So, there's this game called Destiny. It is fun. (Destiny)

by Ragashingo , Official DBO Cryptarch, Wednesday, March 09, 2016, 16:22 (3275 days ago)

Few may realize it, but recently I'd taken an extended break from Destiny to revisit the Mass Effect series... and then sorta accidentally stumbled into the "this would be good if only..." mess that is Fable 3... but I've returned and I'm having a ridiculously good time! Here, have some highlights:

- Something about the way Destiny's Destinations are laid out is very pleasing to me. Sure, I wish there was more to do, but just roaming about Earth, the Moon, Venus, Mars, and Oryx's Dreadnought gives this great sense of artistry and place. Yes, each "bubble" is cleverly cordoned off from the next via blind turns or big hills for performance and rendering reasons, but making those turns or going over those hills into a new map section is still a little breath taking. You can go from a canyon, tunnel, or drainage ditch to seeing a line of now ancient hopeful spaceships still waiting to fulfill their mission, or a distant city buried under red-orange sand, or a giant terrifying hole drilled deep into the moon we think of as calm, unchanging, and pristine.

Often times I get so focused on gameplay and achieving objectives that I forget to really look at the scenery. When I do remember, I still can't help but say: "Wow."

- Was playing Patrol with Unoudid and... eh... someone... (sorry!) and we were hunting down Taken events and similar stuff and you know what? Rushing from one side of Venus or Mars or Earth to the other hoping I can get there in time to reinforce my Fireteam felt amazing. As did calling for their support when I found an event or a needed objective. If Destiny 2 has substantial improvements to Patrol, I'd love to see deliberate support for cross-bubble missions where a Fireteam needs to spilt up to achieve simultaneous objectives only to have to regroup to bail one member out of a giant ambush or enemy counter attack.

- Speaking of giant enemy attacks, I still really enjoy the Taken events because they can sometimes be challenging even for a full fire team. There's one in particular I've seen twice in the last few days that is very difficult. It's the combination of a Prevent Vex Suicides + Taken invasion centered around that big central hill on the Shattered Coast. Both times I "failed" the Vex event (even with substantial high level help!) and only barely beat the Taken once. And that's awesome.

Sometimes winning every time gets boring and "gentle failure" (unlike say the old " everything is unfairly stacked against you and you just lost now go back to orbit and start over from the beginning" nightfalls) due to challenging but "fair" overwhelming odds can be a blast.

- I've also been having a great time in the Crucible playing alongside DBO regulars and have been doing particularly good with my Striker lately. Here's a couple of clips from the same game.

First, just a little demonstration of a Striker vs Sniper on Skyshock:

Second, about a minute later, a seriously fun battle for Control Point B. Technically, each team lost 5 but our side had a Striker Left Standing: