Upgrade: 1 (verb) taking an item of lesser value and through manipulation, creating a similar item with greater value. 2 (Destiny) … see Understatement of the Year

Last year, I bought Bungie’s Halo killer called Destiny, and it was GORGEOUS! The settings, the characters, the vaehicles, armor, enemies, cut-scenes: all incredibly detailed and engrossing.

But, much like a mural, once you’d looked at it for a few hours, it kind of got old. Fast. The story missions could all be completed in an afternoon, the multiplayer side missions (or Strikes) became tedious, and you needed better gear just to level up to be able to play the higher level strikes and missions to get better gear. Catch 22 much?

Plus, the characters, while beautifully rendered, were flat on personality. Peter Dinklage phoned in a performance as your companion droid, Ghost, and even Nathan Fillion, Firefly’s Malcom Reynolds, was on staff, but still the game lacked focus.

The story and mythos of this world was hinted at, but never fully explained in game, so, basically, I felt like a 5 year old with a Ferrari. I knew it was pretty and that it should be able to do things, but it just wouldn’t go.

But here’s where the story gets interesting, just this week the latest “expansion” came out for Destiny called “The Taken King.” The Taken King is an expansion like Antarctica’s a bit nippy. This is the game that Destiny should have been from the beginning.

The characters now have speaking roles with each other that flesh out their personality. They replaced Dinklage with Nolan North, aka. Deadpool from every cartoon with Deadpool in it.

And oh the new missions. So many new missions, and weapons, and armor, and places, and enemies. I had to get back in.

I had already traded in my copy of Destiny, but thanks to friends (thanks, Neal) I got a copy and I have been playing it since.

It was, however, $40 more just for the expansion, but for everything you get, I say it was worth it.

Class dismissed.

 

Jason Reeves is self-proclaimed geek tackling on the biggest issues from video games to movies and everything in between.