Review: Destiny The Taken King
Destiny, the space-based multiplayer shooter that’s acted as a digital narcotic to 20m feverish players, has been easier to cut down on in recent weeks. Most committed Guardians – as players are known – finished the last expansion pack, House of Wolves, months ago, leaving them with the same handful of missions to grind through over and over while they waited for new content.
Thankfully The Taken King has been worth the wait. New players will find it accessible, with a solid story and epic cut-scenes brought to life by Canadian actor Nathan Fillion, most famous for his role in Josh Whedon’s space Western, Firefly.
Bungie rightly places a lot of emphasis on the new story-driven quest missions, but there are also welcome additions to keep the game’s hardcore fans happy: a third playable subclass of each character is now available, as well as new co-operative “strike” missions and more competitive multiplayer maps, all of which refresh a game that had begun to feel a little stale.
The experience is lifted further by overhauls to the in-game economy, which brings a better balance to the rewards system, despite rendering old gear like the Excalibur-esque rocket-launcher Gjallarhorn sadly defunct.
Say goodbye to your social life: that familiar Destiny craving is back.