Destiny Now Available

It's been years in the making, part of a $500 million dollar brand expansion under Activision's publishing label, and the next step for the original Halo developers to prove that they have more to offer than a Spartan in Mjolnor armor fighting off over-sized lizards with chrome armor who can talk. Destiny is Bungie's chance to show the world that they're not a one-trick-franchise pony.

The first-person, sci-fi shooter has been plastered all over the web throughout the past week leading up to its release. In a way, the release of Destiny is about as big as super mega-blockbusters such as Call of Duty: Black Ops 2, Grand Theft Auto V or Halo: Reach before it. Each of the previous games are now in a pantheon of excellence the likes of which very few games reach.

Nevertheless, Destiny represents a huge opportunity for both Bungie and Activision, as the game has picked up some major hype and coverage. Further momentum was built up with the midnight launch, which managed to get underway for tons of retailers, including U.K., outlets – more than 300 GAME stores, to be exact – with Charlotte Knight, Category Director at GAME stating...

Surprisingly (or not) enough, the game has managed to come under a bit of scrutiny for the lack of reviews. Usually when a game lands on release day without already having review copies sent out beforehand the gaming audience gets swept up in a frenzy about whether or not the game is good.

As noted in previous coverage, Destiny's reviews coming out today will be incomplete. Not because reviewers didn't want to play the game but because they weren't given advanced review copies.

Already we're seeing “first impression” pieces and early previews of the final copy starting to crop up to help tide over readers as reviewers rush through the game to get to the end. The other problem is dealing with server load – since Destiny is an MMO and all.

The game itself is a sci-fi adventure that takes place across several planets throughout the galaxy, with players visiting locations such as Venus, Mars, Saturn and Mercury to name a few. Each planet has its own distinct look and visual aesthetic, accompanied by the usual assortment of diverse baddies, structures and quests.

Multiplayer co-op is the heart and soul of the game, but it's also possible to solo some of the adventures and just lone-wolf your way through most of the quests (if you're good enough). The game also sports a competitive multiplayer mode known as “The Crucible”.

Additional features includes three different character classes that appeal to different styles of play, including the Titan, Warlock and Hunter. Each one offers a long-range, melee and magic-oriented attacks. Vehicles also play a small role in the game from getting from point 'A' to point 'B' and leveling up your character as you see fit is one of the long-term properties of the game.

Destiny is available right now for the Xbox 360, PS3, PS4 and Xbox One. For more info feel free to visit the official website.