Destiny 2: Review

“Does history actually repeat itself?”

Destiny 2 has been out for a little while now and we finally completed the campaign. Since a lot of people are most likely jilted (including myself) at how Bungie handled Destiny 1, the question remains; did they finally right their wrongs? When it comes to Destiny 2, the answer probably isn’t yes or no outright; in fact I believe that there are people that can find good and bad moments from Bungie’s second outing.

Destiny 2 does a lot of things that would be considered right by the fans and in some instances, you can look at Destiny 2 as what the original should have been. From the campaign to the strikes to the random things you can do in game is quite impressive to say the least, but how does it fair/

Story

Destiny 2 picks up not to long after the events of The Taken King expansion and shows your favorite Vanguard enjoying a normal day of work. Until there are some complications, a sensor sweep shows there are issues in coverage as Gaul and his Red Legion (yea, remember the Outbound Signal mission, here’s the result) descend upon the Tower and begin to lay siege on The Last City. During this opening salvo, Gaul begins to capture The Traveler that takes away your Light. Which begins your journey to recapture your abilities and to take back your world.

The story to Destiny 2 definitely shows growth with the overall dialogue which brings substance to a game that was short on it in the previous; but as soon as this game takes hold, the campaign comes to end. However, with the myriad of things you can do between missions, it can make it feel longer than it really is. But where there might be some short comings with the campaign, Bungie makes up for it with Adventures; a new system that introduces mini-missions that can help alleviate some semblances of a short campaign. The story itself feels better than it may have looked before its release, but there is a lack of post mission dialogue that leaves you (and your fireteam) sitting in dead silence that can sometimes feel like what you just did, didn’t matter. But with this minor issue, the story felt great and makes you keep going until you realize that a few hours just went by.

Other than the story, there are more things that you can do, from the Adventures (as mentioned above), Patrols, Public Events, Lost Sectors and even some additional missions; there is plenty to do during and after the campaign. Although, some of the things have to wait until after you ether hit level 20 or the campain, it does help you stay busy long after ether of these.

I give the story an 8.5 out of 10.

The story feels better than the original by a mile, but could have done more by introducing additional side missions during the main campaign to make it better.

Graphics

Bungie has always done well when it comes to graphics and if you remember our review for Rise of Iron expansion, they have only taken it one step closer to perfection. One thing that Destiny 2 did that drew the ire of some fans was that Destiny 2 would only be on PS4 and Xbox One. So this would go to say that they would have more room for spit and polish, right? Well where Destiny 2 does a lot better with the overall look of the weapons and armor, they really pushed farther the effects. Explosions look better by adding in spark effects to increase the over all destructive look, new warp effects give you a better sense of flying in space. However, there are issues that I have found where issues with clipping through scenery, mysterious barricades and some rough animations that sometimes will  take away from the overall experience, but where these issues usually arrive is during intensive combat scenarios which for most players, they will never see it.

I give the graphics an 8 out of 10.

A great upgrade from its predecessor but there are a view odds an ends that keep this from being perfect.

Gameplay

For all the minor issues that Destiny has had, there is one thing that they did right and that was the gameplay. In Destiny 2, the tradition continues as the controls are still as sharp as they were from the original. From the way guns feel, to the change in your mobility stat, Destiny 2 still has a control scheme that feels different depending on your loadout. However, there are very few issues that I can find, one of which is an issue with the Titan running where sprinting can be cut short for no reason. But for the issues that have been found, it doesn’t even come close to outweighing the positive feel that Destiny has perfected.

I give the gameplay a 9 out of 10.

A near perfect control scheme that is marred by very few, minor issues.

Final Score

Destiny 2 has made strides in perfecting their formula for a FPSMMO but this outing feels more like what Destiny 1 should’ve been rather than being a sequel.

I give Destiny 2 a 8.5 out of 10