Review: Destiny 2 delivers more content compared to the original

When the first Destiny came out in 2014, it was met with mixed receptions due to the lack of content. Thankfully Destiny 2 adds more hours of gameplay without the need of paying for more expansions.

One of the things people didn't like about the first Destiny was its repetitive missions and lacklustre storyline. Well some of those things have been addressed in the sequel because the story is more fleshed out and there's way more missions for you to do.

The story is a lot better this time around as evident in the game's opening campaign. It pretty much centers around the character named Ghaul as his Cabal Forces invade the Last City of humanity. The people are forced to flee and they have to find out how to strike back.

There's a lot more cutscenes in the story mode this time around and the characters are more fleshed out. It almost feels like you are playing an old Halo game from Bungie as there are some similar action set pieces throughout the 12 hour long campaign.

Even though the campaign is a big improvement, the gameplay in Destiny 2 remains to be the same as in the original. At the beginning of the game, you have to create your character customizing their appearance and choosing the class. The class types are the same as there are the Hunters, Warlocks and Titans. You can also unlock sub-classes too the more you progress.  Speaking of progression, Destiny 2 isn't as time consuming as the original when it comes to levelling up your character. I managed to levelled up my character pretty quickly by killing lots of enemies during the campaign and some side activities. There is a cap of level 20 and most players will be able to reach that easily.

A cool thing I like about the game is how easy it is to unlock new weapons and armour. After completing objectives, you are always rewarded with better armour or more powerful weapons for you to use. It pays to always get the best gear because the enemies always get tougher the longer you play through the game.

In terms of weapons and skills, many of them are similar to the first game. I was a Titan and his abilities were cool as he could power up and use a shield like Captain America. There are also a myriad of weapons including hand cannons, assault rifles, sniper rifles, grenade launchers and more for you to use.

Later in the game, you will also get to pilot some cool vehicles including a speeder bike and even a tank! The only disappointing thing is that the vehicle sections don't appear too often in the game. In the majority of the game you are just shooting enemies on foot.

The core gameplay is what might disappoint some people wanting to experience something fresh or different. It feels all too familar to the first game even though there are more missions for you to undertake.   A majority of the missions in this game are you just shooting waves and waves of the same enemy types over and over again. Occasionally you may have to beat a hard boss at the end. Still, I would have preferred if the missions provided a little bit more variety as the game can get repetitive after several hours of gameplay.

That said, the game can be fun especially if you co-operative with other players. Aside from Strikes and the Raid mode, my favourite thing to do in the sequel is participating in Public Events. Public Events allow you to team up with other players on the map at any time to take down huge bad guys. At the end of it, you get rare loot for your efforts!

Graphically, Destiny 2 is a slight improvement over the original game although it's not a big leap in visuals. I do admire though that the maps are much larger and more expansive this time around.

Sadly though, the game is capped at 30fps for consoles. Even if you own a PS4 Pro or plan to buy an Xbox One, the game will still be 30fps. Only the upcoming PC version coming out next month will be 60fps.

Overall, Destiny 2 is a big improvement over the original launch of the first Destiny game. There's loads more missions for you to do and the story is much better. Still, the game does feel like Destiny 1.5 at times and the gameplay can sometimes feel repetitive. It's still worth picking up if you love FPS style video games.

Verdict: 8.0/10