15 Best: Super Abilities Have Changed For The Better
It was apparent from the Destiny 2 beta that one of the most obvious changes to the game’s mechanics was how the game now handles Super Abilities. Although fans have been quite vocal about this change in the gameplay, Bungie has provided a means strategy making the game feel far more progressive as a result.
The Super Abilities now take a little longer to charge, although their regeneration speed does seem to have improved since the time of Destiny 2’s beta. In addition, your character’s super state now allows you to several special attacks instead of just one.
This simple but effective change to how the supers are handled pulls back on their frequency, but as a result, they are far more impactful and satisfying when used in a strategic manner.
14 Worst: Destiny Has A Race (And Class) Problem
Fans will be happy to see the familiar three classes such as the Titan, the Hunter, and The Warlock, each bringing some new subclasses to add flexibility to the tried and tested favorites. While it is satisfying to unlock the new and familiar subclasses as you progress through the game, there is a something deeply disappointing about the complete lack of any new true classes at all.
There is also a complete lack of new races in Destiny 2. Instead, the new invading threat is known as the Red Legion, who are an elite special forces member of the Cabal from the original game. This is a good way to give players a new threat, but the bottom line is the Red Legion is nothing more than super powered and reskinned Cabal. Surely a new invading alien threat would have made more sense?
13 Best: There’s A New Mission System And It’s AWESOME
The original Destiny’s backstory and lore did seem like it was lacking as far the original game’s narrative was concerned. Destiny 2 manages to expand its new content with narratively driven self-contained side-quests, that help expand on the game’s backstory.
Although Destiny 2’s greatest strength is in its addictive multiplayer, there was no getting away from the fact that the original game felt a bit clinical, sterile, and completely lacking any real character beyond the games visuals and art design — at least it was in the beginning.
The adventures, as brief as they are, not only help flesh out the game’s lore, but they can make Destiny 2 exploration a lot less a chore, and far more enjoyable. The missions are obtained by talking to various NPC’s throughout the universe and usually tasks the player with objectives such as fighting mini-bosses or seeking out new loot.
12 Worst: Three Long Years For Just Four New Locations
Destiny 2’s open worlds are a vast improvement over the original game, so the addition of four new planets to explore is an absolute for any Destiny fan. However, the fact that there are only four new planets to explore since the original game’s release in 2014, it somehow further adds to the feeling that Destiny 2 is a large expansion pack with refinements as opposed to a proper sequel.
The developers Bungie apparently defended this by saying the game’s lore should help carry the game’s narrative even with the lack of new races and locations. This could very well be true as gamers are probably a long way from seeing everything that Destiny 2 has to offer but it’s still a disappointing lack of variety after a three-year wait.
11 Best: The Presentation Really Is Out Of This World
An area where Destiny 2 really shines is its presentation, from simple things like the game’s improved menu screens to the graphics, music and the voice acting all come together to give an excellent and cinematic Sci-fi experience.
Even with the lack of HDR (for now) the visuals are a noticeable improvement over an already nice looking original, there’s some minor texture popping here and there in the farm area, but that can easily be addressed with a patch in the future. The game’s cutscenes are fantastic, and each planet is unique and looks gorgeous even in the heat of battle.
Additionally, the music is some of the best and most distinctive heard in an FPS since the Halo and does a perfect job of setting up even more memorable and cinematic moments.
10 Worst: The Comedy Is Out Of Place…And Not Funny
It’s understandable that developers want to add some light hearted moments to try and lighten up a game that can take itself a little bit seriously at times. Also when we have Sci-fi movie blockbusters like Guardians of The Galaxy managing to perfectly balance humor and serious moments, it’s understandable that one of the biggest Sci-fi games of the year would want to follow suit.
However, when it comes to comedy, the timing needs to be perfect, and this is where Destiny 2 can sometimes miss the mark entirely. Thematically, the humor can be at odds with the somber tone or tragic events that are unfolding within the story. In addition, Cayde-6 who’s voiced Nathan Fillion manages to be both likable and annoying all at the same.
9 Best: It Doesn’t Matter If You Didn’t Play The First Destiny
There will undoubtedly be gamers that never played the original Destiny wondering whether or not they should pick up the sequel. Destiny 2 is a completely new chapter, and the game takes steps in taking the series to a new direction by providing gamers a with a new story, a new villain, and a clean slate.
Gamers can transfer their original character from the first game over to the Destiny 2, but without any of the stats or loot so the transfer is purely cosmetic. This makes the sequel far more welcoming for new players, or gamers that may have otherwise given up on the first game during its early stages at launch.
8 Worst: Character Creation Is Still Terrible
While the game has made some strides to improve and refine the original game for a better sequel, it was quite disappointing to see just how lacking the character creation options are. The Developers Bungie are fully aware of how attached some gamers can get to their Guardians and have been very vocal about this fact during interviews with the media. Yet despite this, Destiny 2’s character creation is so bad one has to wonder why they bothered at all.
The creation mode is almost identical to the original game, there is still no way to refine your character’s appearance, there’s an obvious lack of hairstyles, colors, and you can’t even add a simple basic beard to your character. Although you’ll spend most of the game in a helmet of some kind, this just feels extremely lazy on Bungie’s part.
7 Best: The Story Actually Matters Now
One of the worst parts of Destiny was its lack of a compelling narrative, the developers opted to be cryptic and vague in its approach, and it didn’t work. Quite simply, the only reason to play the first game was its gameplay and the multiplayer. That’s not a bad thing, but gamers who were excited at the prospect of new Sci-fi epic from the developers of Halo were left quite deflated at the lack of any real narrative.
While Destiny 2 won’t win any awards for its story, it’s still fun to watch unfold through its cinematic cutscenes, and it has a very clear main antagonist. The series finally gives gamers who would initially be put off by the lack of any real story mode a reason to jump into one of the best Sci-fi shooters since Halo made its debut back in 2001.
6 Worst: The Story Matters But Your Character Is Still A Mute
For all the improvements in regards to Destiny 2’s story, players are still stuck with a silent protagonist in the sequel. There are some games where a silent protagonist works, especially if there are a ton of dialogue choices to be made, this approach has always worked well for RPG’s in the vein of the Fallout series or The Elder Scrolls IV: Skyrim.
However, the improvements to the visually impressive cutscenes and the other characters in the game’s narrative only serve to make it seem even more obvious that your character has absolutely no voice, leading to some laughably awkward moments when Ghost is the one doing all the talking for you.
