The first Destiny didn't captivate me as I hoped it would when I learned Bungie would be coming out with a new game series, but I decided I'd give the sequel a go.
Picking up Destiny 2 at launch, I was surprised by initial campaign missions, the open world and what's on offer. Sure, there are some things I do not like about Destiny, but I've got five things in mind that make me glad I gave this a go.
It's a beautiful world
This game is gorgeous, even more than the first installation. You will have a hard time relaxing for a moment to take in the environment with all the action, but when you do, it's a sight to behold every time. And to think, Bungie has achieved this on the Xbox One with hardware that isn't up to the job of pushing out 60 frames each second (as seen on PC), but imagining Destiny 2 on Xbox One X gets me a little excited.
And the lighting effects, my goodness. Bring on the HDR.
Bedtime story
The fact that the original Destiny lacked a solid story bugged me, especially as a fan of the original Halo trilogy. Bungie has the talent to craft some incredible, immersive worlds and the first game fell flat when it came to the story. Thankfully, more attention has been paid to the story in Destiny 2, which is immediately apparent from the get go. Firing up the game for the first time surprised me with some epic opening narrative-driven content.
Still a solid shooter
Destiny had some great shooting mechanics, which is handy as that's what you do the most. Thankfully, it's just as great (if not better) in Destiny 2. As we noted in our beta impressions, Destiny 2's combat is incredibly fluid and responsive, and you really need to play through a scene to enjoy just how great it is.
There are some enemies where you get tired of the bullet sponge effect, but the design and AI ensure you're moving around and utilizing cover more than not.
Grinding gears
I'm a fan of "grind" games, when they're designed right, of course. I've wasted hours in Diablo to get only the best gear for my characters, not to mention Runescape back in the good old days to hunt down skill capes.
Destiny's own grinding didn't interest me enough to pull me in, but since the sequel has various improvements, it has become something I'm really enjoying. You got to work for loot, and I'm on board to pray to the RNG God for the drops I need.
Gorgeous UI
I really, really like the UI in Destiny 2. The map is excellent, showing public events, adventures and other points of interest. It's easy to team up with mates and clan members (even though the latter isn't yet live, sigh Activision). The inventory screen is easy to navigate and check which gear is best for deployment.
The best thing of all, however, is the fact you can move between planets without the additional trip into space first. This makes Destiny 2 flow far, far better than its predecessor.
While I've handed over five things I like about Destiny 2, it's by no means a perfect game. It's a fun time sinker, sure, but I'm unsure whether it'll have enough to keep me coming back for more further down the line. In the meantime, I'm having somewhat of a blast. It's all about that end-game content, and I'll have to see how Bungie approaches this.
How do you feel about Destiny 2 so far? Let us know in the comments.
