The Weekly Slice Previews
By. Meatloaf
Welcome
to the Weekly Slice; a gaming, comic book, movie review/preview blog ran by the
one…the only…Meatloaf (crowd roars and such).
Anyway, this week I am taking a look at Bungie’s monolithic new game
“Destiny”. With all the flooding of new
gameplay, cinematic, and developer videos there is so much info so I am going
to bring everything known so far into one area, so I hope you are ready have
some fun because I know I am.
First
of all before we begin our adventure here today, Destiny is an upcoming massively multiplayer online role-playing
first-person shooter (MMORPG) developed by Bungie, and produced by
Activision. If you are not familiar with
Bungie, let me remind you a little of their history. Bungie started in 1991 with Alex Seropian
when he created Operation: Desert Storm, since then the company has gone on to
make such games as; Minotaur: The Labyrinths of Crete (1992), Pathways into
Darkness (1993), The Marathon Trilogy (1994-1997), Myth: The fallen Lords
(1997), and last but certainly not the least, they created the Master Chief
himself in Halo: Combat Evolved in 1999.
This became their crowning jewel as the Halo Saga took off like blasting
a grunt from an anti-grav platform. Now
we come to Activision Publishing, who as many in the game world tend to look at
them with confused but revered for some of their more questionable choices, but
their history is quite the expansive one as well. Founded on October 1st 1979 the
company was one of the first ever to develop and distribute video games for
consoles starting out with the Atari 2006.
Some notable games released out of Activision; Pitfall (1982), Mech
Warrior (1995-1997), Tony Hawk Series (1999-Present), Star Wars Jedi Knight:
Jedi Academy/Outcast (2002-2003), Call of Duty: Black Ops1-2 (2010,2012), Call
of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (2011), Call of Duty: Ghosts (2013). As you can see from the Activision camp,
things are going well, and taking in the fact that for the Destiny Project they
have pumped $500 Million for royalties, marketing, infrastructure, and
packaging. It looks like “Space Magic”
Destiny is being banked on to be a big player for at least ten years as per the
deal between Activision and Bungie.
Ok,
ok enough of the boring backstory behind the companies, now we can get to the
meat and potatoes of this preview…The Game.
Destiny takes place 700 years into the future with a post-apocalyptic
setting following a prosperous era of peace, exploration, and technological
advancement known to us as the “Golden Age” (hmmm seems a bit future mideval-ish
to me). During this time the humans of
earth ventured out into the Solar System to colonize the planets. Near the end of this “Golden Age” there was a
cataclysmic event that nearly wiped out the entire human race, but a celestial
being only known as “The Traveler” was able to save a few remaining humans and
bring them back to Earth in a single city.
This city is guarded by beings known as the “Guardians of the City” (not
really quotable, kind of bland, but hey, I am no story designer.). These beings are tasked with defending the
city and on a larger scale, from humanity going extinct. Upon trying to
re-establish with former colonies the remaining humans are attacked by many new
hostile alien races that have made the colonies and even Earth their new
home. The Guardians now must venture out
to defeat these hostile forces to regain their footing in the Solar System…that
is where our story begins. (Trigger Epic music and queue dimmer lights)
In
the Development notes and as far as what Bungie has told us, there a total of 7
races; Cabal, The Fallen, The Hive, The Vex.
All of which are NPC’s and will be explained a bit later, and then there
are the Humans, Exo, and Awoken races which are all playable. So without further delay let us move on into
the playable races.
The
Human race- Us, the humans, conquerors, heroes, resilient, and some even a bit
too badass for even I to comprehend. Noted
as being reliable, tough, and uncomplicated.
Bungie has come out and said that they took inspiration from Action
Heroes, Athletes, and Military. If that
is the case, then you better expect a smart-mouthed, witty, selfless, and
resilient monster of a character. The
force that is always taking names and kicking alien ass all over out barren
wasteland of a planet with a smile on their face.
The
Awoken Race- What if you were to take an elf, angel, vampire, and ghost and
mash them up into one? Well I will tell
you it would be pretty damn similar to the Exo Race. Majestic, strong willed, beautiful, and
deadly. This race proves that you can
look good while being covered in alien mess, rock on!
The
Exo Race-Last but certainly not least we give you the Exo’s. Feel like you want to live and play like
Master Chief from the good ol’ days, well then here is your chance. Bungie says that inspiration for the Exo Race
came from Good Ol’ Master Chief himself, as well as some more nefarious
characters such as; The Undead, and The Terminator (Admit it, you know you said
it in a pseudo Arnold voice…I know I did..).
The Exo are a cold, sinister, Viking-esk monolithic built beings that
are better, faster, and stronger than any mere human. Standing toe to toe against an Exo with the
mind set that you will do ANYTHING to win just won’t cut it anymore.
(The playable Races as Rendered by Bungie Industries)
Along
with these playable races comes three unique character classes, each one has
their own inspirations and builds. When
it comes to abilities, the Guardians do not come up short, and that is a
fact. The Traveler imbues certain people
with “The Light” which is a mystical force that reminds you of Star Wars or the
Matrix, while some people are given incredible luck, and even less are given
strength to match even some of the greater beings in the Solar System.
The
Hunter-Ever want to play like Han Solo and Clint Eastwood at the same
time? Well if so The Hunter would be
your class, being described as a Bounty Hunter that makes their own luck, and
bend the rules a bit when it comes to missions.
As a Hunter you are a reconnaissance Guardian that can and will
outsmart, and pick your opponent from wither far away with your rifle or at
close range with your revolver and throwing knife.
The
Warlock- Imbued with powers from “The Traveler” the Warlock is your best friend
when it comes to being the ace in anything and everything that deals with
mystical ability. Influenced by Star
Wars Jedi Knights, Gandalf from The Lord of the Rings, and Morpheus from The
Matrix, you are the one handing out the red or blue pills here. The Warlock is a Guardian that has spent many
years of their life to learn the many secrets of “The Traveler” and “The
Light”. Have fun Force Pushing your
enemies into the abyss.
The
Titan- Ok lets all face it…we all loved the fact that Master Chief could run
into an army of his enemies and unleash a fury the like of which even Hell
could not contain. Inspired by the
Fictional Space Marines, Star Wars Storm Troopers, and of course Master Chief
yet again. Take heed and pick up your
heavy weaponry and make sure your fists are ready for a beat down. Your sending a lot of things to Hell and you
want to make sure it is done right.
(From Right to Left: The Titan, The Hunter, and the
Warlock as rendered by Bungie Industries.)
Now
it is time for me to explain a little about the NPC/Enemies that are in the
game. Throughout the story there will be
many challenges and types of enemy races to fight and loot. Enjoy your stay here on Earth and happy
hunting.
The
Cabal- Enter the Cabal, a wonderful little creature of much joy and happiness
that loves to give out some free hugs. Well…that
was a lie, but don’t mind me, let’s try again (awkward scratches head). The Cabal as a race are juggernauts, always
clad in heavy armor and weapons that will put you on your ass faster than a
roundhouse kick from Chuck Norris. The
Cabal inhabits the Exclusion Zone of Mars.
The
Cabal come in 4 varieties, all deadly, all offering free hugs, these include;
Legionnaires (Picture Grunts with tower shields and powerful guns.), Centurions
(The same as Legionnaires, but with jetpacks.), Gladiators (50 ft. tall
monsters covered in armor with a pretty big Gatling gun.), and Psion’s (Space
Magic…That is all).
The
Fallen- Have you ever seen the original Mortal combat, or even played it for
that matter? If so picture Goro in a
spacesuit and ten times stronger, this is The Fallen, a four armed nomadic race
that are sworn enemies to all of the human race. Bungie states that once they were noble
creatures that lived among the stars, now scattered and angry, ready to take
what the humans have as their own.
The
Fallen come in 3 varieties, all fun to fight against, and each of them have the
undying hatred for you and your last foothold on Earth, there include; Dreg
(Relentless thieves armed with a shock dagger and a pistol. Driven by hatred and rage these guys are
crafty, but can usually be found due to their hissing and clattering.), Vandal
(Due to unknown data these guys are just known to be better and higher in the
chain-of-command, beware their long range capabilities…they have good aim.),
and the Captain (The high and mighty Captains of the Fallen lead packs of the
Fallen into battle and carry themselves in such a way that they often keep a
twisted sense of nobility about them.
They want what the humans took from them…Earth).
The
Hive- Well we have come to The Hive…wow this is a hard one to tell you
about…”Space Zombies” that is all. This
race can and will infect other species and have been known to do so since their
creation.
The Hive
species come in 4 varieties and all live for the soul purpose to take over and
infest the Solar System, which are as follows; Thralls (The lowest form of The
Hive and use their claws and teeth to rip apart their enemies.), Troopers (A
typical Hive soldier that wield Energy Weapons, kind of like a master-sword.),
Knights (Large elite soldiers that carry broadswords.), and the Wizards (These
guys LOVE Space Magic and use it to command the lower forms of The Hive
soldiers in their conquest of the Solar System.).
The
Vex- Due to the lack of knowledge on The Vex there is very little in the way of
knowledge so picture The Terminator with a less than human appearance. These are time travelers that are vetted
against humans.
The
Vex Species come in 5 varieties all ready to travel back in time to create an
infinite loop of you falling from low orbit towards Earth, which are; Goblins
(A basic unit in the Vex army, these fun little tinker toys are easy to fight
alone, but like wolves, they rely on overwhelming numbers to overcome their
opponents.), Hobgoblins (Goblins…with tails.), Minotaur’s (Bigger, badder,
stronger Hobgoblins.), Hydras (Flying segmented machines with each piece
supporting an automated turret.), and Harpies (Annoying trolls that are
upgraded Hydras that teleport in and out of battle.).
(The Enemy, as Rendered and Screenshot from
Bungie.Net)
So
all in all, with everything available it looks like this MMO is going to fuse
both Halo and Borderlands into a strong drink that adds some elements from
Activision’s other titles (*cough* Call of Duty *cough*) with a strong theme of survival of the human race being
the direct and very serious core. While looking through everything I cannot help but notice some very slight sleek character builds similar to that of the game "Warframe" for PS4/PC, but hey that is just me. Anyway...with
the release date of September 9th coming up over the horizon those
that have pre-ordered or have got a few set of codes from Bungie/Activation’s
respective Social Networking accounts, and through outlets like GameStop,
Vintage Stock, etc. the Beta comes out sometime in June (perhaps an E3 reveal?),
so that way players can test out and try to break the game before it comes
out. The bugs and balancing issues
should be close to none due to both the insane amount of money being pumped
into it (currently the largest amount ever put into the production of a game
since GTAV), and the fact that the game has been in development for sometime
that testers have already taken advantage of their much given time to make sure
that this app will finally be a figurehead for both the PS4 and Xbox One Consoles, which they desperately need, coming into the Fall and Holiday seasons. Finally for those of you that are out there that want to see a little bit more about the game here ya' go. Link to the Update Youtube channel
(The Titan is about to get some Free Hugs from The
Hive. Screenshot of The Devils Lair.)
All
right everyone, it has been fun, but for now it is time for me to get on to
another topic that I will rant about. If
you need me I will be available at PJ Gamers in Broken Arrow hanging with some of
the most non-biased gamers around. So
for now I will bid you all farewell and to all of you readers out there thank
you and see you out on the battlefield.
All Pictures are trademark of Bungie, and their
respective artists.
Information for this article is from Bungie.Net as well
as both Activision/Bungie related Social Media.
The Weekly Slice is a product of Meatloaf.
No comments:
Post a Comment