[JH]: So, that’s kind of outside the scope of where we have our involvement. We’re super dedicated to story, and the high-level development decisions based on classes or specializations happen amongst other teams. We try our best to have a good narrative wrapper around that decision-making. Our involvement in the PvP is to develop a strong character in Lord Shaxx.
With Destiny 2 is quickly approaching, everyone going in should have a decent understanding of the plot. Maybe you played through the first game and don’t remember what happened or decided to skip it entirely; well we have a general breakdown of what happened previously on Destiny. Before getting into events that transpired throughout the course of the relatively short-storied campaign, let’s give a little bit of background regarding the world.
Anyone hoping for more enemy species in Destiny 2 are bound to be disappointed. In addition to the Taken mentioned above, all four of the previous species return. You have the hulking Cabal, four-armed Taken, zombie Hive and time-traveling Vex. It’s disappointing that a named sequel doesn’t have any new species for players to fight, but there are a handful of new things going on within each of the current factions.
Including all content from Curse of Osiris in the base game might have helped ease some of the end-game pains that the launch brought with it. It’s not too much more to do, but it might have smoothed over a few wrinkles by including that extra content. It would also have made the loot pool larger; maybe Guardians wouldn’t be as frustrated at the limited item sets, lackluster exotics and other cosmetics. Giving more isn’t always the best idea, but in this case, it could have been.
The Taken are a fightable enemy in Destiny 2 in both the story and out in the open areas. There aren’t any new enemy types within the Taken race, but it’s still entertaining to fight them. The different tactics they use compared to their non-Taken counterparts make them a more unpredictable foe.
In terms of maps, only six have been announced so far: Midtown, Javelin-4, Altar of Flame, Vostok, Endless Vale and Retribution, which is PS4-timed exclusive. The final count has yet to be revealed, but no maps from the original game and expansions are returning.
Destiny 2 is good at two things: shooting aliens in the face and doing that same thing with friends. Destiny 2 screwed the pooch on players as it’s not only is on three platforms, but those three platforms can totally interact… oh wait, no they can’t. Destiny 2’s lack of cross-play is frustrating for the obvious reasons. Being able to play with friends in an online space is one of the many reasons people play online games and one of the biggest reasons people play Destiny 2. Having Guardians on PS4, Xbox One and PC is great as it means a wider audience, but it sucks when Guardians can’t play with their friends over on either of the other platforms. Much like Kotaku discussed in their latest Splitscreen podcast , this is a great way to tear people apart. Instead of enjoying the raid with all my friends, now I get to hear about how my friends did this without me over on Xbox or PC, or vice-versa, and it doesn’t feel good.
AI has been improved to where enemies don’t just stand there waiting for players to off them. They will duck and weave and attempt to drive players out of cover. They aren’t as aggressive as, say, Uncharted or Halo, but it’s a noticeable step up from the original game.
Mercury sits happily at the top of the destinations menu like it was there all along. Brother Vance welcomes Guardians with open arms to the Lighthouse (only reserved for the best of PvP in Destiny), waiting for Osiris’ return. Like everything else to follow though, Mercury quickly proves that it is a veiled guise for a rather bland play space. It’s small while giving of the illusion of unlimited potential. It only has one public event, and while covering much more ground than other public events, it’s still the only one (plus sparrows don’t work). At least the other destinations have multiples. The Infinite Forest is a clever trick, that has been pulled before, it’s just on a slightly larger scale, not confined to a space like the Prison of Elders from House of Wolves in Destiny. It’s doing the same thing though, just changing the facade.
Unfortunately, most of the rest of the content Curse of Osiris provides isn’t top quality. Mercury doesn’t offer the space or sense of wonder other areas provide to make it a worthwhile social space or area to explore. The Lighthouse, the new social space, is way smaller than it was in the original Destiny, and it only contains one vendor to interact with. Meanwhile, the open area of Mercury is just a tiny circle, so tiny in fact that Sparrows are disabled to give the illusion it’s bigger than it really is. On Mercury, you’ll find out here one public event, three adventures, and one Lost Sector. For a planet that has been teased since the initial release of Destiny, it’s appearance in Destiny 2 is underwhelming.
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