This is an Excerpt from my article I wrote for my school’s paper, The Round Up. This explains why I will be addressing the students at my school, Jesuit College Prep.
Truly an Epic Experience
Few gamers haven’t heard of Bungie, if they haven’t they certainly have heard of the Halo Series. So it makes perfect sense that many students at Jesuit may be “sick” on September 9th since Bungie’s new game, Destiny, will be released on the next gen and last gen systems. The hype behind this game has been growing ever since its announcement and hints towards its founding and early development can be seen all the way back into easter eggs all the way back to Halo 3: ODST back in 2009. The time spent on making this game along with the FIVE HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS spent on it development and marketing by Activision are signs that this game will be huge, a true juggernaut in the video game industry. [1]
Having played in the Alpha and Beta on the PS4, not to mention being handpicked to play it center stage at RTX ’14 against the developers from Bungie, I have to say that this game plays incredibly smoothly and is absolutely beautiful to look at. [2] The new universe that Bungie has created is simply spectacular. For all of you who haven’t the slightest clue about the game, have no fear I will inform you.
The game takes place in our solar system, set seven hundred years in the future in a post-apocalyptic setting. Before the our solar system as we know it simply collapsed humanity was experiencing a golden age of scientific advancements, however this changed when The Darkness came, and humanities colonies spread throughout the 8 planets simply fell apart and collapsed. Little is known about “The Darkness” but Bungie has stated that is the sworn enemy to The Traveler, a spherical white, celestial body that is now guarding humanities’ final city on Earth. (For all of those looking for what The Traveler looks like, simply google it and you will get the idea) The player (s), are given the role of Guardians, the last defenders of humanity who can use the mysterious power, simply referred to as The Light, which The Traveler has given as a gift to humanity. So now humanity looks to its defenders to fight off the various alien species that have taken over their colonies after the golden age ended and hopeful restore humanity to what it once was in its prosperous golden age.
Gameplay wise, the game plays and feels like a mixture of 2K’s Borderlands Series and Bungie’s past franchise Halo. So in other words the game is a first person shooter/RPG that drops the player in an open world where he or she can join in with other players to complete missions to further defend humanity. However the game will also have game modes that allow the player to engage in team and solo fights against other players, so if PVP is something you like, there will be plenty of it. Going into further detail there are 3 classes of Guardians the player can choose from. They are, the Hunter, who specializes in range combat and reconnaissance, a renegade if you will. Up next is the Warlock who combines weapons and powers from The Traveler to form a lethal support class that is a must have in team fights. Finally we have my personal favorite, the Titan, the Titan specializes in heavy weapons and explosives and can take a ton of damage before going down. Having played all of the classes at least once I have to say they are all balanced for the most part and all have their own perks and drawbacks.[3]
So will you join in with your friends, (hopefully after you have done your school work) and embark on your own Destiny come September and take part in the biggest game of this year, or will you wait for the yearly generic shooter made by Sledgehammer Games? I for one cannot wait to enter this incredible universe Bungie has spent years creating and hope that I will have the time to play it during my challenging junior year at Jesuit. Now are you ready, because your destiny awaits?
Hunter Gilbert ‘16
[1] http://www.polygon.com/2014/5/6/5686268/Destiny-costs-activision-500-million-to-develop-promote
[2] http://roosterteeth.com/members/images/image.php?id=3590256 , Me playing Destiny center stage at RTX’14
Video Game Hunter 