Destiny Beta (PS4)
Last weekend was public beta time for one of the most anticipated games in the shooter genre this year: Destiny. Of course I had to take a look to see what this is all about.From the very beginning the game makes a good impression. The character creator is a rather basic one but for this kind of game it does the job pretty good and simple. Like any other RPG you select your class in the next step and are thrown into the game. The visuals are very good, the German voice overs very likeable and the action ranges from simple shooting to frantic hectic WTF moments.
I want to cut one point very short: PvP. I tried it and dislike it. Its dull, boring and lacks balance. I admit getting me engaged in PvP at all is very difficult and only a few games were able to manage that so far (i.e. WAR, GW1, H3).
The games storyline starts of interesting but keeps the ball low. The difficulty settings is very fine except for the strike mission we could try in the beta. That mission was way too long and lacking any balance. The strike mission was set for level 6 and all three of us were level 7. After a couple of wipes we were able to get to the final boss. But the this boss was too difficult. After every wipe you start off worse than before because all your rare ammunition is gone which makes it even more difficult to defeat a walking tank.
For the first true party mission the difficulty was too high and the setting too frustrating. The first mission should encourage the players to keep moving. It should allow to have a first experience of success and achievement. Not slap you in the face. I hope they rebalance it.
The central hub “The Tower” is a good place for everything before you start for the next mission but the place feels empty. It looks like in the beta the hub was locked to 16 players (phasing). For such a big place this low number makes it look more deserted than the central hub of all things. The next problem is the lack of any kind of chat which would allow the players to find people with the same interest or want to do the same missions or grind for reputation points. I read comments from many players who recommend a so called proximity chat and I agree with them.
Destiny got a lot of potential but also a few things that could slow it down fast after the release hype is gone. The lack of player communication is one key factor. While the developers stress its no MMO the game looks and feels like it and also employs some typical MMORPG elements. I truly hope they watched the beta, balance out a few things, implement a means of communication and deliver a good story.
29. July 2014 21:07