"Destiny," the next game from the creators of "Halo," is in stores Tuesday.
The game, which has been in production since "Halo: Reach" was released in 2010, has a lot riding on it. It's not only one of the most expensive video games ever made (Activision CEO Bobby Kotick pinned the cost at as much as $500 million, a number which developer Bungie has since backtracked and denied.), but is also expected to be a revolutionary one after the success of "Halo" on Microsoft's Xbox consoles.
"Destiny," which takes place 700 years into the future in the last city on Earth, brings together a first-person shooter with a massively multiplayer online game. While available on both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, it's the first big game release for the next-generation consoles. Naturally, everyone wants to know one thing: Is it worth it? Since reviewers are just being allowed to play it Monday, one day before release, this has some worried that the supposed most-anticipated game of the year may not live up to the hype.
Ahead of the game's release, we asked "Destiny" Design Lead Luke Smith what makes the game so revolutionary. Here is his answer via email.
"'Halo' brought players together. Whether it was about lugging an Xbox to your Friends house for a LAN (a LAN [local area network party] is when a group of people connect together with computers or multiple game consoles to play a game) for some matches of Combat Evolved or battling on Xbox Live in 'Halo 2,' bringing players together in the name of play is something we're deeply passionate about.
'Destiny' is our next step forward in bringing players together. We've built a persistent online universe that we can't wait to expand. We've taken our action-game roots and built a suite of activities for every mood. And now we're all waiting, hoping that people will want to come join us and be a part of this world."
Smith wasn't very specific, which may have some gamers worried about what exactly he means when he says "a suite of activities for every mood," but it sounds like "Destiny" is riding on the hopes that its online multiverse, which will allow gamers from all over the world to connect and team up, will be satisfying enough.
Developer Bungie released a statement Monday warning players to take day-one reviews with a grain-of-salt reflecting a similar attitude.
"Typically, games receive their report cards before they become available to the public. We don't believe Destiny is a typical shooter. You could experience the storyline, jump into a few rounds of competitive multiplayer, and form a Fireteam of friends and take on all the Strikes and you would just be getting started."
"For us, this is a first - a new experience. It's a bit of a risk, too. We fully anticipate seeing day one reviews from folks who decide to kick the tires, but don't have the time or patience to take our ride for a nice, long road trip. Some of you might wait to pick up a copy until you read the final verdict from your most trusted review house. We're okay with that. We've created something we're proud of."
Bungie also warned gamers to be on patrol for reviewers, referred to as "pageant judges," as they play.
"On day one, you'll be rubbing elbows with the pageant judges, so look sharp. Who knows, you may end up on one of their live streams. They may end up on one of yours, too!"
We've been playing the game since the morning and so far there's not much to report on. If you've played the Alpha and Beta, it's a lot of déjà vu. You need to get through those similar levels before you can get any farther in the game. But that's expected.
We do get to play on the moon soon, so we're looking forward to that since we've only played on Earth so far.
As the game goes public at midnight, we look forward to experiencing it with the masses.