The Taken King is a big, bold expansion for an already massive sci-fi game. But like everything else in Destiny, it arrives with a few gripes. (Provided by Activision)
I had never played until late last week, and when one is writing a review of — the latest, biggest expansion of this massively popular, mythic sci-fi shooter from the makers of Halo — that puts one at a disadvantage.
Destiny is meant to be played online. Everything about it bends toward group play, whether it’s PvP matches in Destiny’s Crucible maps or team strikes and raids with friends. As such, all the players I’ve been running into or fighting alongside have had up to a year’s head start on me.
I’ve lost a lot sleep since Thursday trying to get my Guardian character (a Hunter in the Gunslinger subclass, for those of you who care) in good fighting shape, but I still only hit Level 30 with a Light level of less than 200 before I started writing this. Not bad, maybe, for the equivalent of a couple days’ work. But it’s paltry compared to the Level 40 veterans bouncing around me, sporting Legendary gear and an intimate knowledge of Destiny’s myriad, complex currency, gear and rewards.
There was another obstacle to reviewing The Taken King straight out of the box: Destiny’s game-refining updates, which monopolized my PlayStation 4 for an entire day.
When I got Destiny: The Taken King’s Legendary edition in the mail at work I figured that, being a brand new disc for my PS4 (a machine that had only ever rubbed elbows with Destiny’s 2014 demo) it would be more or less ready to play out of the box. The Taken King came out Sept. 15, about a year after the original was released, but Destiny at large has still received countless minor tweaks that have streamlined every aspect of it, much of it based on player feedback.
I quickly learned just how many.
I inserted the disc and, after a few loading and install screens, realized I couldn’t even watch the first cinematic until I downloaded an additional 17 gig update, which took about 10 hours. Plenty of veteran players might be jealous of newbies getting their first exposure to Destiny via this relatively sleek, honed version of the game. After all, Destiny players helped make it this way. And indeed, from the menus to the loading screens and overall lore, Destiny is as smart, pretty and perfectly pitched as big-budget video games come these days, with a quasi-spiritual sci-fi theme and plenty of slick voice work and design.
But damn: 10 hours?
Fortunately, my version also came with a free month’s trial of PlayStation Plus, which is required to play online, as well as the two previous major expansions of the game (The Dark Below and House of Wolves). That’s a lot of content for a first-time player. Almost too much.
Late one night, when I finally hit Level 25 and opened up Mars, Venus, the Reef and other areas, I was stunned by just how freaking huge this game is. And believe me, I love a meaty open-world sci-fi shooter. is one of my favorite games of all time, and Destiny shares more than a few things with , albeit in a far less cartoonish, arcade-style way.
But having just finished comprehensive, summer-long playthroughs of , I was looking forward to not being hopelessly addicted to another time-sucking RPG for awhile. (Not that that’s Destiny’s fault, but still).
So what can a noob say about a massive, ever-expanding game he’s only just started to explore? Not much, unless you’re looking for broad strokes. But by the time I got to The Taken King’s first few missions — which are spread across Earth, a Martian moon and other areas — I had enough of Destiny’s Old Russia, Moon and Tower missions (including bounties and Faction quests) under my belt to appreciate how The Taken King adds different gameplay elements and a satisfyingly thick, cinematic-heavy story.
Some have , namely that the arrival of his $40 download actually from longtime players if they don’t pony up for the new stuff.
I appreciate that, but I also think if you’re still actively playing Destiny at this point, you’re a wholly willing target market for this $40 expansion. Yeah, it sucks buying a brand new game so you can access everything you’ve gotten used to in the old game. But if you’re still playing Destiny a lot at this point, it’s worth it. It’s hard to imagine a hardcore devotee wouldn’t have pre-ordered The Taken King already in the last few weeks.
Destiny is a familiar friend to many gamers at this point, and the relationship will only continue to deepen as level caps, gear and gameplay elements are introduced and tweaked. The Taken King is a fine addition to Destiny’s existing content, but also a surprisingly integrated one for newcomers. I may not have hit Level 40 as quickly as I’d like to, but double-jumping around abandoned factories, dank boiler rooms, exotic space stations and the like — blasting all the while — is as satisfying and compelling to a newcomer as I imagine it must be to old hats.
That’s a neat trick for something that’s not necessarily going out of its way to snag new players, but that still welcomes them with an overwhelming amount of attractive, kinetic things to learn and do.
GAME ON SCORE: 3.5 stars
4 stars = Get On It!Ӭ
3 stars = Nice JobӬ
2 stars = Meh
Ӭ1 star = Avoid It
Ӭ0 stars = Nooooo!!!
