June 19, 2017 by Paul Curtin
When Destiny launched back in 2014, we were left with mixed feelings about the shooter which was a bit of a letdown after all the hype. Destiny was a good game, and Bungie’s first big expansion, The Taken King, made the game even better with much needed improvements and the addition of more powerful subclasses.
Now, three years later, Bungie is back with the sequel, which also looks to be making much needed changes. Those who were letdown by the first game should appreciate said changes since most of the focus is going towards improving the campaign’s story. But at E3 this year, Activision, Bungie, and Sony all showed off the game’s rather similar multiplayer instead.
We were only able to play the new 4 vs. 4 multiplayer mode, Countdown, where two teams of four take turns attacking and defending an objective. In Countdown, there are no respawns, so fallen teammates must be revived by their allies. Once a bomb is activated, its up to the attacking team to then defend it during a short potential defusal period. Each round can also end when all the players on a team are slain with the goal being to win 3 out of 5 rounds.
From our 30 minutes with the game, it was hard to notice much that was different with Destiny 2. As you would expect, the game looks and plays great – just as the original did. The inventory, menus, and HUD all also look very similar to the original. And with the sequel coming to PCs, it’s sure to look even better than the version we played on PlayStation 4.
The biggest difference are the three new subclasses. We got to go hands-on as the Warlock’s new Dawnblade subclass which played like a mix of the first game’s Sunsinger Warlock subclass and the Titan’s Sunbreaker subclass. Instead of hurling flaming hammers like the Sunbreaker’s ultimate ability, the Dawnblade in Destiny 2 ignites with a flaming sword, flying upward, and becomes capable of launching waves of flames at enemies with each swipe of the sword.
Destiny 2 looks amazing in 4k, but has been confirmed to play at 30 fps on PlayStation 4 Pro and Xbox One X when it launches on September 6, 2017. With that being said, the PC version is the clear choice for those looking for the ultimate Destiny 2 experience when it launches two months later on October 24, 2017.
