Bungie has lifted the veil on Destiny, its all-new, always-connected first-person shooter for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and “future generation technology” (next-gen consoles).
Several outlets have gone live with previews detailing the game. Have your pick: 1UP, CVG, Destructoid, Eurogamer, Game Informer, GameTrailers, GI.biz, Giant Bomb, IGN, Joystiq, and Polygon. Find our summary below.
In Destiny, human civilization has spread beyond Earth—to the Moon, Mars, Venus, the moons of Jupiter, and the rings of Saturn. But after a cataclysmic event nearly annihilates mankind, only one safe city remains on Earth. This city is protected by a cracked white orb hovering above the Earth called The Traveler, which empowers knights called Guardians to protect mankind and uncover the mysteries of its downfall.
Destiny is an “always-connected,” “shared-world,” no-load-screens, first-person shooter. That’s ‘part first-person shooter, part open-world sandbox, and part persistent universe’. Players can meet online to fight, trade, gamble, and socialize. In order to even play the game, you’ll need to be connected to the internet. But there are no plans for a subscription fee, according to publisher Activision.
Players will act as Guardians, who protect the Earth from alien species like the Sandeaters, War Rhinos, Spider Pirates, and even time-traveling robots (The Vex) and space zombies. You’ll be able to custom create your own character and outfit them with new armor, clothing, weapon, vehicles, spacecraft, and other items. Three classes—Hunter, Warlock, and Titan—are so far confirmed.
According to Activision, you’ll encounter other players “even in story mode,” who will ‘inhabit and affect the same same world’. The game’s narrative arc will span 10 years.
Destiny will also feature competitive and cooperative multiplayer modes, which are ‘seamlessly merged’ into the single-player mode. Bungie promises players will come together and pair up naturally at places such as the city’s Overwatch district, and from there form bonds and visit distant worlds, minus the visual matchmaking.
One such situation, detailed at Polygon, is a meeting between Bungie writer Joe Staten and studio co-founder Jason Jones. Staten met up with Jones in Destiny‘s social district, where they visited a hangar storing Jones’ newly-purchased starship, which they used to travel to Mars to explore the ancient remains of a lost human civilization and recover a certain artifact—a bounty commissioned by a certain queen.
Destiny is powered by a brand-new graphics engine designed for multiple platforms. It boasts new real-time lighting technology and is tailor-made for “big, unique, and complex” worlds. A new, speedy world-building tool called Grognok was also made for Destiny.
The shooter will also feature iOS and Bungie.net integration. You’ll see a teaser in the first vidoc below. Additionally, you can view a set of artworks at the gallery.
A release date for Destiny was not announced. PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 releases have been confirmed, and next-generation platforms are all but inevitable (see first paragraph). A PC release, however, while not announced, is something Bungie would “absolutely love” to do. The developer asked that you “stay tuned.”
