It's never an easy thing to sit down and try to review Destiny's story, because the game has become infamous for its complete lack of plot.
There's dialogue you'll hear here and there, but most of it refers to characters or locations or events that are completely without context. Even the cutscenes, few as there are, can be perplexing. And don't even get me started on those Grimoire Cards.
House of Wolves, the second major expansion pack for Destiny, aims to change that. In addition to some badly-needed upgrades and fun new locations, House of Wolves, first and foremost, tells a very straightforward story, and more importantly, one that the average gamer can actually comprehend.
Back in Destiny proper, we met the Queen of the Reef and her people, the Awoken, the blue-skinned race of humans that ventured so far out into space that something out there altered their physiology. The Reef is what the Queen and her people call the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, and it's where they make their home.
The setup for House of Wolves explains that one of the noble "Houses" of the Fallen, one of Destiny's many alien races and enemies, was once shown mercy by the Queen. In exchange for their lives, the House of Wolves pledged their loyalty to her. But shortly before this DLC pack begins, the House of Wolves broke from years of loyalty to the Queen and rebelled, killing scores of her people. And she's properly pissed.
So she does something unprecedented: she opens the Reef, which is populated by her mildly xenophobic Awoken, to Guardians. She basically contracts Guardians to hunt down the Wolves for her, which keeps what's left of her people from endangering themselves while allowing her vengeance.
Through a series of Story missions, you're sent from Venus to Earth and back again as you hunt down Skolas, the leader of the House of Wolves. Like I said, straightforward: A bad guy is doing bad stuff; go stop him. Some of the locations you'll visit on Earth and Venus are recycled from past missions or patrols, but there are a few brand new spots — all of which, unsurprisingly, live up to Bungie's reputation for excellent level design. And next-gen gamers will be happy to know that it still looks, sounds and feels as incredible as ever.
What's most striking about the House of Wolves story is that it has an actual ending. Unlike Destiny itself, or the first DLC pack, The Dark Below, this one tells a complete story arc. You're not suddenly told, "The Story is over, now go play multiplayer," as in the past. You set out with an objective, and the story ends when you complete it. It's downright refreshing.
Another great new addition is Petra, servant of the Queen. Poor Peter Dinklage has taken so much abuse for his work as your "Ghost" companion, but Ghost is a machine, so there's not much room for personality. Eris was meant to correct this in The Dark Below, and her vendetta against Crota definitely made her feel more real and alive.
Petra is the new character speaking instructions into your ear, and her personality is completely different than anyone we've met before. Ghost, Eris, and everyone in the Tower always speak in grave tones, underscoring the dire burden carried by the Guardians to protect what's left of mankind. Okay, sure, understandable. But Petra, on the other hand, is in the fight for the thrill of it. She loves every minute of it, she's friendly and not standoffish at all (like the rest of her people), and you can frequently hear a smile in her voice. In short: Petra brings a sense of desperately-needed fun to the game, and it's like a breath of fresh air.
There are all of the new weapons and armor and currencies you'd expect, but it's easy to see from the start that Bungie is trying hard to make the work of acquiring those goods much more enjoyable. And easier, too — prices and materials required to purchase items and upgrade them seem to be lower this go 'round. You'll still work hard for them, but they don't seem like some far off, impossible-to-reach goal anymore.
As part of House of Wolves, Bungie has introduced a brand new social space where you can interact, purchase gear, acquire and manage bounties and so on. Like the Tower, it's a big, open space with one huge vista. But it's a darker place and a bit more enclosed, and you'll find vendors here that are completely different than what the Tower holds. Aside from Petra, there's an amusing Fallen merchant (don't worry, he's still loyal to the Queen) who's fascinated by technology, an uppity new Cryptarch, and some others. But for all your Vanguard needs and whatnot, you'll still need to visit the Tower.
In addition to the new Reef vendors, the Tower vendors you know and love all have brand new items as well. Each piece of gear or weaponry you buy comes at an incremental increase in power over what you probably already have. This helps with the new level cap, which has been raised to 34. An especially welcome change comes from the Speaker — that weird faceless guy who spends all his time studying the big round white ball known as the Traveler. He's been pretty useless in the past, but House of Wolves gives him a cool new role. He'll exchange materials for you, such as Ascendant Shards for Ascendant Energy. Anyone who's spent hours grinding away in the hopes of getting enough materials to buy or upgrade a particular piece of gear knows what a welcome addition this is.
I'll get into the multiplayer modes in a separate review. But for now, I'm pleased and impressed with what House of Wolves brings to the table. I hesitate to use the word "easier" (because it's certainly as challenging as ever), but Destiny feels more inviting and more rewarding than ever before. The storytelling improvements give players something we've always needed: purpose.
If you were disappointed by Destiny or The Dark Below, I'd encourage you to give House of Wolves a try. It doesn't reinvent the wheel, but it makes the game a lot more fun.
T-Lounge Score:
★★★★☆
Be sure to follow T-Lounge on Twitter and visit our Facebook page.
