Destiny 2 Microtransactions: Destined for a Resurgance?

During an earnings call, Activision determined that within the last quarter sales for Destiny 2: Forsaken have not lived up to expectations. The game had been heavily promoted and was even offered as a free title for PC gamers (available until November 18, 2018). It was also made available to PlayStation Plus subscribers as part of the free games line-up for the month of September. Nonetheless, the game has been under-performing in terms of player engagement as well as market performance.

During the call itself, Activision COO Coddy Johnson stated that “Some of our other franchises like Destiny are not performing as well as we’d like...” This could be a result of the core fanbase from Destiny 1 being deterred from purchasing the sequel and subsequent expansions because of poor business practices in the past which are just now starting to show repercussions. He seems to affirm this theory as he continues claiming "We have not yet seen the full core re-engage in Destiny, which has led to the under-performance against expectations to date. Some players are in 'wait and see' mode. If you're in, you're deeply engaged. If not, we think now's the time to bring players back."

Some players and critics alike believe that Exo Cayde-6's death in the overarching storyline however, may now have proven to be a critically severe tactical error from a business standpoint. As the only character with significant personality, acting as comedic relief, the tone of the franchise has perhaps become forever marred in an edgier, grittier manner. As such, it may be that players (such as myself) have lost interest and immersion considering that the character has survived the "Red War" of the main base game, only to fall victim to Prince Uldren and his Skorn underlings immediately afterwards. This may have deterred current players from purchasing the latest DLC in a denial of cycle sort of way. By not purchasing Destiny 2's Forsaken, Cayde-6 still "lives", albeit metaphysically.

Cayde-6

Unfortunately, what this means for Activision's long-term plan is that they intend to have future content released more frequently, and most egregiously, ramp up the monetization for the game. This most definitely is NOT a strategy that will be met with welcome arms from their players as it was clearly evident with the introduction of Eververse's costly "pay-to-acquire" exclusive items.

One potential monetization alternative would be a subscription fee on top of the $60 fee for the base game and the $40 fee for the expansion packs. However, I would suggest perhaps customizeable reticles (perhaps with clan tags as a feature?) or possibly adding "bases" where players could customize furnishings and hang out with other members of their group? There are less aggressive and invasive means of increasing revenue and player engagement.

Personally, I want to know more about guardians themselves. What do they do in their free time when they are not protecting the last city from enemies of the Traveler? What do they do for amusement that doesn't involve guns? Can they even reproduce considering that they were dead and then resurrected? What effects of resurrection on the anatomy does this have? Do guardians need to eat too? During a strike mission, the Ghost casually alludes to the fact that guardians are immune to Tetanus when entering a rusted water purification plant teeming with Taken spawn. Clearly, Bungie and Activision have room to ponder these aspects of their eververse-expanding world. Given enough time, they can create content that would make the game far more enticing to hardcore and casual players.

My greatest complaint with Bungie and Activision is the constant lack of transparency as well as a distinct habit of miscommunication of goals and ideals. There have been some gross violations of player trust such as when there was an Experience Level scaling issue for hardcore grinding players. Bungie & Activision have managed to shoot themselves in the foot time and time again by not communicating clearly and effectively with their fan base and it always reflects in their revenue. It's a hard lesson to learn, but a very necessary one to abide by. Treat your customers with respect and integrity, do not shortchange them, and listen heavily to feedback (both constructive and negative).

Works Cited
 

Schreier, Jason. “Activision Says It's Not Happy With Destiny's Sales.” Kotaku, Kotaku.com, 8 Nov. 2018, kotaku.com/activision-says-its-not-happy-with-destinys-sales-1830322804?utm_source=Kotaku_Twitter&utm_campaign=Socialflow_Kotaku_Twitter&utm_medium=Socialflow.

Usher, William. “Apparently, Destiny 2 Has Been A Disappointment For Activision.” CINEMABLEND, CINEMABLEND, 9 Nov. 2018, www.cinemablend.com/games/2461140/apparently-destiny-2-has-been-a-disappointment-for-activision?fbclid=IwAR2dJVpFdJ2kFvhtA2Dzz4T7T-UQulrXE2_Fenx-5usyUYfMbw2n6XEHVsk.

Wood, Austin. “Destiny 2 Director Assures Players Bungie Is.” GamesRadar, GamesRadar The Games, Movies and TV You Love, 10 Nov. 2018, www.gamesradar.com/destiny-2-director-assures-players-bungie-is-not-disappointed-with-forsaken-despite-activisions-sales-concerns/?utm_content=bufferc8f1a&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&utm_campaign=buffer_grfb.

Opinion Piece - My Destiny 2 Review

Well, folks, I caved. I figured it would happen, but what can I say? I enjoy my first person shooters (as long as they have elements of customization). I picked up my copy of the game through Amazon for $51.83 (Savings of $11.97 compared to the MSRP of $59.96). At least I didn't pay full price. I know I'll have to hop on the DLC Expansion bandwagon soon enough, but I feel as though any and all delay in payments towards that inevitability are a boon. Spoilers may follow.

In Destiny 2, the last safe city on Earth has fallen and lays in ruins, occupied by a powerful new enemy, named Dominus Ghaul and his elite army, the Red Legion.  Guardians are being attacked mercilessly after losing their connection to the Light and thus, by extension, the Traveler. Without their powers, they can no longer resurrect after death, leading to a whole new wave of Guardian genocide by the hands of the Cabal.

I'd say that the overall campaign is quite short, clocking in at roughly 10-12 hours of gameplay per character. The final encounter ends up being a bit counter-intuitive as some of your super abilities restrict you from actually being able to hit Ghaul effectively while he is mid-air (depending upon your class and subclass). It can be a bit frustrating as it's almost mandatory that you have a projectile-based ability, especially considering that the game provides you with near infinite super meter refills. You can still shoot him as per usual with your gun, but when the game itself offers you a chance to rain vengeance in a near limitless fashion with your ultimate ability, you'll definitely want to partake.

If the original Destiny was a 6.5-7.0/10.0, this game is probably a 7.5-8.0/10.0 on my grading scale.

Those players who were turned off by the original's lackluster storyline and numerous plotholes may find enjoyment jumping back into the franchise now as the plot feels much more in depth and emotionally compelling. The exploration of the game's overworld was at times, forced due to the lack of the ability to use your Sparrow (a speeder reminiscent of those used by Stormtroopers in Star Wars) until after completing the campaign. (Oddly enough, sparrow horns seem to be largely absent from this game...)

However, this restriction allows for players to appreciate their surroundings and perhaps wander into an unexplored cavern to discover a "Lost Sector" of the map. These are often cavernous expanses with numerous enemies and a Loot Cache that can only be opened with a "Key Code" that is usually in a powerful enemies' inventory. By defeating the Fallen Captain (or equivalent) players can claim the treasure inside.

Unfortunately, there are no new character classes in Destiny 2 nor are there any new enemy types (beyond the War Beasts that the Red Legion have in their armada), yet, there are some changes to the existing character subclasses.

My Exo Warlock named "F33db4ck"

The Hunter's Bladedancer Subclass has now been replaced with the Arcstrider which summons an Arc-empowered staff that can be used for extreme close-quarters melee combat. Unfortunately, it means the loss of the invisibility powers associated with the previous type.

The Sentinel Subclass replaces the Void Defender Subclass from the original game. It's still able to utilize the Ward Of Dawn ability, but only with the "Code of the Protector" Skill Tree/Perk Set. The Super Ability allows for Titans to use a shield as a projectile similar to "Captain America" from the unrelated Marvel Comics Universe.

Finally, the Solar-based Dawnblade Subclass has now replaced the Sunsinger Subclass. Unfortunately, this replacement comes at the price of being able to self-resurrect after being killed. However, Warlocks can now weave Solar Light into blades and smite foes from the skies.

At this time, players can not choose what Heroic Strikes they wish to partake in, nor can they choose a Strike's difficulty level (i.e. Easy, Medium, or Hard). There is however, a Prestige Level for Raids and Strikes, the latter of which has a recommended light level of 300. Everything has being orchestrated into two playlists per category: Strikes or Nightfalls in the one and in the Crucible, it's either Quick Play or Competitive Mode (Trials of the Nine is only available during the weekends). The missions are selected randomly for the Strikes and the Nightfalls change weekly.

Nightfall missions themselves have gone through a change as well. In Destiny's first year, the fireteam would be kicked back to orbit the moment everyone died, and they would have to restart the entire mission from scratch. However, that restriction was inevitably removed in Destiny's second or third year. Now, in Destiny 2, the restriction is that the Nightfall missions are on a countdown timer and must be completed within the limit or the party is returned to orbit to start anew. This can be a bit frustrating for players if the mission itself is particularly difficult. There is some respite though in that nearly every week there is a new objective that might allow participants to extend the time as it depletes. In some instances, it may be leaping through Vex Temporal Rings, in others it may be a requirement to shoot blue Vex Oracles (light blue boxes). Each success adds an additional 30 seconds to the clock and every second counts (especially for the boss fights at the end!). However, there are often modifiers present that can help or hinder fireteams, depending on what is generated.

Also, all of the multiplayer modes (except for the Raid and Strikes) are in in a 4v4 setup. It is no longer 6v6. This makes combat against other players a more "tactical" affair. On the one hand, this can be less of a mad chaotic clash, but on the other, it means that stages may feel too large or too small comparatively. It completely changes the pacing of the competitive scene especially considering that grenades and shoulder charges don’t always kill in one hit. Each match may feel a bit sluggish compared to the fast paced action of the original. Also worth mentioning is that in these game modes, power ammo can only be acquired by ONE team member each time it spawns, so you have to make each use count and designate an appropriate player. This can lead to more clear-cut clutch moments and perhaps a fewer cheap deaths. But it also may mean that one guy on your team with terrible aim ends up hogging all of the power weapon ammunition.

My favorite Hunter Helmet, the Celestial Nighthawk

Public Events now appear on the overworld map with countdown timers and quite a few players will join up to participate, but only through certain actions will the public event transition to a Heroic Public Event, which includes better rewards. These are usually more challenging to initiate, and unfortunately a bit more difficult to coordinate. While these occurrences happen often and are a welcome addition, they leave little in the means of variety, especially on the smaller planets. This means that if you're on the moon Titan, for instance, you're going to get really tired of seeing the same Fallen Walker (Spider Tank) three to four times in the last hour, despite needing to do several public events for a weekly Flashpoint challenge. Granted, there is an alternative public event featuring the Hive, but there isn't much variation to cycle through.

As for the cutscenes, some really terrific work has been performed. The voice lines are great and Nathan Fillion's performances as Cayde-6 are always a treat. There are a few quips and jabs at his character along with some more depth to Ikora Rey (portrayed by Gina Torres) and Commander Zavala's (played by Lance Reddick) personalities. Whereas the Awoken Titan is unwavering in his plan to assault Ghaul, we see a Human Warlock distraught, and rife with self-loathing to the point of nearly giving up hope.

Another improvement is that the time spent bouncing in and out of orbit has been drastically cut. You can travel directly to any planet you want to from the main HUD. It's still a nuisance that the loading screen is your ship traversing the cosmos without you being able to interact with it in any way, shape, or form, from orbit, but the duration of such has been significantly reduced at the very least.

Trading weaponry, gear, or shaders is still not possible in this latest iteration, which to some may be a bit of an annoyance. Especially since now that Bungie has decided to make shaders a single-use consumable resource. Shaders are cosmetic items that can be applied to armor to give it a color scheme that’s different from its original look. You can now customize individual pieces of armor, guns, or your ships with unique and colorful shaders, however, if you use that shader, it's gone for good, even if you dismantle the equipment you have attached it to. This is further complicated by the rarity of certain shaders and the fact that Tess Everis, the Eververse Trading Co. vendor, requires players to spend "Bright Dust" in order to purchase the more lucrative and legendary ones. This is occasionally obtained when opening a bright engram, or dismantling sparrows, Ghost shells, et cetera, but for the most part, Guardian Players will be acquiring Bright Dust by purchasing Silver with actual money. (I actually earned 1,300 units of bright dust from a Bright Engram. I'm debating what I should use the funds for...) She does provide additional (mostly cosmetic) items for our real world currency in the form of bundles, but the drops are always random. These purchases are known as microtransactions and are typically viewed in a negative light by most gamers as a poor business practice.

Players used to buy shaders from the vendor Eva Levante with an abundant, in-game currency called Glimmer, hence the outrage. The pivotal component of how shaders worked in the original Destiny was that they were permanent items. Once you unlocked a shader, it was tied to your account forever. Your entire shader collection was available for browsing via in-game kiosks, and your character could hold up to nine of them at once. There was only one major gripe that Destiny players had with shaders: They were an all-or-nothing style choice. When you put one on, the shader's color scheme was applied to your entire set of armor not individual pieces.

Granted, there is a new system in place with bright engrams every time you hit the level cap past 20, allowing Guardians to acquire some of these accessories freely, but it still forces players to make frequent trips to Tess Everis' kiosk. This is perhaps an attempt to entice someone to make an actual purchase. It's most likely, a psychological marketing tactic. This could be the "Foot-in-the-Door Method" at work.

Disappointingly, Destiny 2 doesn’t take the time to explain how its upgrade and infusion systems work. Mods can be a bit confusing at first glance and they eventually become a critical addition to gear later on. A missed opportunity for insightful exposition to be sure.

World activities, PvP, and Leviathan all have different group size requirements, meaning you’re often a person short for some activities or forced to abandon a team member when transitioning from a four-player Crucible PvP match into a three-man team activity like a Strike. This is a glaring issue.

The new Clan system in Destiny 2 does a great job of giving people a reason to stick together and rewards players for every milestone they achieve.

I think that the biggest saving grace of Destiny 2 is the feature called Guided Games (currently in beta) that allows experienced teams to queue into a lobby that brings along a new player which permits clans to teach players how to participate in say, a Nightfall Strike or the Leviathan Raid. Conversely, as a Clan or group, this is a suitable method of recruitment if the player in question is agreeable and skilled. The Guided Games option requires player to not only have a microphone, but it demands an agreement to a series of guidelines for acceptable conduct. If the agreement isn't accepted within sixty seconds, the player must start the waiting process all over again. It's a standard affair and the rules are determined by Bungie, but it can be a slight nuisance if you forget to select the "Accept" option while waiting (up to four minutes or longer) in queue. Raid wait times have been even longer at roughly 45 minutes+. This is absurd and most players are better off using the past method of trying an LFG page.

I myself have yet to participate in the Leviathan Raid at the time of this review, however, testimony from my closest friends and colleagues has revealed that it is quite a challenge, both mechanically, and mentally. Fireteams will have to be well co-ordinated in order to meet and exceed Bungie's high standard of puzzles and intense boss battles.

I haven't had the opportunity to play Trials of the Nine either, Destiny 2's answer to the previous Trials of Osiris but the current meta of the game thus far essentially demands the use of the MIDA Multi-Tool Scout Rifle. It has become the leading gun in competitive multi-player and Bungie has released an official statement claiming that it is working as intended and that there are counters to that weapon, but many argue that it gives an unfair advantage despite being fairly easy to acquire.

I myself utilize auto-rifles primarily (I hate burst fire because you have to repetitively click the trigger button. I prefer to press and hold.) and thus, I probably will not be utilizing the gun once obtained. I do enjoy my precision shots, but I specialize with sniper rifles. Plus, with an auto rifle, you have a higher rate of fire, and more hit markers (which helps the lag compensation).

Overall, the game feels like two steps forward, one step back. The series has potential, but it's never fully realized. There is always something that bogs down this game's level of enjoyment for me. It's usually something that could be easily fixed and that just serves to frustrate or confound me even more. With the Guided Games, it's certainly an improvement from using third party websites to organize a fireteam, but regular matchmaking would still be better considering the obnoxiously long waiting times.

Letter Grade: B- or C+

Replayability: Fairly high, despite some repetitiveness and monotony

Score: 7.5-8.0/10.0 (I'm leaning more towards 7.5)

Edit: So, I've managed to try both Trials of the Nine and the Leviathan Raid since this post was initially written. I've tried nearly every aspect of the Raid and completed it. It's not too difficult if everyone is oriented with where enemies spawn and what actions to take with regards to when. I have now completed the Platinum Trophy for Destiny 2. As for the Trials of the Nine, I haven't gone flawless, but with one victory, you can travel to see the Emissary of the Nine, thereby unlocking that trophy as well. PvP has unfortunately, devolved into the current Meta of needing to possess either the MIDA Multi-Tool or the Hard Light exotic Auto Rifle in order to succeed. The former aiding in movement, the latter aiding via ricocheting energy bullets in closed quarters. It's unfortunate that there is little variation amongst players outside of those two weapons. In light of this, my opinion of the game remains to be relatively neutral. It's a step in the right direction on one hand, and fundamentally flawed in the other. Time will tell if players have been swindled or not when the next DLC is announced and we get to see what is offered or what was cut from the initial launch.

Destiny 2 - New Legends Will Rise

After several months of speculation, Destiny 2 has finally had an official trailer. Unfortunately, not one scene of which actually included any gameplay footage. Destiny has captivated a devoted gamer fan-base since it first launched on September 9, 2014.

In the teaser trailer titled "Last Call", Cayde-6 (portrayed by none other than Nathan Fillion) recounts the events that transpired leading to the fall of the Vanguard's Hall of Guardians while presumably taking some "creative liberties" on his heroic performance whilst defending himself as well as his comrades Ikora Rey and Commander Zavala.

In the featured trailer, he makes an attempt at rallying the various Guardians spread throughout the ruins of what was once the Tower or the last city on Earth. Comically however, his motivational speech is not nearly as impressive as Commander Zavala's but with the promise of "loot", the Guardians in his midst are rearing to take on the Cabal who had the "Ghaul" to invade and destroy the Vaults containing the Guardians' arsenals (pun intended).

The official description of the reveal trailer reads as follows:

"Humanity’s last safe city has fallen to an overwhelming invasion force led by Ghaul, the imposing commander of the brutal Red Legion. He has stripped the city’s Guardians of their power, and forced the survivors to flee. You will venture to mysterious, unexplored worlds of our solar system to discover an arsenal of weapons and devastating new combat abilities. To defeat the Red Legion and confront Ghaul, you must reunite humanity’s scattered heroes, stand together, and fight back to reclaim our home."

More info is said to come via a future livestream on May 18th, 2017. Players who pre-order will be the first to obtain BETA access to the game, but there will be an Open BETA at a later date.

My Thoughts

My expectations for this game are at an all time low because I'm skeptical (and cynical) that the plot of this sequel will have any real substance.

In addition, knowing that Bungie had DLC expansions, I can at least somewhat predict that the same pattern will occur once again. As such, I suspect that Season Pass will be offered. Let's recap on when the original game released its downloadable content:

1.) The Dark Below released on December 9, 2014
(91 days from the time of the launch of Destiny or approximately 3 months).

2.) House of Wolves released on May 19, 2015
(252 days from the date of the launch of Destiny or 8 months, 10 days).

(161 days from the date of the release of The Dark Below Expansion or 5 months, 10 days)

3.) The Taken King released on September 15, 2015
(371 days from the date of the launch of Destiny or 1 year, 6 days).
(119 days from the date of the release of the House of Wolves Expansion or 3 months, 27 days).

4.) The Rise of Iron released on September 20, 2016 

(742 days from the date of the launch of Destiny or 2 years, 11 days)
(371 days from the  date of the release of The Taken King Expansion or 1 year, 5 days)

So we have a rough idea of how spread apart the expansions were for the first title. Does this mean that Destiny 2 will follow the same trend? Not necessarily, but at least it's a starting point. On average, each expansion comes out somewhere between 3-5 months apart from one another (with exceptions regarding the last one).

Crashing the Party: Crash Bandicoot: N.Sane Trilogy's First Trailer At PlayStation Experience 2016

Activision has recently revealed a new trailer for Crash Bandicoot: N. Sane Trilogy, the upcoming remake of the first three Crash Bandicoot titles, at PlayStation Experience 2016.

Some of the improvements to the original games include a unified checkpointing & save game system. (This includes manual and auto-saving.) Also featured is an additional unified menu system, as well as Time Trials in all three games!

Arguably most impressive is the inclusion of a “fully-remastered game soundtrack, packed with all the didgeridoos, xylophones and thumpin’ bass lines you can handle, as well as newly recorded dialogue from some of the familiar voice actors who appear in the original Crash Bandicoot games, including Jess Harnell and Lex Lang, among others.”

It's been 20 years (two decades!) since the original Crash Bandicoot was released on the PlayStation One console (September 9, 1996). I look forward to getting my hands on this collection as soon as possible, if only for nostalgia's sake.

Works Cited:

S. (2016, December 03). Crash Bandicoot: N.Sane Trilogy Gets Its First Trailer At PlayStation Experience 2016 - Siliconera. Retrieved December 04, 2016, from http://www.siliconera.com/2016/12/03/crash-bandicoot-n-sane-trilogy-gets-its-first-trailer-at-playstation-experience-2016/

Gach, E. (2016, December 03). New Details On The Crash Bandicoot Trilogy Remaster. Retrieved December 04, 2016, from http://kotaku.com/new-details-on-the-crash-bandicoot-trilogy-remaster-1789644491 

Destiny: Rise of Iron - It is Time to Be Reforged?

The new expansion for Destiny has officially been revealed, making it the first big addition to Destiny since The Taken King, and it's only going to be available for the Xbox One and PlayStation 4. That puts Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 Destiny players in a rather difficult situation: To upgrade, or not to upgrade?, that is the question.

Players will still be able to play Destiny (at least, for the foreseeable future) on last-gen consoles (PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360), but no additionally new content will be made available for those particular versions of the game. The various players' characters on last-generation consoles will carry over to the current-gen versions of the game so long as those players are upgrading within the same console family (So, if a player decides to upgrade from the PlayStation 3 to a PlayStation 4 for example, their save-file data will resume from where they last left off. However, moving from say an Xbox 360 to a PlayStation 4 account will not work).

When the month of August arrives however, character progress on last-gen and current-gen consoles will also become entirely separate entities, meaning any progress made after August on last-gen versions of the game will not be carried over to the current-gen version of the game. So, unfortunately, this means that there is a deadline for player to make their decisions.

Asking fans of the game to spend hundreds of dollars on a new console and to re-purchase Destiny (and thus, all of the expansions) in order to continue playing, is an extremely bitter pill for many consumers to swallow. (I'm fortunate enough to have begun my journey on the PlayStation 4 thereby circumventing all of this frustration.) Fortunately, Bungie and Activision claim that they are attempting to work out some kind of program to make the transition a bit smoother.

“We are exploring potential options for players to upgrade Destiny from last-gen to next-gen and will have more to say about that with our hardware partners soon...” an official statement from Bungie reads. Perhaps we will know more during their E3 2016 presentation.



As for the expansion itself, titled Destiny: Rise Of Iron, there will be a brand-new playable area known as "the Plaguelands", which encompasses a devastated and dangerous part of what used to be Russia. Players will be introduced to a new breed of mutated Fallen.

Perhaps one of the saving graces about this new DLC is that the beloved Gjallarhorn rocket launcher is becoming a viable weapon once more. This time, it will reemerge with a new black and silver motif. The Twitch reveal stream promised new weapons and armor (a staple for any expansion at this point) a new campaign, new patrol areas, new social spaces, new PvP content, and a whole new raid.

However, all of this just means more of the same in a sense...more monotonous grinding on the same chapters of the story, more of the same weekly strikes and nightfall challenges repeated in a vicious cycle, and "new" raid rewards that are not worth the hours spent constantly fighting against the same enemies, in the same pattern.

The only aspect worth mentioning is the potential narrative this expansion could bring forth. I would prefer quality storytelling and plot-driven dialogue to any of the recently announced gameplay elements.

With Destiny 2, rumored to be released in the Fall of 2017, one has to ask whether or not it is truly worthwhile to partake in this expansion at all.

CRITIQUE

As for myself, I've had a very tiresome, love/hate relationship with Destiny.

Pros:

• Cayde-6 is voiced by Nathan Fillion.

• It's a well made shooter, but rather poor MMORPG because our customized characters have severely limited options, no options for dialogue, and no questioning of their initial revival. (What killed our guardians in the first place? How long were they dead? How are Guardians brought back to life? What causes perma-death?)

• Each gun managed to feel unique, with different recoil, spray, and design attributes.

• Boss battles seem to be rather epic in scale and ferocity making their defeat that much more entertaining.

Cons (Oh boy there are a lot of them...):

• The single greatest weakness of the original "vanilla" version of Destiny was its failure to use and adequately communicate the game's surprisingly extensive lore, unfortunately delegating all of the amazing character backstories and weapon analysis to trading cards that were only accessible online via Bungie's website. This was slightly improved with The Taken King's cinematics, but not enough to fully immerse players (and thereby restoring all of those that bought their initial copies to active engagement).

• The game has no matchmaking for raids whatsoever so unless you have six friends that can consistently play online, on a regular basis, coordinating responsibilities effectively, you'll be missing out on opportunities to earn the higher level and exotic gear only available through those raids, which often take several hours and do not guarantee anything worthwhile, ever. In addition, your progress resets every Tuesday rendering even the tiniest checkpoint uneventful. What I can't grasp is why Bungie refuses to include matchmaking. If you throw enough bodies at a door, it'll eventually open. Players will come to learn their roles in the raid much more quickly and they'll take far less time through trial and error.

• The solution to the aforementioned problem is to join an LFG (Looking For Group) website in the slim hopes of establishing a well-balanced team, getting stuck with an even more poorly coordinated group of players with constant dropouts and further mixed results.

• There are no options for private lobbies where you could customize the game types or play solely against your friends.

• The lore and truly flavorful elements of hte game are confined to cards called Grimoire, which are only accessible via Bungie.net which means one has to exit the game to get the full effect of the story's campaign.

• Clans have disbanded due to the constant repetitive and monotonous nature of this game.

• You can't rotate the character when you are at the character customization screen.

• You can't alter your character once it has been made. You must delete that character and start over from the beginning if you truly dislike their appearance.

• Players can't try a gun before purchasing it with Legendary Marks or Strange coins.

• Players STILL can not trade gear. If I happen to get more than one exotic weapon or piece of armor, I can not trade the duplicate to a friend of mine who has been trying desperately to obtain that item. It's absolutely ludicrous.

• Customization has become a nuisance due to the "Light" system, which has gone through several dozen revisions up to the sub-par current standard we have now.

• Every expansion's enemies are just re-tooled versions of existing ones. For example, the "Taken" in the Taken King were just shadowy-versions of pre-existing Fallen, Hive, Cabal, and Vex with shakier animations. The latest Rise of Iron enemies are just redder versions of existing Fallen. It seems to be very bland and unoriginal. Often I feel like this latest trailer exemplifies the lack of content with its frozen, barren landscape in the background.

• The so-called "social-spaces" are anything but social. They're just central hubs where players can store their loot, pick up bounties, cash in engrams in a feeble attempt at gaining a higher light level, and marketplaces for a few obsolete guns. Xur occasionally has what players need, but even he runs on a random number sequence.

• The whole game is online. Which means if you have a shotty internet connection or the game's servers are no longer in use, you essentially have a $60.00 frisbee.

Conclusion:

Now to those wondering, I've played a combined total of 563 hours (which equals 3 weeks 2 days 11 hours 44 minutes and 4 seconds) with all three of my characters on Destiny as of the time of this article. Comparatively, my best friend and clan leader ("The Seven Deadly Wins" is our Clan) played for a total combined time of 240 hours (1 week 3 days 53 minutes 52 seconds) with his characters and my other colleague just barely clocking in at 197 hours (1 week 1 day 5 hours 40 minutes 48 seconds). So, I've had far more game time than they have, yet both of them are refusing to play into Bungie's hands for the next expansion's asking price as am I.

Many argue that how many hours you have gotten out of Destiny is equal to the amount you've spent purchasing the game. However, my counter-argument to that is "how many of those hours were not wasted effort getting mediocre gear or grinding until you had to set the controller down and turn off the console from frustration? Was the game worth the full value of the $140.00 you've spent?" If the answer is not an IMMEDIATE yes, then there was a problem.

My qualm: $59.99 for the base game, $39.99 for the first two expansions (if you bought the season pass like I did as a year one owner) Dark Below and House of Wolves, an additional $39.99 for The Taken King, and now $29.99 for Rise of Iron. Grand total of $169.96 plus tax. Was it worth it?

When one thinks about the art of video games, it should be considered as an investment that players get some sort of fulfillment and joy out of, whether it be a great journey, a story that captivates, or some overarching sense of satisfaction or accomplishment. They game itself is far too much a lottery in that the random number generator determines the player's ambition.

Frankly, we as the players need to view this title with a bit more scrutiny. We need to be asking the harder hitting questions like "Why does the moon have the same gravity as Earth? Shouldn't Guardians be falling slowly after leaping into the air to dodge oncoming fire?" (The only classes of Guardians that make it seem "authentic" are the Warlocks and Titans).

Destiny: Rise of Iron is expected to debut on September 20, 2016. Hopefully it won't be full of empty promises and disappointments. My ONE hope is that Bungie has considered all of their faults and misgivings about what this game was versus what it could have been, applying that to the sequel in a proper and cohesive manner.



Works Cited:

Craft, Scott. "'Destiny: Rise Of Iron' Splits Progression For Current And Last-Gen Consoles." IDigitalTimes.com. IBT Media Inc., 10 June 2016. Web. 10 June 2016.

Koch, Cameron. "Bungie Is Looking To Help Last-Gen 'Destiny' Players Upgrade To Current-Gen For Rise Of Iron Expansion." Tech Times RSS. TechTimes Inc., 10 June 2016. Web. 10 June 2016.

Destiny, RTX 2015, and more!

Hello everyone! Last month I got a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to partake in a roadtrip to RTX 2015 with a good friend of mine. (I'll have pictures below). It was an awesome trip and I got to attend the RWBY panel as well as play the demo for RWBY: Grimm Eclipse. It was my first time in Texas and I am saving up to hopefully attend the event next year (that's also why I didn't post anything for the month of August).

Pre-pre-pre-pre-alpha build of RWBY Grimm Eclipse.

Controls for the game thus far.

I'm the tall guy cosplaying as Neptune from RWBY.

Sneak Preview of Season 3 of RWBY!

In other news, Destiny: The Taken King has just been released (as of September 15, 2015) and I've traded in my "Vanilla" copy (the original disk) for the new & improved "Neapolitan" version. I'm calling it that because it comes with the first two expansions The Dark Below as well as the House of Wolves in addition to, the new Taken King content.

I had to pay a fee of $40.00 or so to upgrade (which was twice the price of the first two DLC expansions) and unfortunately, within about 3-5 hours of gameplay, I'm nearly finished with the added storyline. So, was it worth it?

Well, in some aspects my initial gripes about the game have been alleviated, albeit only slightly. Bungie has indeed been listening to fan feedback this last year and has worked hard to reinvent Destiny. The story is presented in a coherent manner with excellent narrative, as well as clever dialogue (particularly that from Nathan Fillion's character, Cayde-6). Some of the missions themselves are character specific and will not allow access for other players even if they are of the same subclass (i.e. the "Nightstalker" missions). Those specific missions are meant to be played solo.


However, the content can easily be beaten in one short session and that leaves little else to do outside of several side missions and patrols. While I did enjoy some of the new additions, such as utilizing the Ghost to scan items of interest, (Which is something that the Metroid Prime series has excelled at for years...), the opportunities to do so were few and far inbetween. The only time I felt like it was truly a significant feature was when I was looking for Cayde-6's ally in the field, Tevis (No, I haven't spoiled anything). You'll attempt to locate this hunter Guardian and use your Ghost to key in on his location. After which (spoiler warning) you'll unlock the Nightstalker subclass and be able to use the void bow.

Unfortunately, it's basically back to the repetitive grind until more content is released (like the Raid this Friday). After the dust has settled and people realize that there really isn't all that much new meaningful content, Destiny: The Taken King will become a monotonous epitome of sadness as we spend our time yet again farming for materials.

Overall, I welcome some of the changes, just not all of them. In particular, the new algorithm being used to determine attack values for weapons is alarmingly confusing. This is especially true when comparing one gun or piece of armor to another. I'm still puzzled as to why my green "uncommon" ghost shell has a base defense of 175 compared to my blue "rare" one which is at 170. It makes little to no sense that one would be better than the other, without at least some consideration for rarity.

On a scale of 1-10.0 with 10 being the utmost best expansion this could be, I'm giving this an 8.0/10.0 B. It's equivalent to the House of Wolves in terms of improvements (I particularly liked the voice acting of April Stewart as Petra Venj and the banter between her and Variks).


Positives:

• Lots of great cutscenes and quality dialogue

Negatives:

• It's incredibly short. You could literally beat the content in a single session, and then be able to return it for a refund.
• Rarity makes no cohesive sense when comparing weapon & armor values.

The Underrated Underdog Console: Wii U

So the Wii U has been out in the U.S. since November 18, 2012. It's barely even three years old yet and people are tossing it aside like it's not worth making games for...it's gotten to the point where even Nintendo has started to convince themselves that the console is a sinking ship and that everyone should move on to the next project, codenamed: NX.

Developing software for the Wii U is a Catch-22 situation: Publishers and developers seem to think that they will not make much profit on the fledgling console, but by not developing for the system at all, Nintendo will never truly grow outside of their first party franchises.

What irritates and frustrates me the most is that these companies are often providing "half-assed" games when they do decide to contribute to the Wii U library because on the competing platforms (PC, XBOX 360/XBOX ONE and PS3/PS4, respectively) the games have all of their original features intact. As such, players that pick up a copy of the game for the Wii U are not getting the full value of what they initially paid for.

Warner Bros. for instance, did not include an online multiplayer mode for Batman Arkham Origins, while Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Blacklist has an online multiplayer mode, but no local split screen co-op.

Granted, this isn't the first instance of companies applying this "laissez-faire" (or "do-nothing") type of approach to Nintendo's platform. However, this practice has become far worse due to the sheer number of companies hopping on this informal policy bandwagon.

Treyarch, (and by the transitive property, Activision) in my opinion, is one of the worst offenders of this nonchalant apathy towards Nintendo and is guilty of making false promises on more than one occasion. This was evident during the Wii era with Call of Duty: Black Ops lack of DLC (although, that console's limitations were clearly evident) and with Call of Duty: Black Ops II on the Wii U now. It took Treyarch two years after the game was released to develop the Nuketown 2025 map, which was long overdue. Call of Duty: Ghosts by Infinity Ward in comparison managed to finally get the Freefall map several months after the other consoles received it.

Ubisoft proved that DLC was possible on Nintendo's latest hardware by offering transactions for Assassin's Creed III. Sources reported however, that these options would not be available for the latest installment of the franchise, Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag.

On a much more positive note, Ubisoft creative director Jonathan Morin had briefly discussed his latest title, Watch_Dogs, stating in an interview with CVG (ComputerAndVideoGames) that it is "...a beautiful game on Wii U and it's cool to play it just on the GamePad". In addition a comparison between that version and the other on PS3 and XBOX 360 was made of Morin and he claimed that "On the Wii U, you can play on the GamePad screen. There are no new features or anything like that - it's the same game, but we're optimizing the controls for the beast that is the Wii U GamePad".

So there is some hope for the Wii U considering that a few (if not many) games will have all of the bells and whistles that the other platforms come with naturally. (You can read the conversation in its entirety here.)

That's not to say that all of the blame is on the third-party developers. Au contraire! Nintendo has not exactly done an optimal job of generating public awareness of what the Wii U actually is, or what it is capable of either. Initially, many folks believed it to be an add-on to the existing Wii console (perhaps due to the name). Thus, perhaps folks viewed it as an unnecessary peripheral rather than an entirely new home console.

The sad thing is that most companies are advertising that their games will be on "next-gen" consoles, but they deliberately exclude the Wii U. As such, it's fallen into this abstract, unknown, unspoken category.

How can Nintendo get back on top? I would suggest just belting out as many games as possible. There has been a positive shift since Mario Kart 8 was released and even moreso with Super Smash Bros. Wii U. Hopefully, with the sales of the Amiibo figures, profits gained from those sales can apply to some of Nintendo's major financial losses.

How this information will affect other publisher and developer opinions remains to be determined, but it does not bode well in this economic climate. On one last positive note, Nintendo's latest intellectual property, Splatoon for the Wii U is doing quite well as a third person shooter. It's a game where characters known as "Inklings"— beings that can transform between humanoid and squid-like forms, hide or swim through colored ink sprayed on surfaces using gun or brush-based weaponry. The object of the game is not to score points via kills, but through covering territory with the most amount of ink. It's a game that has become quite popular despite the sluggish sales of the home consoles themselves.

We as gamers need to be patient and keep watching to ensure that Nintendo gets its fair share of publicity and we need to stop treating it like the third political party in an election. The more competition between the three major competing companies, the lower the prices will be for the consumer.