5 out of 5 stars.

Perhaps the most anticipated game of the year, Destiny launched to a hail of excitement and splendor with its beautiful graphics, storytelling, and adaptive gameplay. An MMO/Shooter hybrid with slight RPG elements in places, Destiny aims to set the standard for large, persistent world FPS titles for the PS4 and Xbox One, as well as the PS3 and 360.

Combining elements from some of Bungie’s most respected titles with the expected shine and awe factor of Activision, Destiny’s beautiful blend of shooting, scouting, shopping, and searching cements the game as a polished quasi-MMO juggernaut for the latest consoles.

Part of what makes Destiny so attractive is, of course, the graphics.

With serious attention paid to the lighting of the murky destroyed factory interiors, up to the snowy-tipped mountains that climb in the backgrounds, Destiny’s focus on attractive landscapes assures that you’ll be taking long looks at every scene not only to possibly discover a hidden secret, but to simply take in the impressive dedication that has gone into Destiny’s world.

As well as being serene and beautiful, the fact that Destiny is a post-apocalyptic shooter is not lost in the glimmering streams and shadowy caves. It’s not uncommon to see a sparse and tattered clearing being dotted with bad guys, rusted scrap heaps, and countless players all shooting, jumping, and driving their way through all of it.

The constant feeling of struggle, whether you are participating in it or not, is always portrayed through the distant gunshots of fellow Guardians, or the scenic destruction that is scattered throughout the otherwise peaceful landscapes. Destiny wants you to remember that there is always danger no matter where you are in the world, and it works well. Numerous dark areas combined with the lighting effects and somewhat creepy ambiance make for exciting and challenging gunfights.

Destiny’s story surrounds celestial ‘tools’ battling over humanity.

One such ‘tool,’ the Traveler, aims to save humanity from another force, the ‘Darkness.’ Destiny is set sometime after the first major battle took place, wiping out almost all of Earth and crippling the Traveler. Humanity survived just barely, littering the galaxies and planets with ships and for some, corpses. Players take on the role of a Guardian, a newly-awoken human tasked with assisting the Traveler in its battle against the Darkness.

The story is told through multiple personalities, but every Guardian’s main point of contact with the world is their Ghost – a personal device that assists them in finding objectives, keeping your health in check, and providing comic relief after battle. The Ghost acts as a sort of interaction menu, keeping players up to date with important events and invites. Apart from this, the player can interact with several shop merchants and cults, all of which offer unique items to tailor their play style and set them apart from other Guardians.

Speaking of being unique, Destiny offers an array of player, emblem, and weapon customization to an extent.

A limited, yet useful player creation allows the selection between three ‘races’ and several options for each such as hairstyles, eye color, and facial paint and makeup. Another crucial part of Destiny’s character build is their classes. There are three classes in Destiny; Warlocks, Hunters, and Titans. Warlocks are based on several movie entities, mainly Jedi from the Star Wars series, and offer a sort of ‘space wizard’ feel. They combine basic gunplay with advanced elemental and magical abilities that make them a powerful support class as well as being able to lead the battle at times. Hunters, on the other hand, are based on characters such as Han Solo and other intergalactic mercenaries and outlaws, preferring to strategize and deal critical damage in a single strike rather than engaging the enemy head-on. Titans are the basic ‘soldier’ class, combining heavy armor with heavier weaponry and powerful melee abilities, offering the best experience for players more suited to running and gunning as opposed to the ‘tactical’ abilities of the other two classes.

Destiny’s unique classes can all make the game very different; some enemies are pushovers for one class, while being challenging for another. This pushes the sense of banding together, as groups of multiple classes can adapt to any situation the game throws at them.

Destiny’s gameplay is fundamental, fluid, and fun. Coming from the creators of Halo and the publishers of Call of Duty, both FPS powerhouses can be seen in traces in Destiny’s gunplay.

Powerful weapons with beautiful models and animations fill Destiny’s markets every day. Some of the weapons have rather lacking iron sights – being made more for cool factor than for actual target acquisition – but each weapon has unique traits and strengths over others. Each class can use every type of weapon, but some are more tailored for one class – Hand Cannons and Sniper Rifles are better suited for Hunters, for example.

Destiny’s gunplay is made the main focus in the Crucible, the Player vs. Player area of the game offering several game modes. Some of the weapons feel weaker in the Crucible, however, and often the Titan class reigns supreme in these challenging arenas unless a skillful Hunter or Warlock is present.

Destiny is a beautiful example of how a traditional FPS can also tell a compelling story and enforce teamwork over lone wolf battling. Combining the rich atmosphere, story traits, and graphics of Halo with the fluid gameplay of Call of Duty, Destiny is a best-of-both-worlds title that raises the standard of what shooters and MMOs can accomplish, as well as offering traditional yet fresh gameplay and truly impeccable graphics. The story, interlaced with sadness, determination, desperation, and faint traces of humor from the Ghosts makes the game interesting as well as enjoyable, and refines Destiny’s gameplay to something attractive as well as fun to play. A proper blockbuster for the upcoming Holiday season, expect Destiny to remain at the front of many FPS fans’ minds.