bungie – Mana Obscura

On Tuesday 24th October, Destiny 2 finally launched on PC. One of the most anticipated releases of the year, Bungie’s platform debut became gained even more interest following an incredibly successful beta test. By all accounts, the open-world FPS performed brilliantly and looked gorgeous on a wide range of hardware.

Unfortunately, much of that goodwill came crashing down with reports of a rapid and reactionary banwave. According to a statement from Bungie, roughly 400 players had their accounts forcibly revoked after that first day, some after only playing for a few hours. The developer stated that its actions were necessary to remove those “who were using tools that pose a threat to the shared ecosystem of the game.”

I appreciate that Bungie wants to protect the integrity of its game, but there are several problems that I have with the way they carried out this action.

Continue reading “That Destiny 2 PC Banwave”

Destiny 2 is right around the corner. For console players, just a few short weeks remain before launch day. PC gamers will have to wait until late October for their turn, but the open beta this week should help soften the blow. It’s a time to check system requirements, clean out drive space, and ponder on that preorder.

And yet, Destiny 2 is not a ‘must buy’ for me. Not yet, at least. My experience of the original Destiny was a triumph of missed expectations – I’d hoped for a deep and involving storyline that took us to fantastic places, and instead we got a mediocre script and lacklustre voice acting. Once the shrink-wrap sheen wore off, it slid into the ‘some-other-time’ shelf, next to my PS4 copies of Battlefield 4 and Final Fantasy XIV.

Still, I’d keep coming back. About six months ago, I hauled the console out from under the TV and into my home office, just so I’d feel more compelled to fire it up and get some games in. I picked up the expansion pack for Destiny, which improved the experience hugely, and progressed up to level cap. There’s still more of the saga for me to complete, but I feel like I’m getting the gist of Bungie’s vision now. It’s just a shame it took so long for me to get there.

Which is why I decided to check out the Destiny 2 beta on PS4 earlier in the year, and why I’ll be trying out the PC beta later today. I much prefer using mouse and keyboard for first-person-shooters, plus I have a much bigger network of friends on Battle.net ready to play alongside. Besides, there’s a meaty Nvidia 1080Ti and 4K monitor just waiting to devour all of those glorious pixels.

Continue reading “Destiny 2: Cautious Optimism”