I downloaded Destiny last night on my Xbox 360 and have played about 15-20 hours so far. I don't know how I feel about it yet, which worries me a little, because I have continued to play it, so to me at some level it means it has to be somewhat fun, but on the other hand I don't feel myself loving it either.
Honestly, the only thing I can really think of while playing this game is Borderlands (1 or 2). Not the story or artistic style, but game-play wise it feels identical. Each class has its own special ability that can be altered as you level up, just like Borderlands. I have only played one class so far, so I can't say for certain yet, but outside of that one ability I honestly don't see any real difference between the classes. Each of Borderlands classes had a very distinct feel and play-style to them, and they all felt completely unique. In Destiny, there doesn't seem to be much to differentiate the classes outside of the special ability (and Grenade type).
Combat wise it's just about identical. Lots of enemies with different tiers in each group. They don't designate them like they do in Borderlands but it essentially is the same thing. Each gun plays and handles differently, but the one thing that made Borderlands so spectacular was how different every gun you picked up could be. There were dramatic differences between the way different manufactures of a gun type would handle and at some point while leveling I probably used 90% of them because each drop could significantly change your play-style. The only real differences in gun type were in the special weapon category, where a Fusion Rifle would handle drastically different from a sniper rifle or shotgun. As a game that is supposed to be somewhat focused on upgrading your weapons and armor, I never once got excited when seeing something drop. While leveling in either of the Borderlands I would look at every gun I picked up to see if it was better or worse then the gun I had and it was a fun process. Destiny just made it feel like a chore I had to do to kill the higher level enemies.
Destiny feels very confined compared to Borderlands. Having to deal with going back to Orbit everytime I want to go somewhere gets old very quickly, not to mention there is no point in really exploring the way you could in Borderlands. It was always fun when you went out of your way and would be rewarded with a big ass chest that hopefully had some Epic gear in it.
Haven't played that much Co-op outside of the 3 person instances, so I can't say to much about it. Having people in the world I am playing in honestly feels like a gimmick. It serves no purpose other than the token value of "seeing" real people. Occasionally the dynamic events will pop up randomly in an area and if you are lucky there will be a couple people around that can help you do the event, otherwise you might as well just leave the area.
Now, onto the BIGGEST flaw that I think will most likely kill Destiny. The level cap is 20, and as long as you don't just fly straight to the end ignoring everything else, you will most likely be 20, or very close when you beat the game. What kept me playing Borderlands were the Vault Hunter Modes after your initial completion that were basically NG+. Made it more difficult and I wanted to keep playing to reach max level, because of all the possible ways I could allocate my skill points and experimenting with that was half the reason you kept playing, the other half, of course being to get those beautiful legendary weapons (or the pearl ones). I honestly don't see anything like that End Game to keep people playing. Halo style multiplayer of course. I suppose some end game raid type instances/bosses. But as we know, bosses in FPS games tend to just be SHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOTTTTTTTTTTT until the boss is dead.
In conclusion, Destiny just feels like a very watered down version of Borderlands. As I play it I see NOTHING that could possibly justify its budget. Nothing revolutionary or groundbreaking. It's the weird bastard child of Borderlands and an MMO, while lacking the strongest points of both.
Honestly, the only thing I can really think of while playing this game is Borderlands (1 or 2). Not the story or artistic style, but game-play wise it feels identical. Each class has its own special ability that can be altered as you level up, just like Borderlands. I have only played one class so far, so I can't say for certain yet, but outside of that one ability I honestly don't see any real difference between the classes. Each of Borderlands classes had a very distinct feel and play-style to them, and they all felt completely unique. In Destiny, there doesn't seem to be much to differentiate the classes outside of the special ability (and Grenade type).
Combat wise it's just about identical. Lots of enemies with different tiers in each group. They don't designate them like they do in Borderlands but it essentially is the same thing. Each gun plays and handles differently, but the one thing that made Borderlands so spectacular was how different every gun you picked up could be. There were dramatic differences between the way different manufactures of a gun type would handle and at some point while leveling I probably used 90% of them because each drop could significantly change your play-style. The only real differences in gun type were in the special weapon category, where a Fusion Rifle would handle drastically different from a sniper rifle or shotgun. As a game that is supposed to be somewhat focused on upgrading your weapons and armor, I never once got excited when seeing something drop. While leveling in either of the Borderlands I would look at every gun I picked up to see if it was better or worse then the gun I had and it was a fun process. Destiny just made it feel like a chore I had to do to kill the higher level enemies.
Destiny feels very confined compared to Borderlands. Having to deal with going back to Orbit everytime I want to go somewhere gets old very quickly, not to mention there is no point in really exploring the way you could in Borderlands. It was always fun when you went out of your way and would be rewarded with a big ass chest that hopefully had some Epic gear in it.
Haven't played that much Co-op outside of the 3 person instances, so I can't say to much about it. Having people in the world I am playing in honestly feels like a gimmick. It serves no purpose other than the token value of "seeing" real people. Occasionally the dynamic events will pop up randomly in an area and if you are lucky there will be a couple people around that can help you do the event, otherwise you might as well just leave the area.
Now, onto the BIGGEST flaw that I think will most likely kill Destiny. The level cap is 20, and as long as you don't just fly straight to the end ignoring everything else, you will most likely be 20, or very close when you beat the game. What kept me playing Borderlands were the Vault Hunter Modes after your initial completion that were basically NG+. Made it more difficult and I wanted to keep playing to reach max level, because of all the possible ways I could allocate my skill points and experimenting with that was half the reason you kept playing, the other half, of course being to get those beautiful legendary weapons (or the pearl ones). I honestly don't see anything like that End Game to keep people playing. Halo style multiplayer of course. I suppose some end game raid type instances/bosses. But as we know, bosses in FPS games tend to just be SHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOTTTTTTTTTTT until the boss is dead.
In conclusion, Destiny just feels like a very watered down version of Borderlands. As I play it I see NOTHING that could possibly justify its budget. Nothing revolutionary or groundbreaking. It's the weird bastard child of Borderlands and an MMO, while lacking the strongest points of both.
