So, Destiny's pretty neat...

So, back before Thanksgiving, I finally picked up an XBox One, lured by the siren call of Sunset Overdrive (something all too rare these days, a stupid videogame that revels in being a stupid videogame).  I was just going to get the Sunset Overdrive edition, but none were to be had at a reasonable price, so I snagged the Assassin's Creed version instead... and I have to say, Black Flag, what I've played of it, is a fine game in its own right.  But then, I got to pondering... I remember all the brouhaha back when "XBone" launched about restrictions with disc-based games, so I wanted to test that out as well.

Turns out, Destiny was available for reasonably cheap at Amazon, and I'd heard it was a decent enough shooter, and various elements about it intrigued me... so I decided to give it a go.  Long story short, I've played that game more, and more regularly, since then than I have any other game in recent memory.  It's not that I'm a big fan of shooters... frankly, they generally are built with competitive multiplayer in mind, which my reflexes aren't quite up to speed for any longer.  Mix that with the near-requirement to use headphones, which I don't like wearing to begin with, and which often carry the sounds of ten-year-olds screaming obscenities, and it's been enough to keep me away from shooters in general (the obvious exception being the Borderlands series, which has a lot of content and a storyline to keep the single-player experience worthwhile).

Destiny, as of this moment at least, is different.  It has a storyline to follow through, without ending up at "the world's been saved, why are you still playing" territory.  It has automated matchmaking for co-op multiplayer (usually, more on that later), and competitive multiplayer in several formats, with chat-channel participation optional and off by default... so, I've even dipped my toe into those waters (where yes, I suck, but I think I'm sucking less day by day).  Overall, I'm quite happy with this game.

Of course, it's not perfect by any means... Destiny employs a peculiar experience scheme where your character advances levels up to level 20, unlocking various modifications in the process... but, while your level tops out at 20, you keep earning new modifications afterwards.  Also, you can get your effective level up to 30 using equipment (which also improves with use?)... in-game, it makes a certain amount of sense, but it really smacks of the developer saying "how do we ramp up the experience curve in the early game, to keep rewarding players to keep playing, while flattening it out in the end-game, to keep players from maxing out too early?"

Limited content is also an issue at this early stage of its life cycle... but worst is probably the inconsistent matchmaking.  While the story missions are pretty much multiplayer-optional (as evidenced by even me making it through them all without assistance), there is a lot of intended-for-full-multiplayer content as well, in the form of what the game calls "strikes" and "raids" (which, basically, just involves the number of people supported and how many "stages" are involved).  "Regular" strikes and the level-enhanced versions served up by the "strike playlist" all do automated matchmaking... while the "weekly" strikes and the raid (there is only the one at this moment, I believe) are all who-you-bring-is-who-you-get.  This choice makes no sense to me... making the game harder to let your customers play, when you have the systems in place to do matchmaking already, can't be ruled an oversight, but I can't see what goal they were trying to achieve.

All in all, though, I'm thoroughly enjoying my time shooting various denizens of the Dark, and expect I will be for some time to come.  If you're looking for a low-stress intro to the world of first-person shooters, you could do much worse.