Successfully blending two distinct game genres is not an easy task, especially when one of the two genres is an MMO. Destiny, at least how it stands as an initial product, does a very good job of offering both snappy, rewarding FPS combat, and the ever addictive MMO cycle of leveling up and equipping better gear. To simply label Destiny as "Halo meets Borderlands" would be incorrect, as Destiny has a lot more in common with something like say, World of Warcraft. So far I've reached level 10 in Destiny, half way to the "soft level cap", and it only took one day. This may seem fairly worrying for a full-priced game, but I remain confident that there will be enough to do once I reach the cap. From what I can tell, at level 20 Destiny becomes focussed on Legendary and Exotic items, as opposed to a purely XP grind. The story missions are where I'm spending the bulk of my time currently, while occasionally dipping my toes into The Crucible (Destiny's PvP) and Strikes (Harder Co-op missions with larger bosses than the Story missions). The story missions are basically the same formula repeated over and over, go to a point, send your small robot-orb (called a "ghost") to examine something, then either defend the point, or move on to fight a wave of enemies. This level design is very MMO-like, in that it emphasizes getting XP and loot, over actual story progression. The story in Destiny is truly piss-poor, but this didn't bother me a whole lot because I rarely care about the story in a game, especially an MMO. The story seems fairly simple on the surface, with a copy-and-paste light versus dark rivalry, but is convoluted when new races are introduced and it isn't even remotely clear what the player's role is. But I didn't really care because the core gameplay of Destiny is phenomenal. Taking out enemies with a variety of weapons never got old, even after playing all day when I got the game. This rock-solid foundation is what makes Destiny so damn addictive, and combined with a slow, but still enticing loot system, you have a game which stays on the mind even when you're not playing. Even though Destiny has numerous, fairly obvious issues, like the repetitive mission design and boring story, the gameplay carries the experience at every turn. Also, since many of the flaws are characteristic of many other MMOs, they are somewhat forgivable.

I also played a few matches of The Crucible, the competitive segment of Destiny. While I enjoyed these matches, competitive multiplayer has never really been my thing, so I doubt I'l be going back to it for any other reason then to complete bounties (goals acquired from an NPC in the game's hub). The matches are fast paced and fun, but the amount of ways in which players can be killed in one hit are slightly frustrating. Strikes on the other hand I found much more enjoyable. These are longer missions which must be completed with a 3 person team, and culminate in a few difficult boss fights. Unfortunately these bosses normally amount to nothing more than bullet sponges, but there are some fairly basic strategies which keep the fights from growing dull. Bungie can always introduce new boss designs as the game ages, and I sincerely hope they look into this. I matched up with strangers for the Strikes, which turned out to be enjoyable, even if we weren't actively conversing. Not much strategy is needed for these encounters, at least not at this stage of the game, so matching up with strangers isn't detrimental to the experience.

But perhaps the biggest flaw of Destiny as of this writing is there isn't enough content. Sure, what is here is meant to be repeatable, but after playing the game for around 7 hours I've already visited all locations on Earth and The Moon. From what I've heard, there are only two more planets to discover, and this seems fairly worrying. Sure, I will be revisiting areas and completing new Strikes and missions, but as it stands, the world of Destiny seems fairly small. Of course, only time will tell how Bungie expands upon the game, and I for one am very excited to see how the expansions play out. Currently, Destiny's foundation (while extremely solid from a gameplay standpoint) seems tiny from a landmass standpoint. That being said I can't wait to jump back in and journey towards the level cap.