Destiny: One of the most polarizing mainstream titles this year.

BUY.

 So, this is probably the most polarizing mainstream title I've seen in a long, long time. I said this year, but it could even be both this generation and last -- people either love it or hate it. 

Alright -- lets get things straight, right off the bat. There are some pretty big issues with this game, that prevent it from being one of the greatest games of all time. I'll address those first at foremost. 

The story is laughable. The meat of the story, and all of the contents about the world that you SHOULD know, are hidden in a grimoire, on bungies website. It's essentially a Codex of the world lore, that you have no access to whatsoever, in-game. The story itself is actually pretty incredible, and the world they built is so entrenched with lore through the various items and objects, it's insane; the problem is, "I don't have time to tell you why I don't have time" is basically bungies core focus while developing the game. All of the lore and the meat of the story is essentially an afterthought, thrown on the website to provide an incredible backstory, and fill in the massive gaps the mainstory arc leaves you with.

The story itself was a bit of a letdown, because the missions devolved into the games strikes. Defend a point, and then possibly destroy a bullet-sponge boss. It was doubly so disappointing because there are some INCREDIBLE story beats, like a mission where you use an ancient cursed sword, to mess some big dudes up. It was probably one of the most fun missions in the game, and yet you never see it again in the game. 

There were a few other issues with the game, namely the netcode, the loot, and the lack of reward for completing some of the endgame activities, but those are now being addressed by Bungie. It gives me hope for the future of the game, because they actually seem to be stepping back, and listening to what the community has to say in regards to the game.

Now lets talk about the POSITIVES of this game:

The atmosphere and world design are some of the best in any game I have ever seen. In highschool, while taking Journalism, I wrote a review for one of the earlier Halo games (I think it was 2 or 3) lamenting the fact that Bungie designs incredible worlds, but you never get a chance to sit down and see them, it's always a constant mad rush from point to point, and you don't ever really have a chance to stop, and just admire it all. They've remedied this tenfold in Destiny, and I love them for it. They even have vistas and areas where you can sit and just observe, even in the Crucible (although it doesn't really work out most of the time)

The music is of course fantastic, but that was never called into question; I'm a bit concerned now that they've let their lead composer go, but I have faith that they know what they're doing. 

Now, the real reason you'd ever read my reviews -- HOW DOES IT PLAY? 

Let me tell you, this is some of the best gunplay, the powers are so incredibly satisfying to use, just.. hnng. The starting subclasses you get don't seem very different from each other, as they only have a few minor differences between them (grenade, jump, melee, super) but as you evolve your class, it begins to morph and become radically different from the others. The secondary subclasses are even more drastic, allowing you to revive yourself, go invisible, or do a knee uppercut and OHKO me. (Totally not bitter, I swear!)

The shooting is just so fun, it feels good to get headshots, and the aim assist, while pretty offensive, allows you to get some hilarious headshots that you shouldn't have made otherwise. Using your unique grenades and supers are REALLY fun, too. It's so satisfying using a sticky grenade to peg that titan halfway across the map, or using a large vortex grenade as area denial, so you can catch your breath. Even more fun to use Warlocks melee to slap a hunter who pulled out her golden gun too early. 

It's just an incredibly addicting game, that even people who openly acknowledge the game doesn't have much to do, can't stop playing it. I can't tell you how many times I furiously raged at this game, shouted at it, and wanted to quit, but I can't. I'm hooked. It's gotten so bad, I'm not even aware of any other games coming out (like Shadow of Mordor, which apparently had it's release date bumped -- oops!) and.. I don't really mind. Those games will still be there waiting for me when I get free time, right? ...Right..? 

Let me also phrase it this way: I bought a brand new gaming rig, and it's basically just sat there with the Bungie website open, while I sit here and play Destiny. I barely installed Steam a few days ago, and haven't even tested anything out yet. I'm that hooked. Save me.