A new installment in Bungie’s “Destiny” series was released two weeks ago and is the biggest game launch of 2017 so far.
“Destiny 2” was released Sept. 6, 2017 for the Playstation 4 and the Xbox One, leaving the predecessors of these systems in the dust. A PC version of the game will be released on Oct. 24, 2017, something that never happened with the original game.
Like in “Destiny”, the game is divided into player versus environment and player versus player game types. However, a new addition is that of a free roam patrol mode for every planet the game has to offer as well as public activities featured in it, both of which were never apart of the original “Destiny”.
One of the most notable differences though is that the narrative experience for “Destiny 2” has vastly improved. Previously, quite a bit of the lore could only be found through Grimoire Cards online or players had to conclude information about the universe based on the dialogue present.
For “Destiny 2”, the Grimoire Cards have been removed in their entirety and the game now gives information about the world through the usage of cinematics, voiced dialogue, and in-game discoveries that appear as the player journeys through the game.
PvP games have also been changed solely to a four versus four player format as opposed to the six versus six brawls from the previous installment in order to provide a better sense of competitive balance.
Finally, “Destiny 2” has made an attempt to solve the problem with players being left behind when they want to participate in raids or Nightfall strikes. For this purpose they’ve placed a matchmaking system where no one would be forcibly left in the dust due to playing the game on their own. With this upgrade, Clans are able to advertise a need for more players in a way to allow the solo players to join in on content they might have missed due to going at the game alone in the first installment.
“Destiny” was an online-only multiplayer first person video game released on Sept. 9, 2014 worldwide by Bungie and published by Activision. The release of “Destiny” was Bungie’s first new console franchise ever since the famous “Halo” series began.
The original game was given reviews that ranged from mixed to positive as well as managing to be the third best-selling retail game in 2014 with over 20 million players as of a year after the launch. “Destiny” is playable on the Playstation 3, Playstation 4, Xbox 360, and the Xbox One.
Following the release of the original game, several expansions were provided over the course of the following months all the way until March 2017. These expansions added backstory in regards to the mythical science fiction world that the game took place in as well as to characters and presented players with fresh new places in the world to explore and fight.
They’re titled “The Dark Below” (Dec. 9, 2014), “House of Wolves” (May 19, 2015), “The Taken King” (Sept. 15, 2015) and “Rise of Iron” (Sept. 20, 2016) which was only released for PS4 and Xbox One players. The final expansion, “Age of Triumph,” (March 28, 2017) was the finale update the original “Destiny” would receive as its sequel would be coming out months later.
With “Destiny 2,” Bungie hopes to improve on the gameplay experience provided in the first installment by adding new and improved modes and gameplay mechanics, as well as a single-player experience.
Erika Brandenburg
Reporter