Lots of people are super stoked about this one. Friends have been asking me daily, “Have you preordered yet?” Just about everyone I know was salivating for the release of Destiny’s beta. Honestly, I wasn’t giving it much thought. MMO’s aren’t really my favorite thing in the world. They feel invasive to me & cluttered. The marketing campaign was massive. Leaks and rumors about the outrageous amount of money that was spent to produce this game were enough to make me do a double take. When the hubbub is as large as that, I usually shy away a bit, simply because I am normally pulled in the direction of the unpopular & unexplored. I tend to be a nerd that way. (No offense to any nerds that may be reading this. I embrace my inner nerd wholeheartedly. A large majority of my friends are nerds or geeks on some level & I love them all the bestest & the mostest.) Needless to say, I was skeptical. But a friend gave me a code so I gave the beta a try.

Immediately, I was impressed by the amazing graphics. Activision has been in my gaming vocabulary since the Atari days. Bungie has become a household name as well. This, in my opinion, is the most aesthetically appealing game I’ve encountered to date from either brand. As with most MMO’s, your first assignment is to design your character. Choose everything from your class, race, gender right down to the angle of your jaw and the color of your eyes. I personally get too absorbed with this amount of creative flexibility. It usually takes me no less than an hour to hone my avatar to my satisfaction.

In the world of Destiny, you are a space traveler, a Guardian, in a futuristic environment, in a time where the planets and moons have become inhabitable until, of course, conflict and invasion of aliens becomes an issue. You run around space alone or with a group of up to two other players completing missions and solving tasks in the usual way, with crazy, upgradable guns of all shapes, sizes and calibers and with grenades of all varieties. And let’s not forget special powers…It is great multiplayer fun!

The Tower is the social meeting place on the game. This is where you can store your loot in the vault, check your mail, get orders, buy weapons and supplies, get a new jet bike or spaceship, pick up bounties and have encrypted goodies decoded. It is also where you will see other live players hanging out and goofing off. Sitting in trees or high on overhangs, you get a great view of this world. It is stunning! Avatars also have the ability to wave, dance, sit and point, so there is a lot of ass shaking and rug cutting going down at the Tower. It is definitely my favorite area of the beta and perhaps the full game. We shall see once I experience that.

The Crucible is the PvP area of the game. (Six on Six) Matchmaking seems very off balanced but I do not know of any PvP who has perfected that. Playing in the Crucible is both fun & infuriating but mostly fun. Hopefully, the hackers won’t be able to mod this one & perhaps the matchmaking will be a bit more precise & timely when the game releases.

All in all, it will be a great game to have in the library. I miss the beta already & I look forward to exploring the full game. It will definitely help to satisfy the shooter in me as well as my multiplayer desires. I foresee many hours of Destiny with my friends. My pre-order has already been placed.