I shouldn’t, should I? It’s vindictive to wish failure on a person, let alone an innate product that provides such emphatic elation with mere anticipation alone. I’m an honest guy. I live a life committed to such a principle, completely unabashed by my earnest assertions that sometimes provoke the exasperated mire of others. I try not to hold grudges. They require too much endurance as well as a capacity to recall the offending incident that instigated such a grievance. But there’s something about Destiny that still irritates me. Now I know what you custodians of the mundane and enablers of negligence will persecute my contempt as being ignorant of its abundant refinements that, after years of considerable monetary expansions confute its formative complacency. That the Destiny I remember is not the same game it eventually became. That content has been added to innovate and expand it beyond its evidently specious conception. And Destiny is a profoundly more cogent experience with all the additional features garnished over a distinctly bland infrastructure. But with tortured metaphors aside I can pin point precisely when I knew there was something off about Destiny.
When I played Destiny my initial reaction was one of suitable contentment. The shooting was refined, saturating its environments with enemy combatants whose skulls could be vaporised with satisfying precision. It was replete in beautifully articulated environments, imagined with such detailed creativity that you’re convinced Earth’s now eradicated civilisation and subsequent alien residency is a prophetic glimpse of a legitimate future. It becomes apparent very quickly though that these alluring implements of cranial dissection will only maintain a limited appeal, especially considering the diverse architectures are deposited in rich, detailed environments that are mitigated by the exterior vacuity and finite space to explore. Perhaps my own ambitious perception of what the game was going to be subverted my judgement. Maybe I conjured some romanticized view of the game, interpreted through amalgamated information and misleading marketing. Regardless having neither been initially chided by Destiny’s glaring omissions or irked by the limited environments I persevered seeking some kind of context for my characters sudden aversion to death. You soon reach the Last City, an ornate fortitude populated by a colony of guardians who protect the last bastion of human civilisation with the aid of the traveller: a huge spherical meguffin. Essentially the Last City is the only remaining refuge for mankind, predominantly used as a place to purchase new artillery, modify existing ones and initiate impromptu dance numbers. It’s here, guided by your AI assistant Ghost, basically Wheatley from Portal if it were a fidget spinner with built-in sat-nav, voiced by the eternally catatonic Peter “I needed a new loft conversion” Dinklage that we are introduced to a man eerily referred to as the Speaker. Having searched low and high (Peter Townshend, look it up kids) you discover that the “Speaker” is of very singular expository importance with a name as that couldn’t be more ironic. A man with an extensive knowledge regarding the declination of the human race and other historically pertinent information, that could benefit you on your travels and impart a wisdom, purpose or even a point to your intergalactic exploration.
ME- “Please great Speaker. Confer your infinite wisdom so that I may better understand my purpose and aid you in the preservation of our species?”
Speaker- “I could tell you about the great War that has ravaged our people. A conflict hat has left humanity on the cusp of extinction?…..”
ME– “…… Please do. Continue.”
Speaker- “Oh, look at the time. I really have to go and so must you to…eh…Venus to recover a thing. Go on, off you pop!”
“Seriously, this is what’s supposed to get me excited? Is that a robe?!
That’s it? That’s my incentive? The reasons could be just about anything! Perhaps we borrowed some washing powder and didn’t return it! Anything would be better than some vague briefing! So with that vacant explanation my engagement was quickly rescinded, with the monotonous repetition of participating in the same missions and redacted story providing little engagement. The inflationary nature of Destiny that boasted an unparalleled experience before release, instead concealed its flaunted story behind the compliance of commerce. Stripping necessary portions that would have elevated the game beyond a glorified beta. As a consequence of extensive tampering the finished product felt moderated beyond understanding. The game, consolidated by the paid for “additional features” is far more accomplished, and personally the game it should have been on release. You’d think years of abstinence would have diminished my hostility, that such a churlish resolve would have faded and peaceful, amicable resolution found. Nope, not even slightly. I hate that it was so disappointing. I hate that people forgave it for its obvious manipulation. And I hate that it got a sequel!
All of the trailers leading up to Destiny 2’s release were so obnoxiously abhorrent . There’s a very smug, self-congratulatory quality to them, like it found a pound coin in a shopping trolley. You get a sense that the developers truly believe that Destiny was as important to the games industry as the Bible is to Christians. The trailer also features a rather irritating guardian performing a motivational speech as if he were a stand up comedian poorly imitating Deadpool. It’s so incredibly ostentatious and detestably vulgar, yet I seem to be the only one that recognises just how odious it is?! Destiny 2 could very well be the game of the year and I realise that my conservative estimation of it won’t be influenced or changed by any plaudits it receives or the magnanimous support lauded on to it by a dedicated fan base that relishes its existence, and perhaps that’s my loss. But I doubt it. If you’re one of the many adopters of this very popular franchise then you’ll feel no obligation to advocate your participation, not that I’d ever criticise anyone from enjoying a game I didn’t like. But for me the original Destiny “experience” has left such a virulently bitter taste that has remained agonizingly chronic even now. I can’t forgive its voluntary greed nor its underwhelming performance as a whole. Much like Clarke Gables famous retort to petulant southern dame Catherine O Hara in “Gone With The Wind”, when it comes to Destiny 2, quite frankly I don’t give a damn!
Game, Complain, Repeat 