The European Dead Zone is Born to Keep Destiny 2 Alive
Destiny nailed its gameplay mechanics perfectly out of the gate and those carry beautifully into Destiny 2. Aiming and shooting feel fantastic, while platforming has been tightened up with Guardians now able to clamber over ledges. Jumping is still a little floaty, but the clambering should help players avoid some unnecessary deaths.
For example, in the EDZ, one Adventure features the Taken taking up residence deep in the forest. At first, the mission is simply about pushing forward and clearing away all hostiles. Following some speculation by Ghost about why the Taken are here, players face off against a Taken Cabal boss who remains shielded as long as grunts are running about. Take care of them, and the boss becomes vulnerable until more grunts spawn.
Energy weapons take the second category and have a burn type associated with it. Replenished with green ammo, these weapons fire either Solar, Arc, or Void Damage. These firearms can be Auto Rifles, Scout Rifles, Pulse Rifles, Handguns, Revolvers and Submachine guns. Energy weapons are best used to take down enemy shields.
Oh, patrols return in Destiny 2. The blinking green beacons are littered throughout the EDZ, and the missions they dole out haven’t changed from the first game. Kill a certain amount of enemies to collect materials, kill a captain, scan an area, etc. Patrols are still meaningless busy work, but you do get some rewards for completing them.
Curse of Osiris’ plot can be beaten in two hours and is filled with so much repetition and so little exposition. Osiris, who is the character this DLC is about, only shows up in the flesh for a minute at the very end. The main villain is just an ominous robot who shows up and then is defeated through a quick-time event. To understand how lazy this story is, look no further than the ‘Deep Storage’ mission, which is just a re-purposed ‘Pyramidion’ strike. The campaign does hold one bright spot; Sagira, Osiris’ ghost. Voiced by Morena Baccarn (Firefly, Gotham), Sagira briefly becomes your companion during a large portion of the campaign and is a real delight. Charming and well-written, it’s disappointing when she does finally leave. Nolan North’s performance as Ghost has declined in quality over the years, and it would have been great if players got the option to choose who they wanted as their companion.
Once upon a time, Bungie justified microtransactions by saying that all future, non-major expansions would be free. They held that promise throughout the lifespan of The Taken King and Rise of Iron, but have since broken it. Not only do we have to pay for expansions again, but most of the loot that could previously be earned during Destiny’s lifecycle is also all locked behind microtransactions. Every ship, sparrow, cool shader, ornament, and emote can’t be obtained by completing challenges in-game, but only by opening Loot Boxes. Considering that Bungie was just caught handicapping XP gains to encourage real-money purchases, this move feels entirely wrong.
The most significant aspect of Destiny 2’s campaign is that it has an actual campaign. After Destiny and Rise of Iron’s cookie-cutter missions, it’s nice to have something with more variety and substance than «bad guy over there, go kill it.» That’s not saying Bolt Charge Destiny 2 2’s campaign is anything deep. Characters jump in and out of the campaign quickly as the story moves you from world-to-world. While the quick pacing keeps things moving, it never slows down enough to create any connections between the player and the world. Worst yet is the player’s Guardian who, in Destiny 2, is relegated to a silent protagonist. Ghost ends up speaking the entire time for the player and comes off as annoying. The current set up with the Ghost quickly becomes grating, and even more annoying when other characters point out your silence. This was purposefully done so that players can become invested in their Guardian, but in execution comes off as cartoonish.
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.
In Destiny 2, the story kicks off with tragedy. Dominus Ghaul, the leader of the Cabal Empire’s Red Legion, has unleashed his might on the Last City. Destroying the Tower and crippling all Guardians, Ghaul seeks to capture the power of the Traveler. In his mind, the Traveler has made a mistake by granting the power of Light to humanity, and he seeks to take it for himself.
Competitive multiplayer returns in the form of Crucible, which has gone through extensive tweaks. Gone are the 6v6 matches, replaced with 4v4 matches. While this is a curious choice, the player count works rather well in-game. All multiplayer maps have been designed with this number in mind and it’s easy to find firefights. Playing Crucible is also more rewarding with loot generously dropped and Crucible Reputation tokens after each match.
