Competitive multiplayer returns in the form of Crucible, which has gone through extensive tweaks. Gone are the 6v6 matches, replaced with 4v4 matches. While this is a curious choice, the player count works rather well in-game. All multiplayer maps have been designed with this number in mind and it’s easy to find firefights. Playing Crucible is also more rewarding with loot generously dropped and Crucible Reputation tokens after each match.
Looking back at the original beta for vanilla Destiny, there was a tremendous amount to do and see, even some leveling involved. The Destiny 2 beta feels like Bungie is keeping their cards close to the chest because anything that could rock the boat might just tip it over. Destiny is successful, but it comes with a reputation, and scuffing up that reputation in anyway could make or break sales numbers once September rolls around. The beta gives enough of itself to put players at ease while also remaining the carrot and the stick. For a Destiny fan, it’s easy enough to digest; take everything learned from Destiny 2 Strikes and apply that to this beta, it’s a guaranteed good time. For those who might be making their way back though, this might look more like a shooter than the online multiplayer game Bungie promised. While I can only speculate as to why the amount of content was significantly trimmed down, it’s probably for good reason or it’s just actually a beta.
The RNG system is still here but has been streamlined to be more rewarding. Faction Leaders regularly dole out Legendary items after you turn in enough Faction currency to them, which can be found by participating in activities in the world, playing Crucible, breaking down old items and participating in Strikes. All-in-all, it’s not much of a chore to get to a high Power Level to take part in the late game activities. What has been negatively impacted in Destiny 2 is a player’s ability to customize their Guardian and earn certain rewards.
Now we are onto the post-release downloadable content that tries to add a little bit more to the world. Unfortunately, the first two pieces of DLC don’t much story-related content. The Dark Below does set things up for the Taken King as it introduces the semi-important NPC, Eris Morn, who was the lone survivor of a six-person fireteam when attempting to kill a Hive God. It would seem that the destruction of Crota’s Sword back on the Moon wasn’t enough to completely squash the Hive threat as they’re back with Crota himself, trying to gain access to Rasputin, an AI that’s protecting Earth. After stopping the invasion of Earth once more, you go down into the depth of the Moon and kill Crota. He’s the prince to a Hive God, so he’s not exactly easy to take down.
The writing and voice acting is mostly okay. There are still some cheesy lines, but there’s nothing as wacky as, “that wizard came from the moon.” While the majority of voice actors deliver fine performances, it’s Joy Osmanski’s Failsafe that ultimately steals the show. With excellent comedic timing, Osmanski delivers the best quips of the game and makes Nessus the most fun location to visit.
The Cabal play a significant roll in The Taken King, even though it’s not entirely apparent, which helps lead into Destiny 2. Like every alien race before it, the Cabal were planning an attack on Earth, but they were instead interrupted by the Taken. While their operations were put on hold, they believed that they could salvage the opportunity by boarding the Dreadnaught and obtaining some of the Hive’s technology to be used against the Last City. The Guardians were successful in stopping their efforts, but due to their intense casualties, the Cabal ready an even stronger attack against The Last City which is to be seen in Destiny 2.
There are a total of eight maps (nine if you’re playing on PS4), and five game modes. Supremacy, Clash, and Control are part of the Quickplay option, and new modes Countdown and Survival are part of Competitive. Unfortunately, there is no option to select the game mode you want once you select Quickplay or Competitive. If you really want to play Control, you have to hope that the game’s matchmaking doesn’t randomly throw you into Supremacy or Clash.
Just about everything you love about Destiny is returning. We’ve got a campaign with a series of story missions that tell a grand tale of courage and heroism. We have strikes. Of course, we’ve got a brand-new Raid, which I can say nothing about because it’s the pinnacle activity. We have different ways to explore the world. We’ve all been on Patrols, but now there are Lost Sectors to discover, public events with heroic activities, adventures given to us by MPCS. Finally, of course, there’s the Crucible for when we want to step away from the fight against the enemies.
As for the Crucible, it seems to be an uneven blending of old and new, and like any good shooter, will probably need a few matches under its belt to see where it stands. I was grouped with teams that either know shooters or know Destiny the first few matches tackled. My team dominating match after match, while hapless players threw themselves at our Guardian-trained reflexes. It almost didn’t seem fair, probably because the other teams weren’t making use of their powers and treating the Crucible like any other shooter. Jumping in on day two, however, was completely different. Being on the receiving end of the stick was just not fun. My team wandering off to play “team deathmatch” instead of the actual objective. At this point, it’s confusing when other players don’t know mechanics. Most games use the same objective-based gameplay with personal slight variations, but to see my team run to the meat grinder, completely away from the very thing we were supposed to be protecting, was disheartening. I had to quit while I was ahead. Not because the other players were bad, they just didn’t seem to care.
Destiny 2 Beta Shows Worrisome Signs to Fans