Destiny, the hugely successful FPS from the iconic and world-renowned developer Bungie, who developed and created the first games in the Halo franchise; recently announced the game’s newest expansion, Rise of Iron. Although Destiny’s player-base and community is still a booming one, with millions of registered players worldwide, it still begs the question; ‘is a now 2 and half year old game worth another major expansion?’
There’s no definitive answer for this question, instead let’s break it down and weigh it up. Rise of Iron is the newest instalment in the Destiny franchise, and takes players on a new adventure through the now war-torn and ravished Cosmodrome, as the Last City and it’s inhabitants are threatened by a new enemy; SIVA. SIVA is an advanced, self-replicating technology that the Fallen, another enemy faction, have decided to splice into their own bodies. It is once again up to the player-controlled Guardians of the Last City to take up arms and fight back this new enemy, with help from the Lords of Iron.
There is a huge difference between ROI (Rise of Iron) and vanilla Destiny, and that is the emphasis on story and a narrative. I am a huge Destiny fan; I’ve been playing since the beta and have over 400 hours registered on the game, but there is no denying the severe lack of an actual intuitive and engaging narrative present on the game’s launch back in September 2014. A lot of people’s initial complaints with Destiny is the lack of a story, with some players even stating it was the only thing preventing them from enjoying an otherwise good game. ROI ultimately provides the community with the same Destiny we know and have now grown to love, with the addition of a narrative based story.
Destiny’s gameplay hasn’t and most likely won’t see change, as the gun-play, RPG elements and customisation work so well and have become staples of the game itself, so players seeking fundamental changes to the Destiny formula won’t find what they want here. Another factor that might sway whether or not you as a player deem ROI as ‘worth it’ or not is Destiny’s now infamous business model. None of Destiny’s (and in the case of The Taken King) compulsory expansions are free, with The Taken King costing £40 in the UK and $50 in the US! This was even begrudging for a fan like myself to buy as it is still fundamentally an expansion. ROI has an asking price of £25 or $30, which is a bit more reasonable than Destiny’s previous major expansion; but should players need to pay such a steep price for an expansion to a game that some would say has seen better days?
The defining factor as to whether or not you as a player see ROI as ‘worth it’ or not is whether or not you are a fan of the game. If Destiny is a game you consider fun and enjoy to play, it certainly isn’t a crime to purchase ROI, but if you feel like Destiny has had its time, ROI isn’t for you. Whether or not it is worth it is entirely subjective.
