For me, the original Destiny had enjoyable gameplay and looting but missed story elements that would have made the game special but Destiny 2 promises more depth in every aspect of the game.
First, let’s get some of the technical stuff out of the way – I played on the PC with keyboard and mouse. The game was in Pre-Alpha form and so even if I could tell whether or not it was running at 60fps or not, I couldn’t trust this build to give you the scoop anyway. What I can tell you is that the textures appeared rich and more importantly than that, the shooting was tight. I’m not even close to the greatest FPS player in the world and I felt like I was powerful. It was easy to pick up the guns and know exactly what they were for. The gun on the ‘1’ key was light and was rapid fire. It was for lightly-armored enemies or those up close. The gun on ‘2’ was for medium range combatants who had a little armor and a flamethrower I was not going near. The ‘3’ was a sniper rifle. That was to remove heads. Considering I was playing less than 10 minutes and that was immediately apparent should give you an indication as to how these guns felt in the game.
Second, let’s talk about how it felt to be strolling through the beginning of this game. This demo wasn’t about narrative at all, it was about getting you directly into a heart-pulsing non-stop thrill ride. It did not disappoint. First, you fend off waves of enemies giving you time to understand your guns and using grenades. Then, there was a bit of corridor shooting; followed by a gallery. While I liked these small tastes, I wasn’t hooked until this “elite-type” soldier jetpacked into the air and rained missiles down on me. I moved from cover to cover, taking down the remaining soldiers while he moved around through the sky firing a barrage of missiles. Finally, after taking a couple shots, he landed behind a wall, protected by some minions. I turned the corner, took down one minion, then a second, then a third and finally bolted for the elite and unleashed my special – a huge golden sword that annihilated him. I felt so powerful. That is exactly how a game like Destiny 2 should make me feel.
Destiny 2 Preview Final Thoughts:
Overall, I thought the tight shooting and more intrinsic rewards I felt while playing Destiny 2 has piqued my interest once again. I still think releasing it on Blizzard’s Battlenet Launcher is extremely smart and will bring the ‘PC Master Race’ to the yard, per se. On Xbox One and PlayStation 4 consoles, the built-in community will already do that for them. Coming out sooner than you think – September 6th (on consoles, PC will be later) – I think this is one you may want to keep your eyes on this one.