[b]I don't say these things simply to be mean, or to moan and complain. I say these things because I would like to see this game become the best possible version of itself, and I am trying to help by addressing what I feel to be key areas in need of improvement. I don't need or want flames. [i]Constructive[/i] criticism is welcome.[/b] [b]Edit: link to ideas for how to fix some of these: [url=http://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/83590939/0/0]link[/url][/b] You know the dance. Destiny is good, but in many areas, it falls short. The Crucible's population is about 25% shotguns, 40% fusion rifles, 20% auto-rifles, 15% everything else (these statistics are almost completely made up, but they [i]are[/i] based on observable trends. If you have more accurate statistics, feel free to post them in the comments, and I'll use them instead of the fabricated ones). By DeeJ's own words, this is evidence of a lack of balance, and merits attention. Most of the Crucible's maps and (where applicable) objective points are not well-designed for sniping. I am only referring to the ones included in the base game, as I have not yet experienced the maps added in the expansion. There aren't many differences between the classes (and subclasses). The abilities vary, but only within a narrow set of parameters (melee, grenade, super, jump). Additionally, there is a healthy amount of overlap in specific abilities--such as blink--between classes (and subclasses). The Armor stat doesn't have a large effect. The difference between minimum and maximum armor is something like 98 (min) and 120 (max) health. My source for this is a (quite comprehensive) youtube video, the name and origin of which I have forgotten. Sorry. The story is sub-par (to put it lightly). I don't know how to say this without presenting it as a matter of opinion, so there you go. If it helps, I'm fairly certain that this opinion is shared by the majority of the player base. The missions are repetitive; most can be broken down into these parts: -Spawn at designated spawn point. -Travel to mission location. -Defend/wait for Ghost while he opens a door/scans an object/buys a soda from a vending machine. -Travel some more, possibly fighting as you go (usually optional). -Arrive at final objective. -Defend Ghost and/or fight boss. -Return to orbit. Time elapsed: 'bout eight minutes. The Strikes can be similarly broken down. Each mission consists of three or four parts, with one overarching objective. There's no unexpected complications, no sudden emergency shifts in priorities, no deviation from the plan. It's all very basic. It doesn't play like a campaign; more like a bunch of side quests. The enemies are similarly repetitive. Each faction has roughly the same units (and, consequently, roughly identical tactics): [b]Forgive me if I forgot any. I probably did.[/b] -[u]Cannon Fodder[/u]: Thrall, Shank, Goblins, Legionnaire. -[u]Slightly tougher/smarter Infantry[/u]: Acolyte, Dreg, Harpy, Phalanx. -[u]"Special" Infantry[/u]: Wizard, Vandal, Hobgoblin, Scion. -[u]Field Commander/Heavy-ish Infantry[/u]: Knight, Captain, Minotaur, Centurion. -[u]Heavy Weapons Guy[/u]: Ogre, Servitor, Hydra, Colossus. -[u]Big Bad MoFo[/u]: (Hive don't really have one), Fallen Walker, Cyclops, Goliath. -[u]Boss Monsters[/u]: usually just big versions of Commander/Heavy units. -Dropships: Three flavors of "drop in, offload, leave." The Vex are the sole exception to this, since they teleport instead. These could be divided differently based on roles fulfilled (stealth, melee, sniper, et cetera), but there would still be many parallels between races. Additionally, the AI is extremely dim--not representative of modern programming capabilities. Difficulty is artificially enhanced by bolstering enemy health and damage, with no visible change to intelligence. The vehicles are not very different from one another. Sparrows (or, it could be argued, Halo's ghosts) are sort of the base template, Pikes are essentially slow Sparrows with guns, and Interceptors are slow Pikes, without a dodge function, and with bigger guns. They all feature the same basic (hover bike) mechanics. What's more, the Interceptor is never even used by the faction that is allegedly responsible for its presence (and the Pikes aren't seen much, either). Furthermore, it is never [i]necessary[/i] to use any of these vehicles (though from what I hear, there is a "Sparrow escape sequence" somewhere in the DLC). Jumpships are essentially loading screen eye-candy. They are completely pointless. All the destinations are formatted the same: wide open spaces, with patches of continuously-respawning enemies, and a hundred-odd copy-pastes of the exact same cave or dark room, some of which have chests in them. The monotony is occasionally broken by the bounties and public events, but the limited types of both means that they quickly become repetitive as well. The RNG (you knew it would come up eventually) ;) loot system was a bad choice; at best, it is an honest mistake. At worst, it is a cheap method of extending playtime, especially taken in tandem with the lack of any sort of player-to-player trade system. One or the other would be fine; a trade system would excuse the RNG, and a performance-based loot system would validate the lack of trading. The current system, however, employs the worst possible combination. Again, an unpopular method of keeping players around. The characters (both player and non-player) are two-dimensional and sparse in personality, interaction, and significance. Through the entire campaign, the player's Guardian has perhaps twenty lines (if that; I didn't count). Ghost does most of the talking, and there's barely any back-and-forth between them; certainly nothing like the Chief's banter with Cortana (and the Chief is not known for being loquacious). The NPC's are similarly underdeveloped; we get snippets of their personalities and relationships (personal and professional), but that's all we get. Again, nothing like the character development seen in the Halo series. The Tower factions are meaningless; almost nothing is shown of their membership, their leaders, their representatives, or their goals. Almost everything about them (and everyone/thing else) comes from the Grimoire. This is a poor, indirect method of storytelling and universe-building. Final analysis (read: "opinion"): Destiny feels like it's still half-Beta. The story feels like the unfinished project that you'd present to the developer in hopes of getting funding, not the finalized version. The gameplay is uninspired, the only partial exceptions being the inclusion of "super" abilities, and a built-in double jump/"jetpack" feature (I do enjoy having that).