It’s been awhile since I’ve last checked in with you guys, but the fact remains, we love and appreciate you for all the support and all around good vibes we get from you all. It’s been so much fun to put these still frame moments out into the digital universe and have so many people react and enjoy this content. It’s awesome. And, again, it goes without saying, but we are indeed nothing without the people who support and interact with us. So a big heartfelt thank you goes out to all of you guys.
YOUR DESTINY AWAITS...
Now, today, I want to delve into a part of the geek community we haven’t really touched on yet. Initially, we set out thinking that this was going to be a big part of our shows, but it just hasn’t panned out that way. But, both my brother and I are avid video game fans. Specifically, we love the game Destiny. Much like our show, this game encourages community, friendship and interaction. As immersive and vast as this game is, its true success lies in its ability to forge relationships with people both near and far. Like its class system, Destiny encourages its players to embrace their differences in an effort to assemble a diverse group of strength, stealth and space magic! Yup, SPACE MAGIC! Destiny offers three classes: Titans, Hunters, and Warlocks. Each possesses their own set of skills and abilities to suit each player’s own style and abilities. Or, if you can’t choose just one, Destiny allows you to play as all three.
Stemming from the gaming masterminds at Bungie, the same company that brought us the widely revered Halo franchise, this epic space saga is set in a “mythic science fiction world”. This first person shared-world-shooter features several RPG (Role-Playing Games) and MMO (Massively Multiplayer Online game) elements, allowing you to create, customize and invest your time into this finely tuned Light wielding fighting machine of your own creation. Wikipedia aptly describes the basic premise of the game as follows:
Players take on the role of a Guardian, defenders of Earth's last safe city, as they wield a power called Light to protect the city from different alien races. The Guardians are tasked with reviving a celestial being called the Traveler, while journeying to different planets to investigate and destroy the alien threats before humanity is completely wiped out.
Though many may think one is just traveling the galaxy and shooting stuff, on the contrary, this immersive universe offers so much more for the player to experience whether alone or with friends. There is so much variety to experience in the form of Story Missions with adjustable degrees of difficulty, Strikes: also with adjustable and varying degrees of difficulties and reward (loot) possibilities, Player vs. Player (PvP) Competitions and Modes, Planet Patrols, Bounties, Public Events, and the ultimate cooperative Player vs. Environment (PvE) event in the game: RAIDS. Raids are perhaps the most fun you’ll have playing this game. So far, this game has three different raids located on three different planets: The Vault of Glass on Venus, Crota’s End on the Moon and King’s Fall on The Dreadnaught floating in Saturn’s rings. Raids are best experienced in a Fire Team, often comprised of six guardians. A raid will test a player’s ability to not only solve puzzles and figure out the event’s mechanics, it will also test your ability to effectively communicate with your team. It’s not only challenging, it is a whole lot of fun.
Now, I can go on and on about this game and why I love it. But, I’ve actually asked one of my good friends, who is also a TBR listener and my fellow Team Rocket clan mate to share his thoughts on the game too. So, The Beta Report would like to present: Jesse Silcox aka Pred565 to this week’s TBR Presents: YOU! Gaming Edition.
A GUARDIAN'S HEART: WOLVES HUNT TOGETHER
Over the past year, I’ve had a chance to get to know Pred pretty well. I know he loves his hunter, but he is also not afraid to touch the void with his Warlock and relish in the fury of his Titan’s Fist of Havoc. I also know that he loves to help his fellow guardians when they are in need. And though we’ve shared several awesome moments vanquishing our enemies both in PvE and PvP, I couldn’t help but ask why he loved this game so much:
So I started playing this game and immediately fell in love with it. It was a wide open world and I could do anything I wanted to. The story missions were a lot of fun but sometimes it's great to just run around and kill aliens without an objective. As time wore on, I found out that my friends at work played the game as well. I started joining their Fire Team and we killed aliens together! There are some parts of the game (raid) that can have a team of up to 6 people. My friends and I found people on an online forum and started tackling these game modes with people from all across the world. There is a handful of those people that I became really good friends with and still play with today. Honestly, the best part of the game now is the people you play with.
As I indicated above, a lot like our show, Destiny continues to lay a foundation for community and interaction between its players. Through its various challenges and activities, this game has allowed a couple of Californians to connect with people in Utah, Texas, Seattle, Idaho, and even England, Japan, and beyond. As Jesse said, therein lies the crux of Destiny’s success. It’s allowed its players to forge through trials and adventure lasting friendships that transcend the digital confines of our screen and consoles. *Tear*
If given the chance to improve the game, Jesse continues:
I feel that Bungie has done a pretty good job with all aspects of the game. With each DLC comes more content and more varieties of things to do. I would like to see more 6 man Fire Team activities so we don't always have to break up the group into a few parties.
In the game, I’m a hoarder. I love to collect all the guns and armor. They just barely added a bunch of new space for all of the new guns and armor that you get but I am still struggling to make room for all my new items. It's hard to get rid of guns I fall in love with even when there is no longer any use for them.
Again, another accomplishment on Bungie’s behalf is their ability to create equipment, whether it’s their armor or weapons, as tools that help prime a player to tweak and customize their guardian to their utmost utility and aesthetically pleasing forms. The struggle to make the perfect guardian is real. #DestinyProblems
A GUARDIAN'S SOUL: A WOLF HUNTS ALONE
Now, I am a hunter at heart. I started the game about a year ago as a hunter and he’s usually the character that I do everything with first. I think we are kindred spirits; acknowledging the importance of a Fire Team, but also enjoying the wild hunt as a lone gunslinging ninja. And though, there are several forums, websites, and Facebook Community Pages one can visit if you are looking for a team to do a raid, a strike, or quest, I asked Jesse if a player goes solo, will they still get the most out of the game?
I would say yes and no. I love being with friends and tackling all of the activities with them. That being said, you can still play 90% of the game without having to get friends together and still have a great time.
As such, go forth into the universe Guardian, and vanquish the darkness with your light.
A GUARDIAN'S FINAL WORDS
Jesse finishes with:
I absolutely love this game. It's an ever changing world that's only getting better. It's a one of a kind so the possibilities are endless! I think that Bungie is doing a great job with it.
As he said there, Destiny is a constantly changing, living, breathing game that has continued to get better with every new addition and release. Bungie, as a company, has done a great job of listening to its community and is always trying to make Destiny’s universe one that we don’t ever want to leave. Given the rich and vast nature of its lore, I am both engaged and invested in this world for its perennial future.
So much love to my boy Jesse for lending his thoughts and opinions to this blog. I hope we get to see and/or hear more from you on our Facebook page.
What are your thoughts? Are you guy’s fellow Guardians as well? Are you liking The Taken King so far? Please share your thoughts below.
And as always, hit us up on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or in the comments section below.
Later kids...and BECOME LEGEND.
-JVN