Destiny: The Taken King Review

Player(s): 1
Extra Features: Multiplayer (2-12), Co-op (1-3), Download Content

The original game of Destiny was released last year and I reviewed the PS3 version of the original, so if you want to see what I thought of that be sure to check out the review here on The Gamers' Temple. Basically, the shooter gameplay of the game was fantastic and I found it highly addicting, but I found the stages lacking in excitement and the overall story was weak. Destiny: The Taken King Legendary Edition packs in the original game along with the two expansions that were released closely afterwards (The Dark Below and House of Wolves) and the brand new Taken King expansion that was released along with this new package.

Since I received the game on a new system, I started from the very beginning at level 1 and went through the entire game and the expansions in order. The first DLC (The Dark Below) only adds a few missions and strikes, but it's story missions are essential for understanding the reasoning behind Oryx's conquest in The Taken King. The House of Wolves is overall longer than The Dark Below and adds quite a few extra missions such as a few more strikes and extra challenges for single player mode. The main problem I find with the first two expansions is that they feel exactly like the main game with their story mission structure (minimal story, character development and repetitive tasks).

The Taken King expansion has some very noticeable change starting from the first story mission. Besides opening with a great cutscene and having a few more cutscenes later on to flesh out the story a bit, the story mission structure for The Taken King is much more cinematic and adds a bit of variety to the usual shooter gameplay. In the first story mission I got Cabal walking toward my character and dying in front of me and some overall good build-up to the usual gunfights and reveal of the new enemy type.

Oryx has come to claim his revenge on the Guardians that defeated his son Crota in The Dark Below DLC. He has brought a legion of his comrades called "Taken" with him. The Taken enemies are basically walking darkness shaped into the silhouettes of other races. Taken litter areas with dark voids that you can see while moving through stages. They can split apart and create even more enemies while attacking. Just like other races (Fallen, Vex and Cabal) they have many different varieties. The Taken King has more cutscenes than the main game and both of its DLC's, but it doesn't go overboard with them. It's noticeable that side characters stand out more in the new expansion as well. Characters such as Cayde and Eris often contact your character and have a good bit to say that helps to flesh them out more than usual.

The Taken King adds around half as many story missions as you'll find in the main game of Destiny. Many of the Taken King missions have more quality such as overall longer missions or just missions with a unique objective, such as running from enemies or stealth gameplay, that make the missions much more memorable. All of the extra expansions add more items and weapons to the game. Peter Dinklage has been replaced with Nolan North as the voice of the Ghost throughout the game. It's a very minimal change since it sounds around the same but I actually feel Nolan North's voice is more fitting. Every single line of the Ghost has been rerecorded with Nolan doing the speaking.

If you're a first time buyer of Destiny, you'll get the most out of Destiny: The Taken King Legendary Edition since there is quite a bit to go through. Considering that The Taken King expansion by itself is $40 upon release, you're getting a great deal with this package. For players that already have the previous expansions and just want the Taken King expansion, it would be best to just buy it separately online. If you want all of the expansions on a disc, the physical release will only give you the original Destiny disc with codes for all the expansions, so just stick with your original game and download the expansions. The Taken King expansion is off in a better direction of offering a mixture of story with the already fantastic gameplay, so hopefully the follow-up expansions will be more like it.

The Good:
+ A good bit of content for first time buyers of Destiny
+ The Taken King expansion has more emphasis on characters and overall story
+ Excellent shooter gameplay with tight controls

The Bad:
- The story is still very weak and only starts to pick up in The Taken King