Destiny 2 is less than a month away, and it's almost time for PC players to get their hands on the open beta.
There's so much new to talk about for Destiny 2, and Trusted Reviews has spent plenty of time in the beta. Read our hands-on impressions as well as catch up on everything you need to know.
Destiny 2 release date and price
Destiny 2 will launch on September 6 with a RRP of £39.99. However, there's also a special edition which will cost a bit more at £89.99. The PC version is coming later on October 24. The beta across PS4 and Xbox One has been extended until Tuesday, July 25. So, you now have an extra day to wreak havoc in the crucible.
Bungie has also revealed the minimum and recommended system requirements for the game on PC. These are based on the beta, but we assume they will be the same for the full game.
The Destiny 2 beta is up and running and I've been playing it to get a feel for Bungie's upcoming blockbuster sequel. What's in it? What's it like? Is it any good? Does it do anything to win over the Destiny haters? Prepare to have these questions answered, and more.
Where Destiny's beta threw in four missions, a spot of Cosmodrome exploration, some Crucible action and the game's first Strike, the sequel's beta is a little more streamlined; it gives you the opening mission of the game, one Strike and two Crucible maps tied into two game modes. There's no wandering around tackling slightly dull ad hoc missions for disembodied voices, and no social space in which to chill out – although one is coming before the beta's end.
That's the bad news. The good news is that the opening mission is a cracker, throwing you head-first into a Cabal sect's assault on The Last City. This includes some meaty skirmishes around The Tower and your own daring attack on a Cabal battlecruiser. It's all reminiscent of the early parts of Halo 2, going heavy on the spectacle and letting the sequel's beefed-up graphics engine shine.
Want amazing lighting? Cool environmental effects? Fan-favourite characters putting in cameos? Huge, horribly aggressive Cabal legionaries and commanders hurling flame and rockets down on your poor Guardian behind? The Destiny 2 beta is going to dish it up hot. There are even some interesting attempts at bringing ad hoc multiplayer inside a more single-player focused storyline; I'd like to see more of this in the final game.
The Strike is pretty great as well. Naysayers might point out that it's another variation on the classic theme of 'go to a weird Vex world and stomp some mighty Vex uber-machine into the ground', but that doesn't make it any less fun – particularly when we have weird disappearing platforms, Sonic-style boost rings and a really intense boss battle with which to contend. Bungie continues to get better, making players – even randoms – work as a team.
Like Destiny; but a tightened-up, turbo-charged version. Bungie already aced the feel and the gunplay in the original version, and second for second, Destiny 2 still feels like one of the most engaging shooters around. The weapons – from hefty hand cannons to SMGs to energy rifles and overpowered shotguns – still feel great, with different arms working different applications depending on range and enemy type. The Cabal, meanwhile, make for tough adversaries with a little of Halo's covenant about them. To be honest, they were probably my least favourite foe in original Destiny. Through better character design and more aggressive AI, Destiny 2 might turn that around.
There are differences, though. Weapons, for example, used to be divided into primary, secondary and heavy slots, but now you get three slots for kinetic, energy and power weapons. The cool thing is that you get kinetic and energy variants of specific weapon types, so if you want to wield hand cannons in two slots, or pack a kinetic SMG with an energy rifle, that's fine.
There's plenty of flexibility and scope for brutal combo attacks in the new system, and the beta already throws in some fabulous Exotics that you can try out for yourself. At the moment, I'm trying to decide which I love more: the Sunshot hand cannon or the Sweet Business chaingun-style auto-rifle.
What's more, each class now has an additional support ability. Play as a Titan, and you can summon up a protective wall. Play as a Warlock, and you can create a dome of healing energy. The Hunter, meanwhile, gets a slightly less helpful dodge and reload move. It all goes to make each class feel a little more special.
Classes and abilities are changing throughout – along with a progression system that's currently under wraps. Right now we can see three new subclasses, bringing new specials and supers into play. The new Warlock subclass, Dawnblade, gets a mighty sword that can cause huge damage, even at a distance.
The Titan Sentinel gets a fantastic shield, which is the ideal accompaniment for charging through Cabal units. The Hunter ArcStriker, finally, pulls out a staff and unleashes two tons of whup-ass on any varmints dumb enough to join the fray. These moves are spectacular, and it's going to be a lot of fun exploring the different combinations and permutations once the full progress system comes into play.
Destiny 2 competitive multiplayer
It has a different feel from original Destiny, partly because Bungie has dialled the team numbers back to four per side. This seems to make it a little less chaotic and single-shot-kill-crazy – and again, there's a bit more of the old Halo 2 feel.
Right now, I'm a big fan of the Control mode played on the Endless Vale map. Endless Vale is set on a new alien world, Nessus, which you'll also encounter in the new Inverted Spire strike. It's a great map, full of interlinking passages, chokepoints and small-ish open areas. This makes it ideal for capturing and doing your damn best to hold contested control points. It's a little bit old-school, but undeniably fun and exciting.
I'm not so sure about the Countdown mode, played out in the Midtown area of The Last City. It's the closest Destiny has ever got to Counter-Strike, as teams work to set bombs or prevent and defuse them. However, every round in every game I've played so far seems to be over in seconds, either because the attacking team sets a charge very quickly, or because the defending team wipes them out on their way to do it. There's potential here for some strategic cat-and-mouse action, but it isn't quite there yet.
Will Destiny 2 silence the Destiny haters?
I'd like to think so, but probably not. Some people didn't get – and may never get – the appeal of the original, and Destiny 2 isn't an entirely different experience, at least so far.
However, my feeling from the beta is that the sequel should delight those who became obsessed with the original while bringing in those who played the first game, lost interest and never got pulled in by the long-term game.
For me, the best thing and the worst thing about this beta is that I need more of it. Provided Bungie doesn't mess this up, I'm getting ready to drop out of Destiny rehab and sacrifice all my spare time.
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