Game Preview: ‘Destiny’ Could be Bungie’s Next ‘Halo’

Now if there is one game I am looking forward to this year, it is Destiny. From Bungie, the studio that brought us the original Halo trilogy, comes this first-person, massively multiplayer online shooter game. Destiny takes place seven hundred years in the future during the “Golden Age,” in a universe in which humans took to space and had a period of prosperous exploration, peace, and technological advancement.

When a cataclysmic event know as “The Collapse” happens, mankind is on the verge of extinction. “The Traveler” saves the remaining humans, and as it hovers over the last human city, mankind attempts to repopulate and reconstruct after the Collapse, while enemy alien races have taken over mankind’s former colonies and civilizations. The Guardians of the City (you, the players) are tasked with investigating and destroying these threats before humanity is completely wiped out.

The game itself is shaping up to be a true work of art. Bungie explained they wanted to mix medieval with science fiction in order to design their world and characters. And it works well looking at the art. Also the player will have the ability to travel to other planets, which opens up the world being built for this game even more. With as much attention they are putting into the smallest details, I can only imagine what this game will look like.

There are three different races to pick from — Humans, the Exos, and the Awoken, which look amazing. The graphics are breathtaking, as you get a brief layout of the land itself, and from the gameplay I have seen so far, everything runs at a smooth rate with no tearing or framerate issues. The gameplay mixes class-based abilities with shooter mechanics. Each class stands separate from the others. Classes range from Hunters who use stealth and long-range weaponry, Warlocks which are space wizards, and Titans who use power, armor and heavy weapons.

Each class looks much different from the other, which means customization for each class is going to be interesting. Titans are walking tanks in their armor, wearing big armor pieces, while Hunters seem to wear regular armored clothes, and warlocks wear more of cloak — more clothes than armor. I also heard that armor is not locked into sets, but can mixed, and matched with other pieces. Looking at art of the game’s armor choices for each class makes me excited to see more of the customization options. Also the weapons are really well designed, and look very sci-fi, and you can even customize your space vehicles.

With this interesting story element alone, along with it’s incredible gameplay that can bee seen in it’s demos, varying gameplay styles with three different classes, space travel, and vast customization options, this game is shaping up to be a game of the year contender.

I am looking forward to playing this game with my friends. September 9 is going to be an amazing day for gamers on all platforms.