14 DAY TRIAL // Bungie's next foray into the mythic science-fiction world of Destiny has begun early for those who pre-ordered the sequel of the highly-acclaimed game. If you haven't yet done so, don't fret, as open beta is available to everyone between July 21-23.
Homecoming (not related to the recent Spider-Man movie) is the opening mission that you'll be playing in Destiny 2 beta. It took me around 1 hour to finish it playing a badass Hunter wielding a golden gun and an assault rifle. I haven't switched to the sniper rifle throughout the entire mission, but the long-barreled gun came in handy during the Strike.
Destiny 2 beta starts abruptly as the Traveler, and the last haven on Earth, is assaulted by Cabal forces. You get to choose between three classes, the same present in the first game: Titan, Hunter, and Warlock. Each have their own subclasses, skills and super powers, which aren't that different than those in Destiny 1. Some have had their names changed and improved visuals, but the mechanics are almost similar.
Players are given control of a level 20 character, which means you won't have to make your own build. Well, unlike Destiny 1, you'll jump directly into the action, as you're charged with finding some of the prominent leaders residing in the Tower like Commander Zavala and Cayde.
After about 1 hour of frantic running and gunning through long corridors, you get to see how the Cabal forces annihilate the Traveler, thus making you mortal again and unable to be revived. This is where the main villain, Dominus Ghaul, commander of Cabal forces, appears and delivers his eloquent speech right before kicking you from the top of a building.
Gameplay-wise, Destiny 2 is not much different than the previous game, but the pace of which the story unfolds kept me going and left me drooling for more. That's certainly something to be hyped for, especially for those players who found Destiny interesting, but kind of shallow story-wise.
The end of the story mission is not the end of the beta, as you'll be able to access The Inverted Spire strike and The Crucible where you can play two types of PvP matches (control and countdown) on two maps (Endless Vale and Midtown).
The strike will send you alongside two other players deep into Vex territory. The strike boss is called Protheon, Modular Mind and isn't that hard to down as long as you know the strategy, which means you'll probably die once or twice.
Overall, the game plays and feels like a refreshed Destiny 1. Visuals have been updated with sharper textures, as well as better lighting and reflections. Even if it doesn't bring any massive changes, I believe Destiny 2 has the potential to be a much better game than the predecessor. Don't expect any huge surprises though.
