When you have two companies like Activision and Bungie teaming up to make a new game, you listen. From the makers of the Halo and Call of Duty, comes a new game, simply called Destiny. As a First-person shooter and action role-playing game, the game will feature a huge online multiplayer universe, with near limitless opportunities to explore. While this may seem simple enough, keep in mind that with a budget thought to be $500 million, Destiny is the most expensive game in history. This wonder will be hitting shelves on September 9th of this year.

Premise

Being a huge fan of Halo (the games, the books, the comics, etc.) I think the plot is not as intense as Halo. I say this because there doesn't seem to be a lot of energy devoted to the necessary complexities of such a large universe. Halo, Star Wars and a variety of other iconic stories involve immense amount of detail spanning across millennia (sometimes risking plot fragmentation).  Yet, it seems, at-least at first glance, this is not the case with Destiny. Of course, I might be wrong and I certainly hope so. The premise centres on the "Traveller", a white, spherical celestial body. This thing/being helps humanity to reach for the stars and come forth into the "golden age", marked by technological progress and the colonisation of the solar system. Of course, no good thing lasts forever. Some mysterious form of evil or ancient enemy comes after the traveller and brings upon the "Collapse", which comes very close to annihilating the human species altogether. If you are thinking this sounds eerily familiar to the plot of Halo (humans peacefully colonising space until the Covenant nearly make them extinct), then I must warn you that Destiny doesn't seem to reach the heights of Halo, just yet.

As the game begins, the Traveller is hovering around the last human city on earth. The presence of the traveller enables the "Guardians of the City", to wield "The Light", which is something like the "force" that Jedi Knights wield in Star Wars. Players naturally assume the role of a guardian, who must now work to investigate and destroy the threats from hostile alien forces that currently occupy earth's former colonies. Stop thinking Halo!

Characters

Players get to choose from three distinct races within the Guardians: humans, Awoken and Exo. Humans are described as relatable, tough and uncomplicated. Awoken are described as exotic, beautiful and mysterious, while the Exo are portrayed as sinister, powerful and tireless. In addition to the races, there are also three different classes: bounty hunter, warlocks and titans. Bounty hunters are your typical recon units, better for close-ranged attacks. The warlocks are those that can channel the arcane energy of the Traveller (something like a Jedi Knight), and Titans are the heavy weapons experts. Also, players will need to invest heavily on their ships to ensure the success of their missions.

Interestingly, Destiny will not tie perks to any particular species. So half way down the game, you won't feel like you've made the wrong choice. Once you have your character, you can go ahead and start collecting and arsenal of fantastic weapons including pistols, rifles, shotguns, missile launchers, etc. Players can highly customise both their armour and their weapons.

Enemies

As mentioned earlier, different hostile alien species now control former earth colonies. Each sector seems to be home to a particular alien menace: the Fallen, the Cabal and the Vex. The Fallen are an alien species with four arms and compared to nomadic warlords. The Cabal remind me of the Brutes from Halo, big, heavy and capable of serious damage. The Vex are the most interesting, like a sinister version of Doctor Who's immortal enemies, Bungie describes the Vex as time travelling robots that seek to destroy the guardians.

Locations

Players will get to battle it out on Earth, the Moon, Venus, Europa and other former earth colonies. Importantly, there are also special locations around the solar system with special weapons and treasures to be found. Bungie also noted that players would get a chance to explore cool wrecks such as derelict spaceships orbiting Saturn.

A few cents worth

Obviously, it is too early to say whether Destiny will be a huge hit or spectacular miss. Given the reputation and budgets for the game, I am quite confident it will be the former and not the latter. While I am not particularly fascinated by the Destiny universe or the plot so far, I don't think it is fair to judge a game this is not even out yet. After all, we gave Halo and Star Wars years to refine the finer details of their stories. If Destiny does take off, expect a lot of enthusiasm from players all around the world.

By Navam Niles