Destiny 2 - sci-fi action movie

Destiny 2 is an action game in a sci-fi setting. It was released by Bungie, as well as the first part of the dileogy. If you don't know, it was the studio that once turned console shooters from a curiosity into a serious genre - with the help of the Halo series. So the name of such a solid developer already serves as a sign of quality. On the other hand, some users will be confused by the fact that the product under this seal of quality is given away for free on all platforms, including Steam. Isn't there a hint of buying advantages in virtual battles for real money? And how long can we have fun without investing a ruble? It's about time to find the answers.

In Destiny 2 you are assigned the role of defending the Earth from the forces of evil. You'll be equipped with guns of different systems and calibers, but magic abilities and, in case of close combat, edged weapons also come in handy. The game has a lot of fun for a single player and a group of gamers - a bunch can go to special locations to fight among themselves or with monsters for the prize. There are also such activities, participation in which is available in passing. For example, you roam about your business, but here nearby satellite with the supplies collapsed - and for him fighting the earthlings with the aliens. Nobody prevents you from getting into the fight right away. Or to pass by, if you're not interested. However, even small skirmishes are useful, because the hero increases his power by increasing the items and weapons obtained in battles. That is why the game is often referred to as the "looter shooter": without collecting loot there is no progress either in history or in character traits.

The game's plot is set in the distant future. One day a Wanderer, a huge spherical mechanism with its own will and mind, arrived in our star system. After first contact with humans, he taught them to build powerful spaceships and colonize planets. With this new knowledge, humanity conquered Mars and Venus, turned Mercury into a blooming garden, and established outposts on Jupiter. But after the golden age came collapse, because after the good alien came to Earth Darkness, an evil force that destroys worlds. It brought with it hostile races: cyborgs Vex, crowds of creepy zombies from the Hive, the Possessed led by King Oryx, a nation of humanoid militaristic Cabal and a horde of the Despicable. It is these creatures that act as the main adversaries in the Destiny dilogy.

When the Legions of Darkness nearly wiped out the humans, the Wanderer sacrificed himself to protect the remnants of our species in the last city on Earth. In memory of his mighty patron, humans were given the Tower, from which Vanguard commanders now lead the resistance, and the Light, a magical force that can bring the dead back to life and perform other miracles. This element allowed to bring back to life the great warriors of the past, or Guardians, one of whom you will play. And in the struggle against evil the hero is helped by Ghost - a small flying robot-partner. Such companions have each character under the control of a living player. They introduce the basics of the shooter, recall the important tasks and voice information needed to develop the plot. But before you set out on your exploits, you still need to create your own Guardian.

After launching Destiny 2 you'll immediately notice how easy everything is set up here. There's no cumbersome registration by mail and sending secret codes to the server - a very unusual approach for free entertainment. The game just needs your alias on Steam or whatever platform you're using. Later you will still be offered to join the community and create a full-fledged account, but no one prevents you from simply refusing by pressing Esc. In the Starter Editor you must select the race and class of the hero, as well as customize his (or her) appearance. There are tabs with options for body, face, hairstyles and special markings, but in general these are purely decorative elements. You won't see them in first-person perspective shootouts, and a mask will hide your noble crooked nose and strong-willed chin from your partners. You can show off except in the last town - a peaceful location where all the characters walk around without hats. Another thing is classes. Their choice is worth at least a little thought.

The game offers three key characters: a warlock, a hunter, and a titan. The first combines magic and wielding of firearms, and they are also the biggest mods in Destiny 2 - you can recognize them by their fancy clothes with long cloaks, ample sleeves and decorations on their helmets. The Warlock's ultima blow, which can be activated by pressing the F button once the kill scale is full, is to hit everyone around them with an energy wave. The hunter, unlike the first class, has a purely shooting nature. His methods are shooting, fast movement, throwing smoke and knives, and heavy melee attacks. This is the only class that has sniper weapons available from the start. And after accumulating enough rage for the "ulta", he unclips a particularly killing revolver, while gaining additional protection. During this time you can shoot a couple or three tough opponents. As for the titans, they're the best defensive dudes in the business. They're armored and use force shields as a strong argument, shielding themselves and their comrades-in-arms from gunfire.

In fact, the system is more diverse than just choosing between a shooter, a warlock, and a tank. Because each class has subclasses that develop as the hero's strength increases. Hunter, for example, can become fast and dangerous near thunderrunner or paralyzing Revenant, and warlock in the role of a wanderer of the void relies not only on magic, but also on bombs and grenades. But in general, you can determine the style of play at the start, and then test the skills of the selected character in practice. Do not like one hero - you can always go back to the beginning and create another. You can have three fighters in one account and play them in turns, if you like it that way.

The adventure begins on the ruins of Earth. In the opening series of battles, which lasts a couple of hours, you must re-establish contact with the Vanguard, find the missing Guardian and visit the last town, where resistance commanders will bring you up to speed and give you new assignments. At this point the prologue comes to an end - most of the further tasks are designed for groups of 3-6 participants. But will come across and purely story missions. Yet there are daily and weekly tasks, which are taken at will, random events on the map, uniting strangers to each other in a battle with monsters, fights of different formats in distant worlds. Basically all of these battles belong to the PvE format, when living gamers fight with aliens under the control of artificial intelligence. There are also PvP-modes - for those who want to measure their strength against each other. And for those who can't live without a bedtime story, let's take a look at the "stories" menu to read about the universe and the important events in Destiny 2.

It is not necessary to run around the locations on your own. You can use the Sparrow as transport, which is a single-seat flying bike like the ones shown in Star Wars. You get it almost at the beginning, after completing several quests. Interaction with the sparrow is unusual: to summon it, you must press not one, but two keys (Tab and E by default), acceleration is assigned to the mouse button, and to jump out of the saddle on the ground, you need the Space bar. Not the most usual layout for a fan of computer action movies is complemented by the clumsiness of the bike - on the ground every now and then you crash into some rocks and fences. However, people come here not for the fast driving, but for the shootings. And in this part the Bungie shooter has something to boast about.

The game has a lot of advantages, such as a well-designed and interesting universe reminiscent of science fiction classics. Also it has great locations that range from apocalyptic landscapes in the spirit of Fallout to scenes that look like they came from space horror movies. But all the design frills pale on the background of the shooting. It is made in such a way that a mosquito won't be able to shake a nose. On the one hand there is no hardcore - you don't need to get used to guns in Destiny 2 for a long time, warm up in virtual shooting galleries and train your hand in aiming. On the other hand, each gun has its own feel, there is a recoil, scatter, guns have a noticeable difference in weight, aiming time and manner of use. Let's say, one rifle shoots single shots, another in bursts, and the third one needs to pull the trigger for a while to fire a powerful charge.

The same applies to movement on the battlefield - the traditional mechanics of shooters are reduced here to an intuitive minimum. If you've never been able to shoot your enemy in the head while jumping, Destiny 2 will quickly teach you how to do so. And without much effort and effort you'll learn how to do it. The game is so well-crafted that these sorts of stunts will just happen by themselves. In addition, opponents controlled by artificial intelligence act in a variety of ways. Some charge straight ahead, the others are able to hide, get out of the line of fire and even make evasive maneuvers. Their set of tactical ideas is modest, but it's enough to make the firefights fun.

Guns are purchased as war booty, or given as a reward for completing various tasks. And every time it's a surprise, because there are hundreds of guns in the game - you never know what you'll get. The hero has three weapon slots in his inventory: you can carry the main weapon (usually with an endless supply of ammo), secondary (aka kinetic) and auxiliary. Weapons come in different rarities, from standard to exotic, and also, as is customary in the shooter genre, they are divided by type:

• Revolvers are a real decoration of the game. In addition to good killing power, they have a futuristic design, and their use is accompanied by beautiful animations. In short, shooting is pure pleasure, especially when you have an exotic sample like the Ace of Spades in your holster. If you were indifferent to revolvers before, after a couple or three sessions in Destiny 2 your attitude towards these guns will definitely change.
• Pistols are a less sought-after light weapon type. They shoot weaker than revolvers, but have more rounds in their clip. However, they are inferior to drum-operated guns in aesthetics.
• Submachine guns traditionally offer a combination of high rate of fire and close-range accuracy. Like automatic rifles, these guns fit into a kinetic slot. So it's not uncommon to see people in the game carrying a revolver and a PP instead of the traditional "pistol da shotgun" pair.
• Shotguns are another tool for solving problems in face-to-face encounters, only they, of course, have more dispersion than submachine guns. The thing about Destiny 2 is that shotguns are great if you want to mess around a bit, e.g. shoot a bunch of enemies by jumping on them from a roof or a cliff.
• Machine guns, machine guns, pulse, plasma and ray rifles should be referred to the same type, because all these guns are designed for one thing - to do a lot of damage at close and medium range in a short time. Although the operating principles of these guns are different. Pulse rifles (aka "pulse rifles") shoot in short bursts, and plasma rifles "cheked up" for a long time - to shoot with such you need to press the button for a while. But the charge is as powerful as a grenade. Another nuance is that the rifle can't be called the main weapon in Destiny 2. Unlike most other shooters, here the arsenal is perfectly balanced - you can fight for hundreds of hours with only revolvers, without regretting about the lost opportunities.
• Sniper, scout and line-plasma rifles - these are the guns for high-precision fire from afar. It is worth noting that there are not many situations in the game where these weapons are needed.
• Swords are a way to show off in front of the audience and quickly deal with the enemy in hand-to-hand combat. Even for edged weapons there is a time and place. For example, a blade can be used to swat away a swarm of zombies from the Hive.
• Finally, portable rocket launchers. The name of these guns speaks for itself: you're always short on ammo, but your enemies are blown to bits. The main thing is not to shoot a projectile under your feet - when dealing with a bazooka, it's better to measure seven times and then shoot.

As if this were not enough, each gun is allowed to hang bonuses that slightly change the characteristics. For example, you can increase the reload speed, speed up aiming, return the bullet that flew past the target back into the magazine, increase the stability of the gun and the mobility of the hero carrying it. There are plenty of options, and all useful. But the equipment includes not only weapons - in the inventory there are cells for the helmet, clothing for arms, legs and torso, as well as slots for the cloak and sheath of the personal Phantom. All of these items can be exchanged at any time for new ones, received as a reward. You can also disassemble obsolete items or store them in your personal box on the upper floors of the Tower.

Otherwise Destiny 2 adheres to minimalism. There's no need to lug a bag of medicine and stimulants, because health after injuries is restored over time, and ammo falls out of the killed enemies and jump into your pocket automatically - you just have to run past them. Problems can only arise with ammunition for missile launchers. There's not much of it in your inventory, but it uses up quickly, especially in battles with bosses. So pay attention to the boxes highlighted in purple - it's better to collect them first.

Navigating the game's universe is easy: the available tasks are listed in the "Tasks" menu tab, and the worlds you can fly to are displayed in the "Destinations" tab. The planet where the story mission awaits you is marked with a special icon, so it's hard to get lost here. You can fight on Earth, the icy planet Europa, the Moon, Venus and special spaces like Reef in the asteroid belt or spaceships. To land on the surface of any of the planets, you must select it, and then indicate the point on the map where your starship should land. When you press Tab, a white diamond will appear on the screen, indicating the target. If necessary, instructions will be provided by the Ghost, who always flies nearby and babbles for business and for nothing.

The locations in Destiny 2 are diverse and beautifully designed, so you won't get bored. Only they are not available right away - you need to gain experience in battles to open up new worlds. Along with them will be unlocked and the modes, which are worth talking about separately. You start as a loner, fighting on Earth around the spaceport. Then the story introduces you to the Raid mode, sending you along with a group of other players in pursuit of the villainous Navota. After a brief break, you're on your own again - rescuing the leader of the local resistance in the ice of Europa (Jupiter's satellite). And so the solo missions alternate with multiplayer until the story part is complete. Scenario chapters and other activities are added to the game in seasons (until February 2022 the 15th is relevant), so there is enough adventure for dozens of hours. And the beginning of each chapter of the story is accompanied by a colorful splash screen with Russian dubbing.

During the next launch of the game you can be suddenly thrown into the "Eternity Challenge" mode, which is an activity conducted by Zur the starlight racer. Here you and five other participants in the activity undergo a series of tests in the icy wilderness: first you have to repel several waves of enemies, then pass the obstacle course, and finally destroy the boss - the son of King Oryx and his entourage. Nothing complicated here, and no one will interfere with your plans without warning, but it is this activity that is triggered forcibly to familiarize yourself with the current season of the action movie.

The rest of the modes can be divided into types - according to the composition of the participants and the conditions of victory:

The alternation of modes, story campaign chapters and multiplayer activities, as well as the scenery on the screen leaves a pleasant impression - Destiny 2 can be called one of the most non-boring action games of our time. Since its release in the fall of 2017, even the basic version of the game, without paid extensions, has accumulated so much content that is enough for a good hundred evenings. But the player will still need some persistence, because not all battles are available from the start. The number of events in which you can participate depends on the strength and level of your hero.

Strength is the main characteristic of the Guardian. It is indicated by the number to the right of the character in the equipment window, which opens by pressing the I or F1 key on the computer keyboard. This figure is the arithmetic average of all the items on the character and the three guns in the weapon slots. Therefore, to increase the strength it is necessary to perform tasks, try their strength in battles and to collect loot. Applying new items is very simple: just open the inventory window and choose what you need, guided by the strength of this item. In one battle, for example, you get a shoe that is only a few points better than your current one, in another you get a more powerful barrel in the main cell. This progression is slow but steady.

Each activity has a strength requirement for participants - those who do not reach this threshold are in for a serious challenge. Exceeding the strength level required for this or that battle does not give any particular advantage, but a lack of at least 5-6 points makes the enemies twice as dangerous as usual. So it is necessary to choose the mode carefully and check your numbers against those given in the event description.

In addition to strength, the character also has classic levels. They are added for combat experience and completing quests. The principle here is simple: the higher the level of the Guardian, the more worlds he can visit and the more activities are available to him. There is also a separate leveling for your hero's personal starship and his sparrow - to be clear, at first the flying bike can't even shoot, but with time you can fight on top of it. The fastest way to upgrade all parameters is, of course, to invest real money in progress.

Now for what worries every person who tries the free-to-play game. The base version of Destiny 2 is available for free, and the entertainment in it, as we've already said, is enough to spare. But the full set with all the add-ons costs a lot of money - for example, the "Destiny 2: The Queen Witch" deluxe edition, which comes out immediately after the completion of the 15th season, on Steam they ask almost 4200 rubles. The fact is that during the existence of the game it was equipped with six major DLC, including "Rejected", "Abode of Shadows", "Beyond Light" and "The Witch Queen", as well as a lot of small additions. Also of interest is the "Bungie 30th Anniversary Pack", which was released in December 2021.

Each of these additions contains a new story for a single playthrough, access to modes multiplayer, locations, equipment sets, unique subclasses of the Guardians, tasks, characters, and other content. That is, it's not just a set of guns, power-ups, or capes, as is often the case with conditional-free shooters. Most activities in the base version of the game have the necessary DLC right in the requirements: say, without the "Abode of Shadows" you can't go to the "Rotting Core" and "Scarlet Citadel" raids, and without the "Bungie 30th Anniversary Set" you can't try your hand in "The Grip of Greed. And while these activities aren't necessary at all, Destiny 2 reminds us time and again that there's a lot more adventure than the base version offers.

All sorts of decorations are also available for a penny, both for the hero and for his vehicles. If you want to show off in front of your friends and rivals, you can buy sets of exotic equipment. However, this is figuratively speaking, cosmetics, not giving tactical advantages. Equipment with similar characteristics, albeit less colorful in appearance, you will be given for feats on the battlefield anyway.

Destiny 2 is a shooter like few others. The design of the game, from locations and weapons to character voices and music themes, is made at a high artistic level, the shooting mechanics are polished to a shine, there is a lot of exciting activities for singles and a company of friends. In addition, the game does not punish for mistakes and does not tolerate toxicity: the default chat is off, so a beginner will not suffer from reproaches and insults to his address due to lack of diligence. Selecting partners for any task is automatic, and relatively fast - no problem if you have no one to invite to the war. And all this is available for free. Of course, there is, of course, paid content for those who want to get access to new stories, modes, items of equipment, and somehow stand out from the crowd. But you can have fun for dozens of hours without investing a penny. This approach seems very benign - the Bungie action game is definitely worthy of attention.