The Master Chief bandwagon passed me by and COD never quite cut it. So why am I getting my kickers in a knot over Bungie’s new IP?

Destiny is an online, shared world shooter. An MMO, RPG and TPS. You can’t really fit it into one box. If that’s not enough letters to get you salivating, Bungie is making this game accessible to all levels of gamers, from the casual to the elitist, and basing it in a world that will appeal to a wide audience, a sci-fantasy set on a post-apocalyptic Earth.

Developers at Bungie have said that they have built this game around a ‘seven pillar’ structure in order to keep all audiences entertained, promising an online world that is truly ‘alive’, with persistent changes in lighting and weather. A world that can keep both the impatient gamer, and the more distracted gamer entertained, boasting being able to provide them with a new experience every night, and fun things to do.

It seems like the story is centred around the Guardians of the last of the Human’s strongholds, aptly named The City. Protected and watched over by a giant golf ball….You’re part of a desperate last stand. The human race is on its last legs, and you’re about to change that. This game is about wresting power from various other alien races that have made themselves home in your back yard. Naughty blighters.

It’s called the Traveller, but I believe it to be some sort of sport’s apparatus.

Being a lone wolf, I am particularly pleased that Destiny will be flexible to how you would like to play it, advancement not necessarily relying upon others, allowing you to play solo, or if you’re the social type you can choose to play as part of a small group.  The players that you will have access to will be filtered through an in-game matchmaking system: this system will invisibly sort through other players and restrict your access to them depending upon your level/ ranking. All of this will be done ‘on the fly’, so no lobbies! You can also decide whether to opt in and out of competitive combat, getting rid of gankers, who feel the need to validate their own existence by annoying the fuck out of everyone else.

There have been three confirmed races;
The Humans, based on the more athletically gifted of our species, in decline and out to regain some footing in this galactic playground. (Who wants to be these assholes?)
The awoken. Are they Elves, Vampires, or Angels? Drawing inspiration from all three, these mythological creatures look like they need a dose of sun-shine.
The Exo are based off of the loveable Terminator, and Bungie’s very own Master Chief. Relentless and rather sinister looking. You then have three subclasses to choose from after deciding which race you’re going to be causing havoc in. The Hunter, the Warlock or the Titan. Your generic thief/ magic user and tank builds with a little bit of a twist.

Concept art for the Titan Race.

Available at some point in the near future, on XboxOne, Xbox360, PS3 and PS4, with three more games in its IP to follow, they storyline is said to unfold like a series of books. There have been murmurs about availability the Wii and the master races’ favourite instrument, the PC, but nothing has been set in stone for them yet.

This game will be F2P. With no subscription fee, I wonder how the resident behemoth WoW will fair against this fit newcomer. There’s been no mention of micro-transactions in game, but when advancements in armour, weapons and space ships are extensive and central to the game, you can bet that there’ll be at least one vanity set you can fork some cash out for. You have to get your income somewhere, and I’m all for supporting developers in this economic climate. (Save the economy and all that jazz).

Venus certainly looks green this time of year.

There is more than one explorable planet in this game, with rumours of in-space gaming. Bungie hasn’t let slip whether or not this will be inter-stellar travel, but if it is, and rumours turn out to be true, this could be more than your average Hippogryph ride.  Strange and wondrous delights will await us, if they can pull this game off, and it’s certainly threatening enough so that Blizzard has postponed the release of Titan.

Will this game give Blizzard a run for its money?

I can only hope Destiny lives up to its, well… destiny. But I know this much, there’s going to be a smash down for the new MMO throne between Destiny and Blizzard’s upcoming  MMO ‘Titan’, and I want front row seats.