Destiny 2: Adventures In Gaming For Old Men
Destiny 2 returns once again for my much needed old gamers' blood
I let these guys in my old clan talk me into coming back to Destiny 2. Honestly, I forgot the entire couple of seasons I even spent originally playing Destiny. I suddenly couldn’t remember all those long days I spent in The Crucible, crafting the best suit I could with all the gear I could find only to get beat on 7 times out of 10. Oh, but those final three times when I’d take the lead and punch my enemies to death… I felt it would be better to rule in hell with my Hand Cannon than serve from the sky with my Auto Rifle.
Created by original Halo creator, Bungie, Destiny 2 is a game that allows players to essentially create their own version of Master Chief. They basically left the Halo franchise with Microsoft in order to take their money and company elsewhere and make Destiny. Instead of one guy running ops on various planets, you’re now part of an entire platoon of Guardians out to protect Earth from all the bad people out there who want to rob and murder as something other than other Guardians. It’s been too many years so I’m still sort of putting the game back together in my head.
I originally played the first Destiny back in 2014. Thinking back, I eventually beat it, something I barely do now. Most of the time I save my cash and then give all my money to From Software to play whatever they’ve put out since Dark Souls. I never beat Dark Souls, Bloodborne, or Elden Ring, but I want them anyway. So even I was surprised after finishing Destiny 1 and eventually buying a new copy of Destiny 2 in 2017, before eventually getting tired of the whole experience. I had quit playing with my Guardian clan in my head first, plus I’d moved to Cambodia, joined a new band, and forgot ever playing Destiny 2. That’s why it’s almost like it never happened.
Since I left, Bungie has been hard at work on Destiny 2. First, they made it free to play; created all manner of new guns, ships, bikes, and other loot; and somehow managed to expand the ridiculous lore of this game. I had forgotten how much I’d studied and loved it before it came out originally. Despite this, it was quite a bit of reading and after about 4 years I barely remember where I should be headed or who I should be looking to while I’m there. That’s not the main reason why, but the good news for me is that The Crucible area of the game is still every bit as wild as I remember it. I go there and fight other players there almost daily. I pity you fools taking on the Vex or the Humaidors or Thugulators (I’ll let you guess which two names are fake) or whoever is on those random planets. I have everything I need fighting my other Guardians who are in every way much better than me… for now. My skills slowly improve as I continue driving myself up piece by piece. I will arc punch my way to being the halfway best once again.
My friend Mike got me back into it just by mentioning the game during a random phone call a few weeks ago. I kind of forgot our story of going from playing Halo 3 in 2008 while living with them in San Jose, to me eventually going vegan-ish too, and he and I starting Destiny 1 and 2 on the PlayStation 4. With Destiny 2 being Free to Play it really kind of seemed like the right time to come back. So I did it.
It was weird and I couldn’t remember the Halo-esque buttons either. Aim down sights, crouch to avoid radar sure, punch literally everyone. I got that part, but Destiny 2 also offers you some sort of god-mode extra power. Activate the sun in your armor, initiate the void to launch nova bombs, or arc blast everyone with lightning as you punch them in the face. You get a list of different grenades that bounce off your enemies or pause them so you can light them up while they stare at you helplessly while you punch them in the face. Destiny 2 also has melee finishers now that lets you essentially murder punch anyone that gets in your way and that PvE and PvP. It’s a very interesting experience to come back to for anyone who has been gone a while.
Beyond the crazy parts in the game, it’s also nice to know a few of the guys I was playing with almost a decade ago are still involved in the same Destiny machine. In other words, I joined a new clan, baby! I know it got boring for me last time, but all I had to do was follow instructions from Mike and his old PS4 buddy “Duskseyr” who stuck with it or I’d still be trying to give myself wins on Civilization 6, or Elden Ring (I’ll be back for you soon…) or I would have bought Street Fighter 6. These games have little holes in my PlayStation world despite the fact that I cannot beat any of them almost ever. I just play against people until I get tired, quit in the middle, or die over and over again. Save for the fighting game, I wouldn’t even bother trying to “git gud” anymore. There’s no point to be the best Civilization player when I could spinning pile drive you to hell with Zangief or pull your arm off with the new character Marisa a.k.a. Muscle Mommy. Wait for me, Darling! I’ll be coming for you one day!
Right now though, Destiny 2 was exactly the franchise I needed to come back to after a long absence from almost all of gaming. It’s been a tough year, but now, I can at least make up for some of the time I didn’t get to play. All of the work I was doing with very little time for much else. It feels terrific to get back to building this hyper-mobile Guardian punching character in Destiny 2. I’m a titan that flies around the battlefield lighting up whomever they come across. My Destiny 2 style is very woke as in “Wake your ass up, my fists are coming for you.”
How soon you see them is only a matter of time, and no… I don’t care if we both die. That just makes my Crucible murders even sweeter.
So let’s go!