Hey guys! It’s time for us to start our final preparations for E3 2017 in Los Angeles and as such, we thought it would be a cool idea to start up a new article and (possibly) video series for you all to enjoy our path to E3 2017. We then took it a step further, and decided to look at some of the games coming to E3 this year and highlight their path to E3 and our hopes for them beyond the largest gaming convention on the planet.
After E3 is over, we’ll post a few wrap-up articles as well, which we’re calling The Path from E3, which will follow the games previously highlighted as well as our journey with them once they finally release. Its an ambitious project, and we hope you welcome it with open arms as we have.
With that said, there is no better title to start off with than upcoming FPS-MMO Destiny 2, from Bungie, published by Activision.
The original Destiny, launched in 2014, was a bit of an oddball. On one hand, you had the best FPS experience on a console thanks to Bungie’s years of mastering the art while working on the Halo series. On the other hand, you had a half-finished mess of a game that felt like it was rushed out to meet a deadline. The controversy with Destiny only continued after Bungie (or Activision, it was never really confirmed) charged insane rates for their DLC and locked players out of the weekly strike if you didn’t purchase the new content.
With all that said, Destiny still had a solid player base across all platforms and when rumors started to swirl about a sequel, media outlets such as ours ran articles and videos speculating what the new FPS-MMO might have in store for us. On March 28th, 2017 Bungie released the first teaser trailer for Destiny 2. Featuring Nathan Fillion’s character Cayde-6, the teaser was a smash, gathering over 4 million views on YouTube as of this writing. Two days later, we were treated to the first real trailer for Destiny 2. Once again, heavily featuring Cayde-6 and Commander Zavala. It’s an incredible trailer and has some genuinely funny moments packed in. This fueled new rumors and speculation about Destiny 2. What platforms would it be on? Would there be a better story? Would it play like the previous title? What has changed?
All those questions, and more were answered May 18th, 2017 when Bungie and Activision held alive stream event and opened the floodgates of information. Gameplay, story, and PVP reveals filled the live stream. Many Destiny-centric media outlets were on hand and provided some one of a kind hands on commentary. It seemed like Bungie answered (almost) every major concern one could have from the previous title.
Destiny 2 will release on September 8th, 2017 on Xbox One and Playstation 4. A PC version was also confirmed, but as of this writing no solid release date was given. This game will have STORY! Unlike the original game where the story felt tacked on to try to keep you interested, Bungie came out with a bang and committed to making the single player campaign an experience for all players. This game will have better access to all its content thanks to a well-rounded clan system and a new LFG style system they’re calling Guided Games. PVP is also seeing some major changes, moving from the current 6v6 system to a 4v4 system. According to Bungie, this will make the games more competitive and will give players an easier time connecting to the matchmaking system.
While all of this sounds incredible when compared to Destiny, there are some questionable choices being made as well. First off, all PVP matches will be connected via peer-to-peer and not the much more reliable dedicated server system. Bungie tried to play this off as a cost saving choice and while it might save them some money, this is Bungie and Activision we’re talking about. Activision has its annual money print in Call of Duty so it’s not like they’re strapped for cash. It just seems a little lazy.
Secondly, while Destiny 2 will run at 4K on the PS4 Pro and the Xbox One S, the game will be locked to 30 FPS. There is no word yet as to whether this will be different on the upcoming Project Scorpio. I can understand not being able to render 4K efficiently, but locking a console to 30 FPS when we know they can push for higher. Add to this the fact that the PC will have an uncapped frame rate and you get a picture that could drive more to the PC than anything else. Maybe that’s what Bungie is secretly hoping for. Only time will tell.
Personally, I’ve always had a bit of a bug-bear with Destiny. While I enjoyed the combat, I felt the lack of story and massive grind into nothing were holding it back from being the MMO that we needed. Sure, the raids and strikes were fun if you had a dedicated team to play them with but trying to PUG them was awful and don’t even get me started on the solo experience. These issues are supposedly fixed in Destiny 2, and the trailers and information released so far has me wanting to try it out on PC when it comes out.
It’s been a long, controversial road for Bungie and Destiny. We here at Senshudo are hoping that they’ve learned from their mistakes and are committed to making Destiny 2 the best game that it can be for all who want to enjoy it. We will catch up with Destiny 2 developers at E3 2017 in Los Angeles and bring you as much information as we can! Until then, we’ll continue down the path to E3, and we hope you’ll join us!