Bungie teamed with Activision to create Destiny, a first-person shooter featuring a brand-new world populated by a plethora of exciting characters. Considering the developer created Halo, this new project has big digital shoes to fill, but fear not. Bungie assured its fans that Destiny will not only deliver, but also set itself apart from Microsoft’s big-budget franchise. Here’s an early look how the studio plans to do this.
The Experience Will Appear On Multiple Consoles
Halo fans need a PC or Xbox/Xbox 360 to partake in Master Chief’s adventures. Not so with Destiny. The game will be available on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, along with next generation systems – confirmed for both Xbox One and PlayStation 4. This will allow Destiny to accumulate more fans, especially on Sony’s end, as the PlayStation versions will feature exclusive content.
Superior Matchmaking
The Halo games throw you into matches with random players of similar skill or your friends, depending on the game. While the versus/co-op features are good, there was definitely room for expansion.
With Destiny, Bungie will introduce a new on-the-fly matchmaking system that allows players to form up, with a new “matching” set-up that actually puts people of similar skill sets together, rather than seeking out a particular server or service. While cross-platform play still isn’t happening yet, this is a great feature to help find allies when you need them most.
A Brave New Visual World
Bungie’s new “hopper” technology helps the team get the most from global illuminations and real-time dynamic lighting, but that’s just part of the big picture, as the game will introduce impressive new worlds you can roam through. From swamp lands with vicious over-sized frogs to snowy terrain where enemies can pop out of nowhere, there’s literally no end to the places you can visit for the sake of rebuilding the human race.
That’s just the initial game. With possibilities through downloadable content and future sequels, you can go even further. Granted, Halo had a lot of planets to cover, but none of those places look as compelling as the ones you’ll see in Destiny. The game will look good on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 of course, but seeing Bungie work its magic on the next generation systems will be something else.
The Guardians Fill In For Master Chief
Players will quickly accept the fact that Master Chief isn’t around to save the day, though The Guardians seem like a great replacement. These new heroes come in three character types – Humans, Awoken, and Exo – as well as different classes, including Hunters, Warlocks and Titans. As you might expect, each one has particular skills that come in handy during firefights, like using twin pistols to execute sick trick shots, as demonstrated in the recent trailer.
No matter whom you choose, you’ll establish your character over the course of the game, perhaps even to the point of creating someone that puts Master Chief to shame. The fact that various options are available – and you can find a style and class that suits you best – makes this different from the one hero in most Halo games.
Open-World Adventuring
The fact that the world is wide open for exploration means you’ve got a lot more territory to cover, and with four alien races conspiring against you, following a linear path simply won’t get the job done. That said, you’re free to take multiple routes through the experience.
Destiny is a huge and highly ambitious project, one that will take time for Bungie to polish, but we have the utmost confidence the team will deliver. If the Halo series is anything to go by, we’re in for one heck of a ride.
Destiny is set for release in early 2014 for PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One and PC.
