Destiny 2’s Biggest Problems Don’t Include a Lack of Loot

I’ll admit it, I was worried for Sunset Overdrive. We barely got to see anything at E3, and what they were demoing was a tower defense-esque multiplayer mode. It seemed to have all the charm that Insomniac Games is known for, but you could never be certain with the amount of hype Microsoft was putting behind it. Thankfully, the Burbank-studio delivered as Sunset Overdrive is an enthralling, over the top shooter that messes Jet Set Radio with Crackdown into one neat package. With fourth wall breaking dialogue, one of the most colorful open worlds to be found, and a creative arsenal at your disposal, Sunset Overdrive is Xbox One’s prized jewel.

[MW]: We’re just aware of it as you are. It’s harder for us to tell a story, but it has it’s moments. There’s one part in the story where you’re told to speak and Ghost cuts you off. So, we have fun with that.

What is surprising is the antagonist, Gaul. Presented in trailers as a hulking brute, Gaul appeared to be a walking cliché. The end product is the complete opposite with Gaul having much more depth than anticipated. Gaul doesn’t get the amount of screen time he deserves, which is disappointing considering he’s the best part of the story.

Mercury sits happily at the top of the destinations menu like it was there all along. Brother Vance welcomes Guardians with open arms to the Lighthouse (only reserved for the best of PvP in Destiny), waiting for Osiris' return. Like everything else to follow though, Mercury quickly proves that it is a veiled guise for a rather bland play space. It's small while giving of the illusion of unlimited potential. It only has one public event, and while covering much more ground than other public events, it’s still the only one (plus sparrows don’t work). At least the other destinations have multiples. The Infinite Forest is a clever trick, that has been pulled before, it’s just on a slightly larger scale, not confined to a space like the Prison of Elders from House of Wolves in Destiny. It’s doing the same thing though, just changing the facade.

Destiny is a game with strong lore that does a poor job of presenting it to players. Though bungie update bug fixes vastly improved the game's story elements in The Taken King and Rise of Iron, it's with Destiny 2 where the developer is looking to make it's biggest strides yet. Featuring a full-fledged campaign, Adventures that tell their own sidestory and new lore items, the story team in Bellevue, Washington have had their hands busy. We got to sit down the Matthew Ward and Jason Harris, members of the Story and Cinematics team to discuss Destiny 2's plot.

The Forza series has never been my cup of tea, at least not until Forza Horizon. Driving through the beautiful scenery of Colorado in a semi-open world environment really made me appreciate the mechanics behind the series, while at the same time had me lightly touching upon the more hardcore tuning aspects. Turn10 Studios and Playground Games were able to expand upon this, bringing us to the luscious and visually breathtaking Southern Europe. It’s the interconnected world that ties into Xbox Live’s social features that really brings the world to life, as driving through the vast open world will never make you feel alone. If there’s one racing game you need to play, it’s Forza Horizon 2; it’s certainly the closest we’ll get to another Burnout Paradise.

[JH]: So, that’s kind of outside the scope of where we have our involvement. We’re super dedicated to story, and the high-level development decisions based on classes or specializations happen amongst other teams. We try our best to have a good narrative wrapper around that decision-making. Our involvement in the PvP is to develop a strong character in Lord Shaxx.

Placing all the powerful weapons in the same category has good potential for PvP, but it’s also a functional misstep in terms of PvE. Power weapon ammo drops more often in Destiny 2 than heavy weapon ammo in Destiny 1, but still not nearly as often as kinetic or energy weapon ammo. So right away there’s less incentive to use that ammo for any weapon other than a rocket or grenade launcher. Why waste that relatively rare and precious ammo on a sniper rifle when it could instead be spent on something much more powerful? It’s the same issue with abilities in that they’re all restricted by ridiculously-slow cooldowns. Instead of enjoying the ability to toss a grenade into a group of minor enemies, dodge around the battlefield at one’s leisure or even pop a super to take on a mid-boss, the game encourages players to bank them instead. To use one’s abilities in any situation other than the most desperate is to see them go to waste. Nobody wants to be caught staring at a cool-down meter when they’re stuck in a tight spot. These can at least be adjusted a bit with mods, but who wants to waste their mods on anything other than top-tier armor? The net result is gameplay that’s gone from fast-paced, fluid and fun, to something slow, limited and dull with no incentive whatsoever to make use of the game’s most enjoyable weapons and powers. If the developers truly felt that these changes were necessary to achieve a more fun and balanced Crucible, then perhaps it would have been better to just separate the Crucible from the rest of the game.