in the near future) and waited for it to arrive, not expecting much.
What happened next was shocking.
“Hey!” I told myself. After beating the campaign.”That’s actually an improvement- but it still has problems!”
So lets see what Destiny 2 actually got right and improved on! And what it didn’t….
PROS
Once again, the graphics are not only great- they are somehow better then the first game! I have no idea what black magic that used, but it looks great! Once again, again, the music is fantastic, and many would agree that, once again, once again, that it may be the best part of the game. Whats-his-name is gone, but his partner, Michael Salvatori, once again once again once again does a good job, once again! Don’t worry- I won’t use the once again joke ever again!
Once aga- I mean, the gunplay is pretty much the same, and thats not a bad thing! Hand Cannons still have punch, Auto Rifles feel recoily as they should, and Scout Rifles have a satisfying kick every time you pop open an enemies head- and yes, enemy deaths here are even more gratifying this time around!
The campaign is also a vast improvement- in fact, there were little touches of Halo here and there- why the hell they gave the series away to 343 is baffling (but we all know is was because of money!) The best part is actually the opening bit- its one part I don’t actually want to spoil- its even a bit emotional! It almost came out of left field!
After the a great opening, I’d admit it does falter a bit- there are moments that are just “hold the line” like the original-but it still has its moments, and is far more memorable then the campaign in the original base game.
More good news- theres actually more incentive to explore! The patrols in the Original, which slipped my mind a bit in my review, were not that great in the base Destiny game. It was mainly going around, doing patrols and looking for chests, for a minute reward. Public activities only happened now and then, and were hardly rewarding. Now, however, things have changed- theres actual content now! Public Events happen all the time, and give out loot aplenty- and can quite chaotic! Finding chests feels rewarding as well- no more chests full of materials that are f@#king worthless- each one has at least one token- which can be traded for even more loot! Another big addition it the Lost Sectors, which act like mini-dungeons, that a have a chest full of loot and a mini-boss. Finally, there are side missions called Adventures, that add some variety to the mix as well. No more do patrols feel like boring treks though empty worlds- theres actually some substance, now!
While I didn’t play a lot of the crucible in the first, I can tell you that it felt very much unbalanced. Here, it seems that it has been improved! It felt much more fun then the original, and a lot more balanced!
Also, I didn’t play the raid. Sorry- I’m an antisocial f@#kwit.
CONS
Once again, there is a grind- especially if you want to do the Raid or the Nightfall missions. Thankfully, you don’t have to do the same missions over and over again (Even though they did keep it in as an optional feature). Its a much more pleasant grind, in my opinion, but its a grind none the less- you might hit a wall as soon as you know it!
One thing that really got to me while playing Destiny 2, is the fact that everything seems to scale with you- a mechanic I never did like. Apparently, it was also in Destiny 1, but I guess I didn’t play enough to really feel its effects. Its just really disheartening to get a piece of Exotic armor, go do a mission, and then get 5 shotted. Whats the point? Why raise your power level is everything else is as well? I understand that becoming invincible is boring- all I ask for is to feel like I’m improving as I play.
Some people also claim the game is causualised, as Legendary and Exotic armors and weapons are easier to obtain compared to the first game. I say this is a good thing- I remember some of the Exotic items in the original game being almost impossible to obtain- no, I don’t want to kill 500 players in the crucible for a gun that looks like s@#t, thank you! The entire game feels more of the same, difficulty wise- no harder and no easier- its just that items are easier to get, and I think the balance is fine!
The game hardly adds any new enemies. Theres a new Cabal attack dog, that I admit, looks pretty badass- but thats pretty much it. There is a new faction, I guess, but their pretty much re-skins of other enemies in the game. There also these Vex that explode into eletirc goo that harms you, but those might have been added in one of the many expansions of the first Destiny- I don’t know. I haven’t met the guy. WAHAA! He does exist! They do exist! Uh, Santa?
Finally, I have to talk about those damn microtransactions! In this game, there are these things called Shiny Engrams that give you mostly cosmetic things like shaders, which now, in a very brilliant decision, can only be used once. You can also get ships (which still do nothing) sparrows (which they decide to give a free one to you AFTER you beat the campaign) and Emotes. However, the big thing that everyone got up in arms about is the armor mods you can get- technically making the game pay 2 win. I did not notice anything like this- if it effected the crucible, then I must be blind, because I did just fine- like I said- the crucible seems to be more balanced then ever. Also, you get a Shiny Engram, for free, every time you “level up” after level 20- so its not too bad! Do not get me wrong- I am against all sorts of microtransactions, especially in $60 triple-a games- I’m just saying that its not a big a problem as people make it out to be- in fact, I am more offended that you can only get a Sparrow this way if you wanted one before you beat the campaign!
FINAL VERDICT
While I think Destiny 2 is an improvement over Destiny, at least in terms of their base games, I still think it has somewhat a way to go in order to be a truly excellent series. There’s still a lot of grinding to do, and some other bulls@#t like microtransactions, but I really think that this series is, slowly but surly getting better. I look forward to Destiny 2’s expansions- even though, once again, I won’t buy them until the super ultra deluxe edition comes out, like I always do.
If like Destiny and want a somewhat better experience, then I don’t think you’ll be that disappointed with the changes made herein.
November 27, 2017 EDIT: I found out about the XP bullshit. I’m gonna have to drop a point. Shame on you, Activision! I knew something was screwy!
Agree? Disagree? Good! Leave a comment about how terrible my taste is in the comments below!
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