Destiny - Negative reviews, all the same 'complaints'...

[SlitheryDee]

I'll say one thing, I have lost strikes because of randoms not communicating. Being able to call out what enemies are coming or what area to watch is helpful. In the raid, with no real idea of where to go or what to expect it will be even more important. At least in strikes you have waypoints and generally everyone can funnel to the area you need to go pretty easily. If it is indeed true that the raid has no waypoints then I it will be a total disaster with random people.

I've probably run around 20 strikes of varying difficulties, including 2-3 of the level 24 strikes, and in my experience no one communicates ever. I started out with my headset plugged in expecting to have to talk to people, but eventually I stopped bothering with it.I thought there would be a lot of chatter considering that everyone who has an xbox one definitely has at least the headset that came with it, but that hasn't been the case. In all my play time I can't say I've actually talked to a single person. The game really doesn't lend itself people actually meeting each other either. It's weird feeling this alone in a game so many other people are playing around me.

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

OP, WatchDogs is my only game right now. I finished Act 1 and I agree with you. The story arc is poorly transmitted to the gamer.

I think the concept could make for an incredible sequel.

 

[Lil Frier]

I don't buy the 'impatient FPS crowd' argument because FPS gamers will play the same maps over and over again in their chosen game.

And there's countless numbers of WoW players who cancel their sub when they get bored of the lack of content. The forums are chock full of people complaining about things.

It's obviously not an all-or-nothing thing. With WoW, the lull has been FOREVER since the Orgrimmar raid, and the general age of the players and game has increased complaints (tired of the same old waiting game, aged game concepts).

However, there's a big difference between the same maps in an online, competitive match, and a campaign that has you running redundant fetch/kill quests in the same area. WoW does it, but they cater to a crowd OK with it, and they at least give you a bunch of large zones with a huge variation of art styles and character models, so it's not AS stale.

I'll say one thing, I have lost strikes because of randoms not communicating. Being able to call out what enemies are coming or what area to watch is helpful. In the raid, with no real idea of where to go or what to expect it will be even more important. At least in strikes you have waypoints and generally everyone can funnel to the area you need to go pretty easily. If it is indeed true that the raid has no waypoints then I it will be a total disaster with random people.

The reason I VERY rarely played objective-based game types on Halo with randoms.

 

[cmdrdredd]

I've probably run around 20 strikes of varying difficulties, including 2-3 of the level 24 strikes, and in my experience no one communicates ever. I started out with my headset plugged in expecting to have to talk to people, but eventually I stopped bothering with it.I thought there would be a lot of chatter considering that everyone who has an xbox one definitely has at least the headset that came with it, but that hasn't been the case. In all my play time I can't say I've actually talked to a single person. The game really doesn't lend itself people actually meeting each other either. It's weird feeling this alone in a game so many other people are playing around me.

That's because people are stuck in the CoD on 360 mode where you have 13 year olds yelling all the time or acting stupid and getting on your nerves. Eventually it gets so bad you just stop using a headset.

That and any fire team made through matchmaking does not activate the voice chat. Bungie had the same idea I guess, that nobody talks to random people.

 

[Jetasis]

In all my play time I can't say I've actually talked to a single person. The game really doesn't lend itself people actually meeting each other either. It's weird feeling this alone in a game so many other people are playing around me.

Interestingly, my experience has been quite the opposite. On multiple occasions, when one of my buddies is not online, I've gone around and just invited folks to my fireteam. Maybe I was lucky but I've had guys join up who use mics to communicate and play the game the same way I like to play - with some thoughtful strategy. The game isn't as fun when you play it lone wolf so I struggle to see why players would be reluctant to use their factory included headsets to talk to fireteam members.

Side note - Tonight I'm going to add the XB1 guys from the DestinyAT clan to my friends list so hopefully I will always have at least one or two people online to party up with. Especially with the raid starting this week.

Jet

 

[Gooberlx2]

That and any fire team made through matchmaking does not activate the voice chat. Bungie had the same idea I guess, that nobody talks to random people.

I just learned of this today. I don't think most people know since it's not remotely obvious. Randoms should really just be auto-joined to the same fireteam.

 

[zerocool84]

I bet that if they would have allowed voice chat throughout the game, more people would voice chat in strike missions. Why would someone pull out their mic if they can only use it during one specific set of missions which there aren't many of? That's the problem right there.

 

[Gooberlx2]

I bet that if they would have allowed voice chat throughout the game, more people would voice chat in strike missions. Why would someone pull out their mic if they can only use it during one specific set of missions which there aren't many of? That's the problem right there.

I agree. Proximity chat seems like the most obvious feature to implement. Is chat even enabled for the Crucible? I don't think I've ever heard a peep there either...and I'm guessing for the same reason. That's just a brainless decision.

 

[cmdrdredd]

It may be something they update the game with. Bungie always listens to the community, there are changes made between beta and launch due to player complaints/comments. So it might be something bungie will consider adding or changing.

 

[Subyman]

I really like the game. Dunno how much I've played it this week, but it has to be over 40 hours. This is always the kind of game that hooks me though. A lot of the complaints have merit. For instance the in-game story telling isn't very good. They throw a bunch of references at you with no explanation at all. There lots of places with cool names like "the black garden" or " the endless steps" that I would have loved to have known more about, but the game is content to let you go there, kill stuff, and leave with no backstory whatsoever. This kind of shallowness of story permeates the game. I never really got a good sense of what this "darkness" was or how any of the alien races were related to it, even though it is presumed that they came with it. I like to have things to wrap my brain around in a game, and destiny doesn't give you much in that arena. It lead to me not really being invested in the story at any time.

I also feel like all the big world map areas are kind of misleading. It looks wide open and expansive, but probe around a bit and you find that they're actually quite restrictive in where they allow you to go. It gives the sense of walking around a movie set or carnival ride rather than being in a real space.

Still, the gameplay I'd fun and addictive. The shooter aspect is really tight impactful in the same way that I remember halo being. It's just so satisfying to play. It's easy to get obsessed with collecting newer and better loot, even if you are doing the same activities over and over to do it. The ability to easily create new characters adds to the relay value. I find myself craving new content for this game already though. I've basically done all the things you can do in this game, albeit not at the highest level possible. Everything from here on will be repetition against more difficult enemies, unless I can somehow get a raid party together. (If any ATOTers plan on doing that I'd love to join BTW) I bought the season pass today, but I wonder how interested I'll be when the first DLC finally comes around in December. We'll see I guess.

This is a great break down of the issues people have had. I think you said it really well with the maps looking huge and open, but when you start to walk around they are actually quite small. A movie set is a great way to describe it. That was my biggest disappointment when playing the alpha/beta. I came into it from an MMO background and having played Borderlands/Fall Out/Skyrim and thought it would be a large open world with different planets to go to. I was very surprised to see how small the maps were and how they were not connected. It felt like a very old MMO because MMOs now use seamless transitions until you, say, travel to another continent.

I don't think anyone has issues with the gameplay mechanics. The shooting and movement feel spectacular. Its what they built around that which is lacking. I really hope they can turn it around with free updates, but at this point, having to buy expansions to patch the game together into something interesting doesn't sound very good to me.

 

[Rage187]

They need many more "quests". More complex quests. Ones where each of your fireteam members have to go down a different path and all press a button at the same time to open a united path. I need more. My brain is jonesing for some complexity.

 

[zerocool84]

The Verge on Destiny

So...Destiny. A lot of us have it, and a lot of us spent a whole lot of money on it. Some of us are satisfied with that purchase, and some of us are not so satisfied with it. But why is it that a game from a developer with such a rich, deep pedigree as Bungie - known over the years for its*Halo*games, but also*Myth, Oni*and*Marathon*- could beso*divisive? What is it about the game that causes it to stand out so starkly at both ends of the spectrum? Many games in the modern era are referred to as "love them or hate them" games, but*Destiny*seems, more than any other game released in the past several generations, to*personify*this concept. And I believe that at the core of it all, the divisive nature of*Destiny*as a game comes down to its stark refusal to accept an identity, instead choosing to take the shape of a Living Tribunal of influences that it doesn't even attempt to hide -*Halo, Borderlands*and*World of Warcraft, among others.

Destiny*is not a bad game. It is not a horrible game. But it is a flawed game, and those flaws come from the fact that it wants to be so much - a story-driven epic first person shooter like*Halo, a socially-driven multiplayer game with a vast array of content like*World of Warcraft, a loot-based shooter playground like*Borderlands,and a seminal multiplatform competitive experience like Activision's own*Call of Duty -*but is so caught up on trying to be all of those things at once that it never truly found a way to be itself.

http://www.polygon.com/forums/polynauts/2014/9/15/6152485/destiny-an-icarus-story-boss-battles

I agree with most of their points. I'm enjoying it right now but just don't see the longevity of the game as it is now. There just isn't enough content to keep it going months from now without these expansion packs coming out every couple months.

 

[SlitheryDee]

I had another thought too. These are the same reviewers who gave games like Titanfall 9/10 scores. If ever there was a game that was light on story and heavy on repetition, that game is TitanFall. The jury is out on how well Destiny will do in the long haul, but at least it is many times better than Titanfall both as a pure shooter and a story driven game.

Reviewers need to not allow their expectations color their reviews. Destiny is a better game, but it gets worse reviews because it was expected to be an even better game than it already is. I'm not sure that after everything plays out with patches and additional content in the future that Destiny won't turn out to be every bit the game they expected it to be from the start, just doled out a bit more slowly than a journalistic deadline would allow the reviewers to appreciate.

Just something to think about.

 

[cmdrdredd]

I had another thought too. These are the same reviewers who gave games like Titanfall 9/10 scores. If ever there was a game that was light on story and heavy on repetition, that game is TitanFall. The jury is out on how well Destiny will do in the long haul, but at least it is many times better than Titanfall both as a pure shooter and a story driven game.

Reviewers need to not allow their expectations color their reviews. Destiny is a better game, but it gets worse reviews because it was expected to be an even better game than it already is. I'm not sure that after everything plays out with patches and additional content in the future that Destiny won't turn out to be every bit the game they expected it to be from the start, just doled out a bit more slowly than a journalistic deadline would allow the reviewers to appreciate.

Just something to think about.

Also, a lot of people didn't like halo so I expect those people to also not like destiny. I see posts elsewhere asking if they hated halo, would they like destiny. My answer is no, they probably wouldn't. I've found that some developers have a particular style for their games in similar genres. Halo is pretty close to what Destiny is, Destiny is just evolved a bit. Similar to how Naughty Dog approaches their third person story driven action games. Last of Us was not far off from Uncharted mechanically.

 

[smackababy]

I haven't read any reviews (positive or negative), but have put in several hours into Destiny. The problems in the game really lies in the technical flaws, IMO. While, the story was weaker than I expected from Bungie, or even liked, I understand they couldn't resolve the entire conflict and guardians universe in the road to level 20. That would leave them with silly, tacked on raids and such, which wouldn't really further anything. So, I give that a pass. The technical flaws, IMO, are what really holds this game back. The load times are ghastly and the lack of them enabling voice chat in matchmaking / pvp is beyond stupid. Both of those, however, could be fixed.

A few other design flaws exist (cap on money... wtf for?; class balance; lack of release content), but those also are correctable, and will be in time I'm sure.

If you have a complaint that isn't directly related to the story or the technical flaws listed, it is likely you just don't enjoy a Halo style shooter. Destiny took what was good from CoD (ADS, sprint, etc) and evolved Halo with those in mind. It really worked well, IMO. They then added in an ARPG and MMO aspect to make a decent game. It isn't for everyone though.

 

[zerocool84]

I had another thought too. These are the same reviewers who gave games like Titanfall 9/10 scores. If ever there was a game that was light on story and heavy on repetition, that game is TitanFall. The jury is out on how well Destiny will do in the long haul, but at least it is many times better than Titanfall both as a pure shooter and a story driven game.

Reviewers need to not allow their expectations color their reviews. Destiny is a better game, but it gets worse reviews because it was expected to be an even better game than it already is. I'm not sure that after everything plays out with patches and additional content in the future that Destiny won't turn out to be every bit the game they expected it to be from the start, just doled out a bit more slowly than a journalistic deadline would allow the reviewers to appreciate.

Just something to think about.

The difference is that they promised an epic story, tons of content, we have neither. It's definitely fun because getting loot is fun but there just isn't that much variety of content.

 

[smackababy]

The difference is that they promised an epic story, tons of content, we have neither. It's definitely fun because getting loot is fun but there just isn't that much variety of content.

I think both the story and the amount of content will continue to improve. Additional strike missions and raids will add both new content and more to the story and universe. I do agree though, that it is somewhat lacking, even if 20 or so hours to do everything once right now (not including the Vault of Glass) isn't bad for a single player game in terms of overall length.

 

[cmdrdredd]

The difference is that they promised an epic story, tons of content, we have neither. It's definitely fun because getting loot is fun but there just isn't that much variety of content.

No they promised Lore that extended into a large universe. I never saw Bungie say anything else.

 

[Dumac]

For those of you who have the game, how is the single player experience?

 

[Dumac]

I came into it from an MMO background and having played Borderlands/Fall Out/Skyrim and thought it would be a large open world with different planets to go to. I was very surprised to see how small the maps were and how they were not connected. It felt like a very old MMO because MMOs now use seamless transitions until you, say, travel to another continent.

I don't think destiny was ever marketed as an MMO. It definitely doesn't look to be one.

 

[smackababy]

For those of you who have the game, how is the single player experience?

I did almost my entire leveling from solo. It wasn't bad. The story has some holes and some stuff is left unresolved / unexplained (but, IMO, that was intentional for additional content to fill in). If you liked Halo, it isn't as epic, but it is still pretty good. If you are planning on no multiplayer though, I would wait for it to be discounted. The social and team aspect is such a large part, intentionally skipping it might not be worth the $60 for everyone.

With that said, you don't have to worry about screaming kids or people "trolling" so much. The matchmaking is simple and pretty quick for multiplayer instances and there is no voice chat outside of parties you create willingly.

I don't think destiny was ever marketed as an MMO. It definitely doesn't look to be one.

I believe Bungie actually stated they are trying to be away from the term MMO as much as possible. It does have MMO like elements, but those can be easily avoided, if one so chooses. The only issue is, after hitting max level, there really isn't much to do solo, as most of the content afterwards is geared toward multiplayer. However, if raiding isn't your thing, "PVP" is available and similar to a Halo + CoD mash up.

 

[BoberFett]

I'm having a decent amount of fun, but I agree with others that the game is average to slightly above average and my issues are the same that have already been brought up.

The story is bollocks. The Light? The Darkness? The Fallen? The Hive? The Awoken? Seriously? That's amateur hour. It couldn't get much more formulaic.

The multiplayer features seem kinda weak. It's definitely not an MMO, it's MMOish at best. Weak voice support. The grouping features are kinda weak. Even if you can see the other person in your area, accepting a fireteam invite will drop your current position and missions progress and load you into their instance. The clan features seem weak. Is there a way to blast an invite to your whole clan?

The load times are pretty abysmal considering the size of the environment and how often you travel. The environments are pretty nice looking, even on 360, but there are either invisible walls where it looks like a hallway should be, or a place it looks like you should be able to go (such as on the moon) will end up in a painful death should you run over that last ridge.

 

[cmdrdredd]

For those of you who have the game, how is the single player experience?

I solo a lot because there's a lot of farming to be done to get vanguard rank and stuff to buy gear and upgrade them. There is only so much you'll get solo though.

 

[mnewsham]

I personally dont have any issues with the load time, wondering if that has to do with the SSD I have the game loaded on, or I am just not as bothered by the load times?

 

[cmdrdredd]

I personally dont have any issues with the load time, wondering if that has to do with the SSD I have the game loaded on, or I am just not as bothered by the load times?

Usually for me when it's loading a planet I look at my computer.