DESTINY: RISE OF IRON
Jen Simpkins goes hands-on with Destiny: Rise Of Iron to discover how Bungie has forged the ultimate PS4 shooter
Sequel stopgap or significant reinvention? Get our hands-on impressions of the newest expansion for Bungie’s iconic MMO shooter.
h, the inevitable MMO drop-off. PS4’s massive multiplayer online space smash-hit shooter Destiny, for all its near-flawless gunplay and incredible depth, suffered it too. Perhaps you hopped into orbit at launch, or found new life in the expansions that followed. But the hours passed; the allure of loot faded. You hung up your helmet, your hand cannon and your cloak. Well, Guardian: we hope you kept your ticket for the Tower coatroom. It’s time to rise again.
Destiny: Rise Of Iron is Bungie’s fourth add-on, built upon the rock-solid framework of Destiny’s past. It includes a compelling five-mission campaign; a new Raid called Wrath Of The Machine; and an increased Light level cap from 335 to 385 (reaching 400 when the Hard mode version of the Raid drops). There’s also a new Strike (plus two remixed ones), a new social space, new arena event Archon’s Forge and new Crucible options. But Rise Of Iron goes further, using Destiny’s most successful elements and raising them to fresh levels of brilliance. With the benefit of experience, the old is made new – and everyone’s welcome back.
Destiny: The Collection is the proof. The retail box contains all of Destiny up to the present day – that’s the base game, The Dark Below, House Of Wolves, The Taken King and yes, Rise Of Iron too – meaning you can jump back in no matter where you left off. Bungie isn’t leaving PS3 Destiny players in the dust, either: though Rise Of Iron is PS4-only, you’ll get a big discount on The Collection if you’ve played up to The Taken King on PS3 – and you’ll retain your progress, too.
Indeed, the warm glow of nostalgia smoulders through Rise Of Iron’s snowdrifts. The familiar wall at the southern border of Old Russia has changed: the Fallen have smashed a hole in it. Earth now stretches out from the Cosmodrome and into the frozen tundra of the Plaguelands. Snow swirls across everything, layering over the twisted red wires that snarl across ruins thanks to the self-replicating nanotech disease, SIVA. The whole place is nothing less than transformed.
SIVA ME TIMBERS
According to the new campaign, SIVA turned against humanity in the Golden Age, wiping out all but one of the Iron Lords. That survivor was Lord Saladin (master of the Iron Banner Crucible event), who buried SIVA deep in the earth. Now, the Fallen are digging the technology up, modifying their bodies to dangerous effect. Your task? To eliminate the threat and avenge your noble predecessors, becoming immortalised as part of the next generation of Iron Lords. Oh, and to pop heads and claim Exotics, of course.
Yes, it’s still a joyful shooter and looter at heart. As we sprint through the picturesque powder of Old Russia in The Wretched Eye, the new Strike, military wreckage and faded gold skies play second fiddle to… the Options screen. It’s a literal rainbow of new weapons and armour. We’re clad in red, white and blue Eon Tracer gear, clutching a hand cannon called The Wail that looks remarkably like a Fab lolly, Deposition VII (a sniper rifle with a perk that has a chance to grant a larger magazine on reload) and a winged rocket launcher. Yes, the infamous Gjallarhorn is back. If it’s been balanced for Rise Of Iron (and it has, we’re told), it’s not overly
noticeable: a squeeze of the trigger and those tracking cluster missiles feel as powerful as ever. Coupled with the Fallen scampering in and out of cover – rebranded as Splicers and sporting pestilent peg-legs – it’s starting to feel like the good old days.
EYE EYE, CAPTAIN
Until we wander into traps. It’s the first sign that Rise Of Iron isn’t relying on old tricks alone, and has surprises galore up its sleeves. A “Detain” status flashes up as we struggle inside a cage of green flame before shooting our way out and landing a knife in a Splicer Captain’s smug face. Watching devs explain that The Wretched Eye is a tricksy sort of Strike, filled with obstacles to overcome. Once we’ve avoided the unnervingly blood-red blasts of Splicer weapons, we descend into Bunker Triglav to take out big, infectious SIVA nodes.
In our menu, we happen to hover over the Artifacts item slot introduced with The Taken King expansion. Jackpot. Once the refuge of random knick-knacks that boosted your Light level and not much else; now the avenue to a whole new level of combat customisation. Collectable coins (reminiscent of the Iron Banner’s medallions, and named for the Iron Lords) can radically alter your Guardian’s playstyle, granting new powers. Want to remove sprint cooldown? Equip Memory of Jolder.
“RISE OF IRON ISN’T RELYING ON OLD TRICKS ALONE, AND HAS SURPRISES UP ITS SLEEVES.”
Need more melee hits and grenades? Sacrifice your Super ability with Memory of Felwinter to gain an extra charge for each, as well as small stat boosts. When we lock in Memory of Skorri, it recharges nearby allies’ Supers faster once our own Super bar is full. Finding these new Artifacts in drops introduces a whole other world of loadout options to Destiny’s already astonishingly deep FPS customisation.
COIN-OP CO-OP
Our newly-minted pockets jingle as the bunker’s structure winds and twists around a central spire of rusted platforms. We often find ourselves lost: hitting a dead end while a Wizard bears down on us, or struggling to cope with a Splicer’s green gas-cloud that temporarily slows our movement. Multiple routes mean our fireteam splits to hunt for kills and explore different levels, occasionally crossing paths before reuniting to face the boss.
“Face” here meaning “drop directly onto face.” A prompt pops up, telling us to defeat the Splicers’ High Priest. We can’t help but look at the gigantic ogre we’ve just bopped onto and doubt that he’s a man of the cloth. He has what looks like naval mines for hands, is bound by red SIVA tentacles, and he’s got far too many neck-rolls for a dog collar to fit. We sink a few rounds, but he’s immune. Suddenly, a purple projectile grazes our shoulder. A glance across the rubbled arena of Cyclone 141G reveals a tall, pyramid-headed Major called Kovik – our real target.
Finally let off his leash, the Priest’s pet lumbers around after us and our two teammates, slamming his fists into us for massive damage. Giggles and protestations ensue when we all too often lead it into each other’s paths like the world’s most dangerous game of Hot Potato. Deaths swiftly follow. Sobered, we soon figure out
“BUNGIE ADMITS ITS VIKING-LIKE ARMOUR SETS ARE INFLUENCED BY GAME OF THRONES.”
that someone’s got to be ogre-bait, that one of us must chase the teleporting Priest and blast through mobs, and that the third Guardian should snipe the staggered Priest from afar. As the monsters dither and we strafe about the circular hall, the roles rotate. We’re still occasionally caught in a sad Splicer sandwich of ogre and priest – but with communication and a lot of frantic hopping, the boss finally explodes into Engrams.
TAKE A PEAK
During the traditional post-mission reflective dance party, we’re struck by how different this Strike feels to the majority of Destiny’s existing coop loot runs. Its variety and tactical environmental elements make it an almost “Raid-lite” affair. Although brief (our first run takes us under 15 minutes), the sprawling environment mixed with changing tactical elements and roadblocks produce different results each time. Our second playthrough takes us much longer, and we die far more. A third run on a higher setting makes the boss fight a logistical nightmare. It’s less scripted than ever – a real, organic adventure.
This refinement continues in Rise Of Iron’s other big updates. Joining the Tower and the Reef is a new social space called Felwinter Peak. So far, so Destiny. But this time, it’s woven
into regular gameplay. “We wanted to actually have the players be part of taking it back,” game director Christopher Barrett explains, citing a mission where you ascend a glaciated mountain to fight and reclaim the zone from the Fallen. “It’s a cool new thing we haven’t done before,” he adds, promising “new rituals” for Guardians once they’re settled in their new home. From lighting the flames under the imposing bronze statues of the Iron Lords to mark campaign progress, to the new Raid acting as an extension of Rise Of Iron’s main storyline, Bungie’s deep dive into this part of Destiny prioritises a seamless tying together of world and game for truly memorable moments.
New Viking-esque armour sets (influenced by Game of Thrones, Bungie readily admits) let you literally become an Iron Lord piece by piece. Or you can give yourself over to SIVA. Our interview with Barrett and executive producer Scott Taylor reveals that there’s a whole set of SIVA-inspired armour and gear to earn à la the Taken sets from the previous expansion. The flaming axe on our cover? Not a Heavy, alas, but a timed-use Relic (think the House Of Wolves’ Scorch Cannon). It’s “a weapon that is iconic to what Rise Of Iron is,” says art director Shiek Wang. He also informs us that there are other weapons, although he “doesn’t want to ruin the surprise” for players.
This newest expansions also adds in things you’ve always wondered about, namely the stories behind your fave weapons and gear. Forget Grimoire cards – Rise Of Iron wants you to live this lore yourself, presenting it with a sophistication that totally blows every other PS4 shooter out of the sky.
“FORGET GRIMOIRE CARDS – RISE OF IRON WANTS YOU TO LIVE THE LORE FOR YOURSELF.”
Speaking of blowing things out of the sky, our playtest of the updated Crucible is explosive fun – and not just because Gjally’s back in play. We triple-jump around the platforms and dash through the low tunnels of Venus’ lush Floating Gardens in new fast-paced 6v6 mode Supremacy: downed enemies drop crests; collect enough crests, and win the match. In a genius move by Bungie, the collectable objective looks almost exactly like an Engram. A now-Pavlovian (or should we say Rahoolian?) response has us picking up the shinies on instinct, always playing the objective.
By the time we’ve moved onto the second new map (there are four), we’ve figured out sniping doesn’t cut it. We need to be fighting up-close to collect dropped crests. PS4-exclusive map Icarus, a fiery yellow power station on Mercury harnessing the sun’s rays, is made for the close-quarters scrap: its circular, many-entranced glass corridors mean opposing Guardians gravitate towards each other. Erk. But we’ve got an ace in the hole: we equip the Memory of Gheleon Artifact for an extra-detailed radar that stays on-screen when sighting with our primary weapon. One teammate plumps for Memory of Perun, which highlights enemy Guardians with low health and full Supers. Try sneaking up on us now. We ambush in packs, denying opponents our teammates’ crests and thieving theirs for the win.
YOUR DESTINY
And Crucible customisation doesn’t stop with the new Artifacts. Rejoice, for Rise Of Iron finally brings Private Matches to Destiny. You can now play with your friends in matches of up to 12 players, and you can set custom rules. 2v2 doubles Clash? Go for it. 5v1 Control? Rather you than us. Select time and score limits, turn
vehicles on or off, pick the map and time of day… You can even go in solo to explore the secret-stuffed maps without the inconvenience of being shot, something lead designer Lars Bakken is ecstatic about. “There are secrets in Bannerfall that people will probably now – finally! – discover within the first ten seconds of having private matches,” he enthuses.
Indeed, for all Bungie’s determination to craft Destiny into PS4’s best shooter – for all of Rise Of Iron’s central tale of melancholy and splendour, surprisingly progressive new content and ever-deepening combat customisation – it’s about giving players what they want. The return of the Sparrow Racing League (coming back this Xmas) and the Festival of the Lost events, Gjallarhorn, the inclusion of Private Matches: it’s all for you, wrapped up in a package that manages to reinvigorate Destiny again in truly meaningful ways.
Bigger changes are coming, though: 2017 will bring Destiny 2. We ask vice president of game development Jonty Barnes how significant this will be for the shooter. “The larger the release, the more disruptive the changes you can do,” he points out. “And so when you think about something with a ‘2’ on it… You can speculate.”
For now, the arrival of Rise Of Iron finally makes Destiny the most confident, consummate shooter experience on PlayStation 4. Whether you’re a lapsed Guardian or a Destiny: The Collection convert, the new expansion’s genuinely fresh twists on a stellar formula mean you can take your pick of excuses to return to orbit.
With so much flexibility and customisation, that MMO drop-off may even become a thing of Destiny’s past – buried under the snow, like so much SIVA, by an all-new generation of fearsome Iron Lords.
“BIGGER CHANGES ARE COMING, THOUGH: 2017 WILL BRING DESTINY 2.”
OPM: What’s it like to watch people play Rise Of Iron for the first time? Christopher Barrett: It’s always exciting. You try and predict where players will get caught up, or where something will be too hard. We’ve seen it so many times, and we’ve played it so many times – it’s a way we can experience it through other people, and see their reactions. We have a user reaction lab where we bring people in and record them playing. Scott Taylor: You’re obsessed with that! You love it! CB: I mean, it’s cool! Just because it’s this opportunity to sit there and watch a video and hear and see people’s reactions, their expressions, and what they’re saying to the people they’re playing with. We can watch their eye movements… I’ve sat for hours and watched people play through content. ST: I’ll look at his desk and be like, “What are you doing?” And he’s like, “I’m watching this person play for an hour.” But it’s really valuable. CB: When they’re trying to defeat a new boss for the first time, or understand how an encounter works, and you can actually hear what they’re saying to each other to try and explain it – that’s invaluable.
OPM: What did you learn from The Taken King that you’ve implemented here? CB: The thing that players wanted more than anything was “more stuff.” They want an excuse to go home after work, or school, or whatever, and keep playing. So the number one goal was to give players as much content as possible.
The second thing was a new Raid, so that was incredibly important. We focused on content, making sure the experience is as polished as possible, making sure it’s approachable and people know it’s there. We have a lot of stuff in Destiny, but there’s a lot that’s fairly hidden away. There are people who’ve played Destiny who’ve never even gotten an Exotic, so it was really important to try and make sure we we were exposing that content to players. To have quests that sort of point you to them, and make sure people know they’re there.
Another thing that was a big focus was the record book we introduced with Sparrow Racing League and Moments of Triumph. We’ve built that into the UI now: it’s part of the Quests page. We’ve expanded it, and made it multiple pages, we have pages dedicated to the Crucible, Raid, and story content, as well as rewards. It’s all upfront there now. ST: The Taken King did a bunch of awesome stuff with the way it handled its cinematics. It’s something we took a cue from. And also, having all different kinds of secrets and collectibles, we definitely thought that was successful. That and little mini-events happening besides just the regular public events and Patrols… We want to make our world feel alive.
OPM: How successful did you think events like Crimson Days and Sparrow Racing League were? CB: Events are great, because we get a chance to try something new, and something that keeps players excited, and it gives them new rewards. So we’ve tried different things throughout the year. More than anything, Rise Of Iron looks more towards the previous releases – we both worked on House Of Wolves together, and The Taken King – and tries to take what we thought worked well from those releases into this [expansion].
OPM: Gjallarhorn’s back, along with powerful new Artifacts. How difficult are these things to balance in multiplayer? CB: Any time you add new powers on top of what already exists, there’s a lot of scrutiny. A lot of playtesting that has to happen, and a lot of discussion with the sandbox team. We felt like the things we’re adding with the Artifacts were interesting enough, but they also had some trade-offs: they weren’t super-overpowered. For example, some of them we tried to build in trade-offs such as not having the Super. So yeah, we’ll see! It’s a live game, so it’s something that we’ll be seeing hopefully a lot, and finding out how players use them. ST: I’m really excited to see what the Private Matches that people set up and do weird things with the settings look like! There’s a lot of opportunity there to customise. That’s actually one of the things I’m looking forward to the most. CB: Yeah.
OPM: What’s your favourite new Artifact? ST: I like the sprint one, so I can run everywhere. The sprint never cools down, so you can just run around. That’s how I want to play, so that’s why it’s exciting to me! It’s so simple. CB: I don’t know if I’ll be using it necessarily really in the Crucible, but I really like the new support one [a full Super meter recharges nearby allies’ Supers], because I play a Sunsinger a lot: Super’s up a lot when you’re Sunsinger. ST: It’s great for a Raid.
OPM: Memory of Timur [an enemy mind-possession Artifact] is going to be amazing for Raids… ST: Unfortunately it doesn’t actually work on giant bosses…
OPM: Yeah, we tried! ST: I bet you did. “Come on Atheon! Fight for me!” He’s like: “No…”
OPM: Do you think any part of Destiny could work in PS VR? We think Cryptarch VR would be amazing: looking at and rotating the loot you get in first-person. CB: Maybe a VR Grimoire? I think that would be pretty cool. Maybe you could actually interact with the cards.
“THE THING PLAYERS WANTED MORE THAN ANYTHING? MORE STUFF.”