The invite-only alpha for Bungie's multiplayer shooter Destiny is coming to a close, with an unexpected extension today keeping it online for just a bit longer. I was able to play several hours of the alpha over its four day span, and came away with some unexpected positives and negatives.
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The main draw of Destiny seemed to be the Borderlands-style campaign, which you can play on your own or cooperatively as you progress and grow your character. The competitive multiplayer, which uses the same character from the PvE (player versus environment) portion of the game, seemed to take a back seat to the campaign prior to the alpha. Having now invested time into each mode, however, it's the competitive aspect of Destiny that seems to shine brighter.
The customization for the character you'll use in both modes is enjoyable, letting you select one of three races (a normal human, the robotic Exo and the alien Awoken), as well as three classes (Hunter, Warlock, and Titan). You can also change your appearance, and between choosing the face, hair, accessories, and colors, you can create a pretty unique (and cool-looking) character to use in both PvE and PvP (player versus player), and the bonuses and items carry over between modes.
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I ended up playing much more of the competitive multiplayer (accessed through The Crucible) during the alpha, simply because it was more enjoyable. There were only two maps in the build--a larger snowy level and a more compact map set in decaying ruins--and just a single game type, the capture-the-point mode Control.
Despite this limited offering, Bungie managed to make each match enjoyable and engaging. Even if you're struggling for kills, it's always possible to impact the game through capturing points and supporting teammates. Downing opponents isn't made too difficult, though--your arsenal from the campaign is available in PvP, allowing you to switch between which two weapons you have equipped on the fly. You can choose from a variety of rifles types or handguns in one slot, while the other is for "special weapons" such as snipers and shotguns.
Vehicles of varying power are available on the icy moon map, including the field-altering Interceptor (which the game alerts you about when it respawns due to its influence) and some lighter speed-bike style machines. You can summon a defenseless speeder at any time to move around the environment as well, which helps you navigate the larger area quickly but can leave you vulnerable.
Fighting other players at a distance comes down to making sure you keep your aim consistent (depending on your weapon), while the emphasis is on fast reflexes when up close. I ended up favoring the semi-automatic rifle type, which requires you to focus carefully on your aim, but gives you a greater range than a burst-fire or full-auto rifle. At short range, it's very satisfying to get the jump on another player with a melee attack or shotgun, or blow them away with your powerful "Super"--an ability possessed by the three classes (with a variation for each) that delivers an almost assured kill.
Slamming the ground with the Titan's Super and disintegrating an enemy makes you feel powerful, and clever if you use it strategically. Getting caught by another player's Super can leave you feeling a bit powerless, but it's hardly unfair as everyone has access.
Matches remain competitive as long as your teammates are somewhat competent (a big ask when playing online, I know), and even if your team falls behind, you're not entirely out of the running if everyone keeps at it. Scores are based on capturing and holding points, and with a concerted effort you can turn the tide alongside your teammates, even when the situaiton seems grim.
As for the PvE, there was clearly a limited amount to do in the campaign given that the current build is an alpha, but the offering was a bit of a mixed bag. Your Fireteam makes its way through levels defeating AI opponents en route to an objective, as you would in Halo and many other shooters.
The enemies almost always comes in groups or waves, which can leave you in one area for a long time. One particular sequence where my party needed to defend a room lasted longer than it should have, the game sending waves of enemies at us in overwhelming numbers three different times. It became more a tedious attempt to survive and revive one another than it was fun, and was followed up by two extremely long, dragged-out boss fights.
A mechanical spider tank boss had entirely too much health, forcing us to just chip away from a distance while doing minimal damage with scarce ammunition. It became boring, and our hearts sank when a second boss immediately following the first led to another drawn out war of attrition.
The hub world is interesting, allowing you to buy weapons and upgrades from various vendors before heading out on a mission, but stretches of the levels often came off more laborious than fun. The story unfortunately took a back seat and did not engage any more than you might expect from a shooter campaign, which fails to separate the mode from the entertaining competitive multiplayer.
Hopefully the rough campaign segments are simply balancing issues that Bungie will address, because the core gameplay (customization, character development, loot) are there for good PvE. The competitive multiplayer is fun in its current state--not a surprise from the studio that brought us Halo--and the beta should be further improved with access to more maps and game modes.
