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opticalmace · Sep 11, 2014

I noticed there are a couple reviews up so I figured I would start a thread. I will try to keep it updated as more (final) reviews pop up. Also this is the best review: by Matt Lees.

Metacritic: 77% on 74 reviews
GameRankings: 76.64% on 42 reviews

Critics on Metacritic/GameRankings:

IGN - 7.8/10:

"It’s a complex production that boils down simply to this: Destiny is a mechanically excellent, visually evocative FPS housed within an under-developed RPG framework. The endgame might hook you for the long haul once you fully understand it, but Destiny is ultimately unable to be all the different games it’s trying so hard to be."

US Gamer - 3.5/5:

"Destiny feels like it wasn't ready, but it was shipped anyway. It tantalizes with glimpses of brilliance, but then confounds with clunky design decisions and baffling oversights. Hopefully future updates will fix these, and Destiny will realize its full potential. "

Eurogamer - 8/10:

"...and it does so with a poise and depth that its few peers - games like the charming but scrappy Borderlands and Far Cry - cannot match; a poise and depth that will keep people playing it for years."

Destructoid - 6.5/10:

"Destiny hasn't gotten off to the best start but I do see potential down the line. If more social features are added, loot is improved, and new content keeps coming, it will be worth the entry fee. We'll be covering Destiny along the way, but for now I'd be wary of picking it up at full price."

GameTrailers - 8/10:

"It feels like there’s something missing in Destiny, and by year’s end that void may be filled with more modes, missions and planets. For the time being we’re prepared to brave the beautiful wastelands of our solar system over and over because the freestyle combat across huge maps can have surprising variations between different play sessions. We’ve had enough wow moments to justify the time and effort to unlock them, and the possibilities of what Bungie could do next in this newly minted galaxy is intriguing based on what we’ve played so far. Destiny has not achieved greatness, yet. It is however, extremely fun to play."

EGM - 6.5/10:

"With a lifeless world, a hazily plotted, repetitive campaign, and an endgame that quickly resorts to a slow grind for marginally better loot, Destiny fails to deliver on the promise of its concept and the enormous potential of its gameplay systems."

Gamespot - 6/10

"It is role-playing grind in shooter form--an empty house built on a firm foundation."

Giant Bomb - 3/5

"Destiny is a beautiful but hollow experience with most of the pieces you'd expect from a great multiplayer shooter. It just can't find a way to fit them all together. "

Polygon - 6/10

"For all the wonder of its presentation, the swelling potential suggested by its (excellent) score and the basic foundational strength of its controls, Destiny often feels like a collection of its influences' biggest problems."

CVG - 8/10

"In the coming months and years, Destiny could yet evolve into something essential. Right now, it's a frequently enjoyable, beautifully made shooter you can play with friends and strangers alike. But that's all it is."

Push Square - 8/10

"Destiny's budget was out of this world, and it's there for all to see in the finished product. Bungie's smash hit isn't the gameplay revolution that some wanted, but its accessible RPG systems, sublime gunplay, and incredible presentation over all aspects of the release elevate it beyond some of the very best shooters on the market."

GameZone - 7.5/10

"What Bungie has, is a solid foundation with a lot of room to grow, and I'm certainly excited to see the evolution of Destiny as time goes by. But, for now at least, Destiny is at best an excellent shooter, and a stepping stone for something truly wonderful."

IGN Italy [IT] - 8.8/10:

"Destiny is the fusion of a great shooter with typical MMO mechanics. Regardless of several issues, it is impossible not to treat it as a high-quality project, absolutely above average." [translated]

NZ Gamer - 7/10:

"Destiny isn’t a bad game, by any means. If you like sci-fi shooters, you’ll get a good 20 hours of enjoyment out of this. But that’s really all it is; a fun, forgettable shooter that plays it safe and sticks to what’s been proven, with nothing to really set it apart from it’s peers. But maybe that’s for the best, because Destiny’s one area of attempted innovation - it’s hyped up social elements, persistent world, and multiplayer gameplay, are it’s biggest failing."

The Escapist - 3/5:

"Bottom Line: With its banal universe and flavorless style, Destiny is packed with content, but just ... well ... content. There's a great PvP mode, and the leveling system can be rewarding, but ultimately this is a pretty, rock-solid, ultimately pedestrian product."

Ars Technica - "Rent"

"One thing's for sure: Bungie has never officially called Destiny an "MMO," and that's probably because it's not "massive" enough."

Playstation Lifestyle - 8.5/10:

"Destiny is a great prologue, but it is still just a prologue. It’s like telling somebody all about Middle Earth; the races, the lands, the set up for the story, but not telling them of Bilbo’s adventures in The Hobbit or the fellowship’s journey in The Lord of the Rings."

Cheat code central - 4.5/5:

"Destiny, simply put, might just be the game of year [sic], but definitely makes you want to join the next generation."

Worth Playing - 8.5/10:

"Destiny suffers from a serious case of rough edges. A number of elements, from the repetitive mission design to a weak early game, are a lot rougher than expected from an otherwise polished game. There isn't one glaring problem that detracts from the experience, but a number of minor issues hurt the game. Beneath those flaws lies an extremely enjoyable MMO-styled shooter that plays excellently, looks great, is extremely addictive, and has a strong and varied endgame."

Hardcore Gamer - 4/5:

"Destiny isn’t the convention-bending masterpiece it’s been touted to be, but it remains a fine shooter."

Financial Post - 9.5/10:

"I played 20 hours of the game over the course of a day-and-a-half and I want to play more right now. This game has its hooks in me something fierce. And that’s why my score is a 9.5 up at the top there. However, I very much could see a player being turned off by having to repeat missions, by overly long-boss fights and the very specific storytelling techniques or the fact that everything feels ripped out of a pulpy sci-fi novel that thinks it’s serious."

Metro - 7/10:

"In Short: It’s not short of spectacle but in terms of innovation and variety this is nowhere near as forward-thinking as Bungie would like to pretend."

PS Trophies/Xbox Achievements - 75/100:

"Destiny is fun, despite an utterly disposable story and a lack of content in a number of departments. For now, the fun factor is enough to keep us coming back for more, but Destiny's long-term prospects once the initial shine has worn off altogether, don't seem particularly inspiring."

Digital Chumps - 9.6/10

"Destiny isn’t a perfect game, but it’s a perfect gaming experience. The girth of the planets, the endless exploration, a fun co-op element and a strong PvP structure has this series on the right track. I can’t wait to see what else the future expansions have in store for the overall body of work."

Digitally Downloaded - 3.5/5:

"As someone who genuinely, deeply cares about games as works of art, to see a game as limited as Destiny become the game that is on the front pages of mainstream news is like a slap in the face. I can't deny that the game is entertaining, beautiful, or content-rich, but for all that Destiny is not even close to a masterpiece."

XGN [NL] - 8.5/10
The Guardian - 4/5
Level 7 [SE] - 5/10
JeuxVideo [FR] - 15/20

Critics not on Metacritic/GameRankings:

IB Times - 8/10:
NZ Herald - 4.5/5: (warning: apparently the author only played 6 missions?)
Pie - 7.4/10:
Hobby Consolas (Spanish) - 94/100
Gamer Headlines - 9/10:
Gamnesia - 8/10
VG First - 9/10
GameKult [FR] - 6/10
CraveOnline - 6/10
Pocket Lint - 5/5
Low-fat gaming - 7.5/10
Jeux Video [FR] - 8/10

Courage · Sep 11, 2014

Yeah, this is gonna be one of the first huge AAA franchises that will get disappointing reviews.

jwk94 · Sep 11, 2014

How do you review something without having access to all the content?

nelchaar · Sep 11, 2014

I'm predicting an 80s metacritic, 85 being the highest.

McDougles · Sep 11, 2014

jwk94 said:
How do you review something without having access to all the content?

Pages aren't going to click themselves.

SFenton · Sep 11, 2014

From what I've played so far, I'm really, really unimpressed with the story, and the gunplay feels fun. 6/10 so far from me, playing again tonight.

RedEther · Sep 11, 2014

I'm here for the meltdowns.

Arion · Sep 11, 2014

I'm predicting another overhyped aaa game which is ok at best.

Orayn · Sep 11, 2014

Arion said:
I'm predicting another overhyped aaa game which is ok at best.

What if different people like different things and the definitions of "overhyped" and "ok" are subjetive

What if

Silky · Sep 11, 2014

Isnt there an embargo on this

Schweinehund · Sep 11, 2014

I'm actually surprised the first few reviews haven't been 9/10. I didn't find the game to live up to the hype but still it seems rare that AAA games with mass marketing get anything below 9/10.

jwk94 said:
How do you review something without having access to all the content?

It shouldn't be done, but still this usually is in the game's favor. A lot of mmo's have had non existent end games and recieved fairly high scores.

Meowster · Sep 11, 2014

What's with those first few reviews? It's far away the best next-gen (this gen?) game I've played so far. Hopefully the rest won't follow suit, such an addicting and fun game.

10k · Sep 11, 2014

Its hyped up social elements, persistent world, and multiplayer gameplay, are its biggest failing

Ouch.

Still, this is the kind of game that needs to be played for weeks to enjoy raids, multiplayer, pvp, single player, etc. The review copies came on Monday. It's Wednesday. Weird.

Still hyped to boot it up when I get the chance.

Yaranaika · Sep 11, 2014

jwk94 said:
How do you review something without having access to all the content?

???
What? Seriously? DLC?

R3TRODYCE · Sep 11, 2014

Haha not off to a great start.

Squalor · Sep 11, 2014

This game is about to receive all the review scores Titanfall should have received.

hawk2025 · Sep 11, 2014

"Destiny isn’t a bad game, by any means. If you like sci-fi shooters, you’ll get a good 20 hours of enjoyment out of this. But that’s really all it is; a fun, forgettable shooter that plays it safe and sticks to what’s been proven, with nothing to really set it apart from it’s peers. But maybe that’s for the best, because Destiny’s one area of attempted innovation - it’s hyped up social elements, persistent world, and multiplayer gameplay, are it’s biggest failing."

I'm seriously amazed that someone who supposedly writes for a living can make this mistake.

Yeesh.

Looking forward to seeing how the game is received.

~Kinggi~ · Sep 11, 2014

Arion said:
I'm predicting another overhyped aaa game which is ok at best.

Seems like they are holding shit back for the dlc onslaught. If they make it that far and everyone jumps on board with the dlc then opinions may eventually change or people will be upset they had to pay x amount for things to get good.

Mumford · Sep 11, 2014

Seeing the average of the final review scores is gonna be pretty damn fun.

Bgamer90 · Sep 11, 2014

Courage said:
Yeah, this is gonna be one of the first huge AAA franchises that will get disappointing reviews.

I think so too. Recently saw tweets from game journalists being annoyed at some aspects of the game. Reminding me of Watchdogs.

I'm really liking it though.

Orayn · Sep 11, 2014

Silky said:
Isnt there an embargo on this

No embargo, just a very short head-start time of around one day, as opposed to a week or more.

Mushroomer25 · Sep 11, 2014

jwk94 said:
How do you review something without having access to all the content?

They're reviewing everything the consumer has access to out of the box. If Activision is charging money for Destiny as is, outlets can review it.

CastleBravo · Sep 11, 2014

Silky said:
Isnt there an embargo on this

How could there be an embargo? The game came out yesterday.

Squalor · Sep 11, 2014

hawk2025 said:
I'm seriously amazed that someone who supposedly writes for a living can make this mistake.

Yeesh.

Looking forward to seeing how the game is received.

They didn't even bother with an editor.

Proper grammar doesn't garner page views, though.

thekonamicode · Sep 11, 2014

(warning: this is not the Gamepro review of Destiny)

Creaking · Sep 11, 2014

Courage said:
Yeah, this is gonna be one of the first huge AAA franchises that will get disappointing reviews.

It's already got the money though.

MormaPope · Sep 11, 2014

jwk94 said:
How do you review something without having access to all the content?

Some people have beaten the story missions, gotten to level 20, played a good amount of PvP. Critics getting that amount of experience in isn't far fetched.

Sentenza · Sep 11, 2014

RedEther said:
I'm here for the meltdowns.

It's already starting.
There are already not-so-subtle accusations of "click-baiting" in the first posts.

jwk94 said:
How do you review something without having access to all the content?

McDougles said:
Pages aren't going to click themselves.

WarpathDC · Sep 11, 2014

thekonamicode said:

Brilliant. I lived for gamepro reviews

Warm Machine · Sep 11, 2014

Squalor said:
This game is about to receive all the review scores Titanfall should have received.

So far Titanfall is the far better game of the two. I've put more than 24 hours into that. I'm barely motivated to put another hour into Destiny after my first 3.

Shorty11857 · Sep 11, 2014

Silky said:
Isnt there an embargo on this

You can't really embargo reviews when the game is out

DSN2K · Sep 11, 2014

what I don't understand is Bungie made massive strides regarding story progression with the Halo Games.You could see the improvements from 1,2,3,ODST & Reach. It's like they forgot how to do it properly completely.

Tempesta di Fuoco · Sep 11, 2014

Yep, from what I've been hearing it is really, really disappointing. There's a reason why Activision wanted to hold off on the reviews.

The bad word of mouth this is getting is not a good sign for a sequel.

FaintColt388301 · Sep 11, 2014

This game isn't going to review well. I like it a lot and have a blast with it but critics a going to critic and give it mediocre reviews.

I'd give it a solid B+

I'm predicting a C from reviews.

Toki767 · Sep 11, 2014

This game is providing us with insight to the video game reviews process. Reviewers racing to finish a game to get their reviews done so they come out of it not being able to take in everything that's supposed to make the game special.

XANDER CAGE · Sep 11, 2014

jwk94 said:
How do you review something without having access to all the content?

If the Strike design is anything to go by, I'm not going to hold my breath over the raid. Reviews should probably wait and see everything, though.

RedAssedApe · Sep 11, 2014

predicting Metacritic in low 70s.

its fun tho.

LQX · Sep 11, 2014

I have a feeling we are going to see a lot of hypocrisy and not from the gaming press.

GavinUK86 · Sep 11, 2014

"I played 5 hours and it's incredible" - 9/10

or

"I played 5 hours and it's pretty boring and tedious" - 6/10

Both sound like IGN and Polygon.

Big_Al · Sep 11, 2014

Warm Machine said:
So far Titanfall is the far better game of the two. I've put more than 24 hours into that. I'm barely motivated to put another hour into Destiny after my first 3.

Well if you're after a single player game Destiny is by default the better game

_woLf · Sep 11, 2014

My biggest problem with Destiny is the boss design -- bullet sponges are not fun. At all.

I love just wandering around collecting stuff and killing things, though.

WarpathDC · Sep 11, 2014

I wonder how it is selling despite any reviews. My guess is COD levels or better.

theDeeDubs · Sep 11, 2014

I've been really curious how this will do. 7.5 to 8 seems about fair to me. It has solid shooting mechanics and it's definitely pretty. It just seems super shallow to me.

Mushroomer25 · Sep 11, 2014

Tempesta di Fuoco said:
Yep, from what I've been hearing it is really, really disappointing. There's a reason why Activision wanted to hold off on the reviews.

The bad word of mouth this is getting is not a good sign for a sequel.

I wonder what the return rate to Amazon will be for Destiny. If they offer $40 tradein value towards a bigger game... nobody's going to be playing Destiny in three months.

Colonel Nasty · Sep 11, 2014

Ugh, it's a shame all the stuff I disliked in the beta didn't get any better. PvP is a real disappoint for me.

Ape · Sep 11, 2014

I'd personally give the game a 7 so far. I like it well enough with friends but it isn't great. I think a lot of people picking up the game will be ultimately disappointed.

Tempesta di Fuoco · Sep 11, 2014

Squalor said:
This game is about to receive all the review scores Titanfall should have received.

Titanfall was fantastic, and extremely fun, but content starved. It deserved the scores it received. Destiny from all accounts is just an average game that doesn't do anything new or anything particularly well.

ThoughtsOfSpeaking · Sep 11, 2014

Squalor said:
This game is about to receive all the review scores Titanfall should have received.

Activisions money tends to go on actual marketing, rather than sugaring up reviewers.

Ikuu · Sep 11, 2014

jwk94 said:
How do you review something without having access to all the content?

What do they not have access to?

RandyBobandy · Sep 11, 2014

This was always going to be obvious when they put an embargo on the reviews. Know we know why

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