Anyone seen the reviews coming in?
Lot of varied opinions but doesn't seem, as many have said in this thread, that the story/single-player aspect is all that.
That said the loot-hunt and raid aspect still has me intrigued as a potential buyer.
Can anyone comment on the competitive multiplayer?
Will it provide a fun, lasting experience?
I think if you're an FPS/Halo fan, you'll like it. The maps are superbly designed and the gameplay, while seeming slow paced at first compared to other current offerings of the same genre, is actually pretty frenetic.
If you aren't aware of how the stats work in the Crucible, here's a breakdown:
Weapons: All weapon stats carry over except Attack; that stat only applies to PvE and is equalized for PvP. So the base stats, like RoF, Impact (this is damage in Destiny BTW), Range, etc., are all taken into account. On top of that, any upgrades to a weapon apply as well. So you can change the base stats through this as well as give a weapon special attributes if it's rare or higher.
Armor: For PvE, you want to concern yourself with the Light attribute because it gives you a damage multiplier against enemies that are lower level than you (past level 20, light raises your level further), but in the Crucible, you want to look more at how armor effects your cooldowns and any special attributes it gives you through upgrades. Defense doesn't matter as it's equalized for everyone. So you basically want to tailor your equipment to complement your playstyle and/or class. Want that super bar to fill up faster on your Titan? Get your intelligence up.
Subclass: Everything in your subclass(es) applies to Crucible, so there's a ton of factors at work here. Again, tailor your build to fit your playstyle. There are a lot of different ways you can go here.
With all that stuff taken into consideration, it's pretty amazing that Bungie has created a really fun and pretty well balanced PvP experience out of this considering the depth of customization. It definitely isn't balanced in the sense that a level 5 player is at a pretty good disadvantage to a level 25 player, but once you hit level 20, it evens out across the board more. It's not perfect by any means, but damn is it fun when you do well in a match. Plus, I'm sure that Bungie will be tweaking the balance out over time now that they have real data to look at.
As for modes, they're pretty limited ATM. You've got Control (3 control points on a map, though holding them isn't the objective; the more control points you hold, the higher your point multiplier for your team's kills), Clash (6v6 TDM), Rumble (FFA), and Skirmish (3v3 TDM with the ability to revive team mates). Last weekend there was a temporary playlist called Salvage that was basically Skirmish with a randomly generated objective spawning that you needed to control or disable. It was fun. Lack of CTF is pretty glaring, but I imagine it'll be introduced at some point along with other playlists.
If anyone is considering getting this to play alone or for the story, I'd advise them to steer clear. The story missions are like the training wheels and they don't ever do anything all that interesting (not including Raids here). Not to say they aren't fun, because I enjoy doing them with friends for bounties to level my class/gear and earn rep and marks. I just think you have to like the whole entire package, PvP included, to not be disappointed by Destiny in its current state.
