It's finally game time for Destiny.
The sci-fi shooter from Bungie has been received very well so far (a total of 4.6 million people participated during Destiny's beta trial) but now the real test is upon it as it officially launches Tuesday, Sept. 9. It's from the creators of Halo so that should at least provide players with something to base expectations on.
"We're really proud of the world we created with 'Halo,' and the millions of gamers we attracted, but with 'Destiny' we wanted the worlds to be bigger and feel more alive. To do that, we added in the most exciting and unpredictable ingredient we could think of: players. Destiny's worlds are connected and alive," said Bungie CEO Pete Parsons.
Destiny is essentially an action game, a first-person shooter with each player playing the part of the hero in the story. Players assume the role of a guardian, choosing to become a hunter, titan, or warlock. The goal of the game is simple: to protect the last city on Earth from intergalactic threat.
Players can mostly choose to play solo but certain events will require cooperation with other players. Depending on what they prefer, they can team up with friends or strangers. Aside from spontaneous events, players can also head for an area known as the Crucible to engage in team-based battles versus other players.
Won't an open world mean the possibility of players encroaching on each other?
Bungie designed Destiny to group players in small numbers in "instances" in a world. This means that even when a million people are inside the game, each player will only see just a few. Think of each group as being in one instance. By limiting the number of people in every instance, Bungie makes it possible for players to enjoy the openness of the game and its social aspect without interfering with the personal flow of the story.
Published by Activision, Destiny is available on the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Xbox One, and Xbox 360 and will require a PlayStation Plus account or Xbox Live Gold membership to be played. All standard U.S. copies are priced at $59.99 while the limited-edition box set costs $99.99 and features vouchers for bonus digital content and an expansion pass that opens up extra missions in the story as well as more gear and weapons.
According to Bungie, at least three main expansions have been planned for Destiny. The first expansion, called The Dark Below, will launch in December.
