Destiny: Bridging the gaps between MMOs and FPS

               When it comes to first person shooters most people tend to think of the Call of Duty franchise and the Battlefield series.  When you think of MMOs your mind usually gravitates to games such as World of Warcraft, Guild Wars 2 and maybe even Final Fantasy XIV.  These games define their genres; they have their own followings, diehards and haters.  Before I continue let it be known that I am going to make some very broad generalizations with the two styles.  The first person shooter usually boasts more in-your-face gladiatorial action than your typical MMO, but lacks the volume of content that a MMO can pack into a game.  That is something that a few developers seemed to have set out to change with this new generation of gaming consoles.

                Cue in Bungie (yes the Halo guys), with the reveal of their upcoming game Destiny, they are bridging the crevasse between the two genres.  This game to me looks like it is going to take the enjoyable things from each style; content, action, story and customization.  Hopefully by combining the two they can eliminate the feeling of repetitiveness you get from playing hours of CoD multiplayer, along with the feeling of dread you get when thinking about the time you need to invest in a new MMO. 

                Destiny is set 700 years in the future, in a post-apocalyptic world where the last survivors of the human race fight to keep from going extinct.  Not long before humans were in their golden era of space travel, brought about by this mysterious spherical entity that hovers over planet Earth known only as the Traveler.  Aided by their new found powers humans set about colonizing throughout the solar system.  With outposts on the Moon, Mars, Venus and potentially even Saturn, humans were learning more about the universe than ever before.  Then an event known only as “The Collapse” occurred.  All contact with the outposts was lost and most believe they were destroyed; Earth would have faced the same fate if it were not for the Traveler sacrificing itself to save what little it could.  While most life on Earth was erased the land underneath of the Traveler was protected, buying time for the survivors to build a wall around what is now called “The Last City”.  Here the Guardians of the City protect what is left of humanity from hostile aliens, while trying to piece together what has transpired.  The Traveler also enables the Guardians to wield a mighty new power.    

                Using an on-the-fly matchmaking system Destiny will allow you to play with other players that are similar to you in skill, level etc.  By using this technology Bungie has eliminated the need for conventional servers, giving the environment a more natural feeling where you seamlessly play with other players.  This is something that really interests me because it will give the game more depth.  It does this through community, feeling as though you are not the only person in that world is cool, plus it means that if you need a hand kicking some alien ass you can most likely find someone nearby who is willing to lend a hand.  Another feature that Destiny has borrowed from the MMO genre is the talent and class systems.  As of right now (and probably the way it will stay) there are three classes in which you can choose from when starting the game:

Hunter – Using long range weapons and stealth this class can dispatch enemies quickly and quietly.       

Warlock – This is the classic mage class, using 20:80 armour to cloth ratio you wield the power of the Traveler to silence threats.

Titan - Employing heavy armour and heavy weapons, including light machine guns this is the tank class.  If you prefer to just put your head down and charge this is definitely your class.

                Regardless of which class you pick the Guardians feel more like knights and cowboys, and I think that is awesome.  The feeling of being just another spec ops soldier is gone in my opinion, and that is refreshing. 

                Destiny will feature a leveling system that rewards you as you progress by giving you talent points.  These can be spent to upgrade things such as your weapon, armour or character.  It is important to note that it isn’t clear how many points you are given or even at what intervals you will be awarded them.  One thing that has been shown off at E3 was the ability to change your talent “tree” on the go.  The video (click HERE to view) shows a Warlock changing his weapon skills around to make the Thunderlord into an extremely deadly tool.  I really like the idea that you are free to change up your talent points at any point in the game, I feel it takes away that restrictive feeling you get from a traditional MMO.  It allows the player to play how they want, whenever they want and really after paying $60 for a game, personally I expect to be able to play the way I find most enjoyable.

                Bungie is planning for a 2014 launch date for Destiny, but that is all that they are telling us as of right now.  Something in the back of my mind tells me that they will launch it at roughly the same time that Tom Clancy’s The Division (hopefully you will see a post on this game in the near future) drops.  I believe that we will probably see a bit of a Call of Duty vs Battlefield style of competition between the two games.  My mind is not made up yet about Destiny; although it looks fantastic I am going to wait to see a bit more on it before committing myself to a pre-order. 

                How do you feel about Destiny?  Is this a style of gameplay that interests you? If not I would love to know what is keeping you away.  As always thanks for stopping by and enjoy your day!