‘Destiny 2’ everything sequel should be
Our spaceships land on the metallic dock of the ocean moon, Titan, and I exit my ship, pulse rifle in hand. My team and I pause a moment and take in the strange beauty of this setting. A seemingly endless ocean stretches as far as the eye can see, and a storm rages upon the horizon. We dash to the location of a firefight and as quickly as we arrived at this foreign planet, my team and I are locked in a deadly battle with an alien menace.
As the disgusting forces of the Hive grow in intensity and quantity, grenades fly and rocket launchers blast. The hunter next to me executes a combat roll to dodge the assault of a particularly imposing boss, and in the heat of this moment, I activate my super ability, Daybreak. I launch into the air with the help of my newly acquired flaming wings and summon a blazing sword of blinding light. Midair, I swing the sword and launch projectiles of fire unto my enemies. The fiendish boss and his minions are decimated, and thus the fight ends. Following this victory, my fireteam and I claim our hard earned loot and continue our adventure in the exhilarating worlds of “Destiny 2.”
Bungie Inc. released “Destiny 2” for Xbox One and PlayStation 4 on Sept. 6 and is set to launch the game on PC systems Oct. 24. Several versions of the game are available for purchase, including the Standard Edition for $60, the Expansion Pass Bundle for $90, which includes the two coming expansions for “Destiny 2,” and the Digital Deluxe Edition for $100, which includes the base game, the two expansion passes and premium digital content. The first expansion, “The Curse of Osiris,” is set to launch this winter, and the second unnamed expansion is set to launch next spring.
“Destiny 2” is superior to its predecessor in almost every way.
— Braden Lefevre, 12
“Destiny 2” begins with the Cabal Commander of the brutal Red Legion, Dominus Ghaul, attacking and seizing the last functional city on Earth. Along with capturing the Last City, Ghaul also seizes his true objective, the Traveler, a mysterious and massive floating sphere that hovers above Earth and acts as the source of Guardians’ powers. It is at this point the player is forced to flee into the wilds and begin an interstellar odyssey across the solar system in order to find and reunite the scattered leaders of humanity, reclaim the power of the Traveler and defeat Ghaul.
Throughout this adventure, players will uncover new powers, devastating abilities from the original “Destiny,” unexplored planets and dungeons and much more. The game’s settings emphasize open world exploration far more than its predecessor. This open world aspect of the game is displayed through more engaging maps, discoverable locations and a massive amount of dangerous territory to explore. The open world exploration feature is undoubtedly at its best in the European Dead Zone; however, exploration is clearly at the forefront of all locations in the game.
“Destiny 2” is superior to its predecessor in almost every way. The story and characters within the game are engaging, and Bungie’s cinematic cut scenes are gorgeous and rewarding. The soundtrack, as with all Bungie games, is touching, with mournful solos and uplifting anthems.
The three playable classes, Titan, Hunter and Warlock, are all highly customizable, with three subclasses each, which allow players to better fulfill the roles of tank, stealth and support. This is a welcome change and effectively provides every player with ample opportunity to find a preferred role within combat.
The Crucible, the player versus player mode of the original “Destiny,” returns in better condition than ever before. All matches are reduced to 4v4 and consist of a variety of modes, such as defending a point or straightforward elimination. Additionally, HUD changes in Crucible provide a more interactive and easy to use experience. The game’s Crucible challenge mode, Trials of the Nine, offers a weekly, difficult but enjoyable experience as players aim to win a total of seven highly intense matches before losing three to the enemy team.
Strikes also return from the original “Destiny” with five strike missions available to players. An additional sixth strike is available for the PS4 version of the game. Strikes are short missions pitting three guardians against various enemies and puzzles. These strikes act as moderately difficult opportunities to work as a team in order to secure victory. “Destiny 2” also includes Nightfall Strikes, which are essentially miniature raids which offer valuable loot at the cost of high difficulty objectives.
The first raid, the Leviathan, shines as a high point of the game. The Leviathan raid is a sprawling end-game activity which allows a fireteam of six players to battle their way through mind-boggling puzzles, swarms of enemies and brutal bosses in order to earn exclusive loot. Although this raid is mechanic heavy due to its many puzzles, the Leviathan raid is undoubtedly some of Bungie’s finest work.
“Destiny 2” is everything a sequel should be. This game takes what that made the original “Destiny” great and transforms it into a legendary experience casual and hardcore players alike will enjoy. Be sure to pick up your copy of “Destiny 2” and dive into universe of enjoyment.
Hey there! I’m Braden Lefevre, and I am a senior at Canyon High. This is my third and final year to serve as a member of The Eagle’s Tale Staff, and I am elated and honored to serve as an associate editor of this stellar publication. I am also the...
