Destiny First Look Alpha: First Impressions

by Illusivebroker on Jun 20th, 2014

Over the week of E3 lasting into this weekend, Bungie and PlayStation have set up an exclusive first look alpha for their upcoming AAA game; Destiny. Destiny for those who don’t know is the brand new franchise being developed by Bungie which is set in a post-apocalyptic galaxy that is ravaged after a long war. You play as a guardian, one of three classes of powerful soldiers who are out to keep the peace. Not much of the story has been expressed but it looks to be a interstellar space opera. I was fortunate enough to gain an access code to download this exclusive Alpha and get some one on one time with the game itself. So let me give you my impressions of the game and what I thought about it.

From first loading up the Alpha you can sense that this game has a grand ambition, it’s no surprise considering the scope and ambition of Bungies earlier titles (Halo 1, 2 and 3) Destiny seems to overwhelm you with a feel of great magnitude. When starting up your given a choice between the three main classes for the game. The Titan; the heavy, full frontal soldiers who head in to a fire fight with a strong defence and a powerful area effect. Then there’s The Hunter; the sly and cunning soldier who uses tactics with magnums and snipers in order to ravage the battlefield; armed with a very powerful golden gun, any enemy in your path will surely meet their end. Then finally there’s the Warlock (My personal favourite) whose a powerful disciple of The Traveller who masters the  arcane arts and uses them to help them within the battlefield.  What I noticed first hand is how each class does truly feel different to the other. Sure you’ll be wielding weapons like everyone else but the way you interact and go across each battle changes based on your classes powers and abilities. With Titans being the strongest of the classes, they can head straight in with an area effect, while the Warlock can use it’s arcane abilities to cause great magical attacks for support. Then the Hunter can pick off the remaining targets with it’s precise throwing knifes and golden gun. It’s great that Bungie looks to be putting a lot of effort into making these classes feel unique and powerful in their own rights.

After selecting your class your taken to a rather well structured character customisation screen. Here your given the option of three races to pick from; Humans, Awoken and the Exo. Each of these races look different but it’s hard to say if the choice of race will have any real relevance at the current time, although it rumoured that what race you are in the full game might come into affect with the campaign and what factions you join. The rest of the customisation options are really impressive, with great control over the hair, facial structure, skin colour and aesthetic details of your character, you can be assured your character will be unique compared to everyone else’s. Something else I should also note is the character animation and detail for what was shown was rather detailed and impressive considering that this will be a cross-gen game and I was playing this on PS4.

The settings in the first look alpha, for as limited as it is; was remarkably detailed and rich. You start the Alpha off on Earth, in the Cosmodrome of Old Russia decades after Earth was abandoned. The setting and environment is rather expansive and quite detailed. Bungie has put a lot of detail into getting the environments in Destiny right in a way that helps give of a feeling of true future sci-fi. Especially with the earth setting, you can really feel a sense of post-apocalyptic sci-fi within the Cosmodrome. I like the Tower as well, it’s your central HUB which you return to after every mission or strike. There are many vendors and bounty officers who can offer you alot to purchase and assign to your characters with Glimmer (The games form of currency)

For a First Look Alpha this has a lot to offer surprisingly, but with a level cap at Level 8 there isn’t much to really explore after you hit the level cap. But for what the Alpha has offered, the future for Destiny looks promising, I can assure you that this title will be worth the purchase in the future as it feels like a true video game experience more than anything else.

The Beta for Destiny will go live on July 17th so if you’re wanting to get some part of this you’ll have to be sure to pre-order for a download code; trust me you will find the investment worth every penny.

 

 

Categories: Features