July 17 launched the closed beta version of the first-person shooter Destiny, which creates the studio Bungie, once gave the world the legendary game series Halo. For several days I studied the game and am now ready to share my impressions with you.
A bit of history
American studio Bungie was founded in 1991 by two students at the University of Chicago Alex Seropyan and Jason Jones. Initially, the studio was engaged in the development of games for Macintosh computers and even created two rather popular Marathon and Myth series. Then a curious Oni shooter for PC appeared, including elements of a third-person shooter and the possibility of hand-to-hand combat. At the closed presentation of 1999, the studio presented its public a new game - a first-person shooter Halo: Combat Evolved. By the way, this game from the stage was announced by Steve Jobs himself, because it was supposed to appear on Apple computers. But in 2000, the Bungie studio was acquired by Microsoft, along with all the designs of the Halo project, which was now supposed to be the exclusive of the first game console of the Redmond company - Xbox.
The Halo series has really become incredibly popular and has brought billions in profits to Microsoft, as well as the world fame of Bungie Studios. But the developers did not want to dwell on a single project and in 2007 they separated from Microsoft, once again becoming a private company. New shelter studio Bungie found under the wing of Activision, one of the largest gaming publishers in the world, known for its series of shooters Call of Duty.
Activision tried to buy Bungie back in 1999, but that time, Microsoft won. Now the authors of Halo have signed a 10-year contract with the publisher, according to which Activision is funding the development of any new studio projects, but the copyright for all intellectual property remains with Bungie.
New game
In February 2013, Bungie employees revealed to the world their new game, called Destiny, which is a mix of MMORPG genres, first-person shooter and action game. Activision's management was so impressed with the Bungie studio's ambitions regarding the new game, which expressed its willingness to invest up to $ 500 million in its development, which is simply a fantastic amount. For comparison, the development of GTA V cost Rockstar $ 265 million, including advertising and marketing costs.
Given the fact that Bungie has become an independent studio, the new game was planned for four game platforms at once: PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One. No information about the PC-version of the game has yet been received, but in the future the possibility of its release is not excluded.
In order for the players to objectively evaluate what awaits them in Destiny, the studio launched a closed beta test for those who made a pre-order for the game. The first were the owners of the PlayStation family of consoles - the beta for them started on July 17, 2014. July 23, they were joined by the owners of the Xbox 360 and Xbox One. Until July 27, you can still have time to try the game to taste, pre-order it in the PSN Store and Xbox Live, after which you will need to register on the official website of Bungie and get your code to download the beta version.
Universe game and plot
Destiny events unfold in the distant post-apocalyptic future. Mankind has experienced the flourishing of its civilization thanks to the mysterious cosmic sphere, which people call the “Wanderer”. The traveler shares with the humankind unprecedented technologies and their knowledge, thanks to which people rapidly master almost all corners of the solar system and even begin to go beyond it. Nothing foreshadows trouble, but at this moment there is a so-called Collapse, which destroys all human settlements on other planets. Humanity is on the verge of complete extinction.
Attempts to re-populate the emptying colonies on other planets end in failure, as these colonies turned out to be filled from where they came from by hostile aliens. The highly emaciated Wanderer remains on guard over the last city on the surface of the Earth, in which the remains of the once great human race huddle. Especially to protect the city from alien invaders was created detachment of the Guardians. The stranger gave them the ability to use the power of light to resist the forces of darkness, which are owned by aliens. One of the Guardians and will become a player.
In general, if you think for a second, the game in many ways resembles the Halo series. Again, the confrontation of aliens and the human race, again a hero on guard of galactic calm, a sea of pathos and cosmic battles. But this is precisely what made the Bungie studio series of shooters so popular. Therefore, it was decided not to change anything drastically in such a successful success formula.
Game process
The beta version offers players, even if not for long, to be in the world of a full-fledged game, to master the game mechanics, to deal with the systems of experience and trading, as well as to try out the cooperative and PvP modes of the game on personal experience. Initially, you have several game locations, some of which contain single-player story missions, and some are available for free research.
The study, by the way, is done in the game according to the principle “you can play until you get bored”. Missions are randomly generated, and there is no end to them. For example, you may be instructed to find a long-lost artifact, or destroy 10 certain alien alien invaders, and then report back to the high command. Moving around on a level map on foot or on a vehicle resembling a flying Hoverbike motorcycle from Star Wars, you will overlap with other players who also complete their tasks. In this case, you can help them or leave them to deal with their problems on their own.
From time to time completely random events will occur on the map. Here is the landing of enemy troops, and you have the right to destroy the aliens, defusing the situation on the battlefield, but from nowhere, there is a huge monster, to cope with which alone is almost impossible, so you have to enlist the support of other players. Of course, all this is very similar to the MMORPG genre, when three or four players fight with a giant opponent, heal each other and quietly curse. The authors of the game themselves call Destiny the world's first full-fledged first-person MMO shooter. The truth is definitely present in their words.
The game has three game classes. The Titan class is innate fighters who even sleep in their arms around their arms (similar to the usual RPG - warrior). The Warlock class is endowed with the ability to use the energy of light to the detriment of enemies (similar to the usual RPG - magician). The Hunter class is distinguished by its speed and accuracy at the moment of a duel with an opponent (an analog in conventional RPGs is an archer or a thief). In addition to the main class, the player can choose the gender and race of his character, as well as adjust his appearance in a special editor. As you progress through the game, classes can transform and reincarnate into something new.
The experience gained in battle can be spent by a player on improving their skills. A skill tree is a sequential filling of a kind of multi-level areas with the names of skills. Killed enough enemies with grenades - get a bonus to using them. Headshots work out well - this is a bonus to using aiming. Character development depends largely on the skills of the player. Here you can do nothing and at the same time develop.
Weapons in the game also has its own experience. Over time, each gun receives a bonus to damage, new varieties of sights, a larger magazine, and so on. Each weapon has certain requirements for the player, which will not allow him to purchase an expensive rifle at a low level in order to joke with his enemies jokingly. First, you will need to pump enough to make this rifle available to you. In total there are three classes of weapons: primary, secondary and heavy. The main ones include assault rifles of several categories and pistols, the auxiliary includes shotguns, sniper rifles and unique pulse rifles, and heavy include rocket launchers and heavy machine guns.
Each player has a kind of cybernetic assistant called Ghost or simply Ghost. Ghosts were donated to humanity by the Wanderer, and they were created in order to help the Keepers in every possible way to carry on their service. We can say that the Phantom is a sort of round smartphone with artificial intelligence flying around you, which can highlight the road in the dark, tell a joke, and throw rounds of ammunition during a shootout.
Between missions, the player can return to the surviving city to stock up on ammunition, improve his arsenal and get new tasks. In the city, the game changes from the first person to the third person, so you see your character in full growth from the back. What this was done for is not entirely clear, but the creators, of course, know better. Here and there, there are various shops, workshops, other players run, in other words - life in the city is literally boiling.
When all things have been done in the city, the player is free to go on his personal spacecraft to any of the planets available to him. To fly to distant planets, you will have to purchase more expensive ships designed for long-haul flights. Each planet will offer players different locations with different tasks that can be done alone or with friends, who can be invited to the game at any time. In the beta version, only locations on the post-apocalyptic Earth were available, as well as a special planet for online duels between players. The developers also made the Moon visible, but there were no available missions on it. Wait for the release of the full version of the game, as they say.
Visual component
I played beta on my PlayStation 4 console, so I was very pleased with the game graphics. The game environment is very well detailed. The amazing game sky was especially remembered: the clouds look as if they are real, consist of many layers and constantly move across the sky, which gives it realism and makes this spectacle truly fascinating. Apparently, in the full version of the game we will see a lot of fantastic worlds and alien planets, each of which differs from the previous unique flora and fauna.
The game uses a completely new graphics engine that supports elegant global and dynamic lighting in real time. You will understand what I am talking about when you see the rays of the sun breaking through the clouds at sunset, or you find yourself in a dark room, when the beam of the lamp of your Phantom will tear the disgusting physiognomy of the newcomer out of the darkness.
Destiny gives the PS4 an honest 1080p and a stable 30 frames per second, which is expressed in a very clear picture without any hint of screen tearing or the presence of "ladders." The developers are currently focused on achieving similar quality on the Xbox One console, but so far the beta version for this console gives out only 900p resolution.
On the consoles of the previous generation had to sacrifice many visual effects, including the animation of the surrounding world. The grass will not sway beautifully in the wind, and the trees will be static at all. The lighting was also greatly simplified, but there is nothing to say about the resolution. Textures on older consoles will also be in lower resolution, which will certainly affect the overall beauty of the picture.
findings
Destiny is a very beautiful first-person shooter that instantly draws you with its deep atmosphere and the enchanting beauty of other worlds. I managed to touch only a tiny part of the upcoming game, but even this brief acquaintance allows us to say with confidence that something amazing awaits us in the fall. Destiny at the same time resembles a mixture of the Halo, Borderlands and Mass Effect game series with the Star Wars film saga, which is why the intrigue is only increasing.
And if Sony and Microsoft manage to defeat the problems with their servers, which fell under a huge load in the first hours of beta testing, everything will be altogether wonderful. One day I will definitely write a detailed review of the full version of this game, but for now we can only wait on September 9, 2014, when the game Destiny appears on the shelves of stores.
The article is based on materials .
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