Lock, load, and loot – and don’t forget to bring a friend.
Bungie has built up a serious hype train for its upcoming massively multiplayer shooter-RPG hybrid Destiny, and Sony’s E3 press conference marked the first time we’ve been able to see its gameplay for ourselves. What begins as a two-man mission ends in a bombastic skirmish with dozens of players who drop in to help take down a towering… well, I’m getting ahead of myself. Take a look at the video for yourself if you want to see what the Bungie chefs have been cooking.
The early segments taste strongly of Borderlands, as the two players leading the demo take on several aliens in a futuristic factory before comparing loot from the mission’s end boss. It’s hard to say where the balance lies between shooter and MMORPG here, but the combat looks suitably visceral and the gear/skills screen appeared to have some respectable depth. The teamwork takes the cake, though – the players in the demo stumble onto a “public event” and soon find themselves joining a handful of other player-controlled fireteams in a difficult group quest. Given the quality of the moment-to-moment shooting, it’s almost surprising to be reminded that this really is an MMO.
A follow-up story trailer makes it clear that all this combat won’t be meaningless, and the context looks interesting – for an MMO, if nothing else. Sony also mentioned a “long-term exclusive partnership” with Bungie and Activision, so expect the PlayStation versions to receive some additional content when Destiny launches on PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One (and possibly PC).
