When Destiny came out last year, I was one of the first people to pick it up at the local Gamestop at their Midnight release event. I went home and played it for about an hour, and was excited to what my future would hold in that game. I played through the story, wondering many things. Why didn’t my Risen Warlock and Human Hunter decompose after being dead and lost in a car park in Russia for over 200 years? I understand (kind of) how an Exo -a robot soldier- would survive and just need a little lively jolt to start back up, or at least it is more believable. What about the other planets? What the heck are Grimoire cards and why do I have to go to bungie.net to read the full story of the game? Why is this story completely dry? Light vs. Darkness? Really Bungie? The most common storytelling mechanism is light versus dark, and you actually call the two sides light and darkness? It became a love hate relationship. I found a strong squad of friends to play with and that is what made the game for me. The story was forgettable, but the hunt for exotic items was addicting. I also loved the controls and how similar they felt to the original Halo franchise. But that’s what this game was to  me. The expansions added a few missions, but nothing fantastic or heart wrenching. It was a game and story that was as emotional as my pet rock and I was only playing it for the good times I had with my friends.

Enter “The Taken King,” the first add-in, or third DLC. It starts off with a remarkable cutscene of a space battle that actually gave me goosebumps and elicited an emotional response! Did Destiny just fire up all the feelings it had made numb in its original release and 2 DLCs? I played through the first mission and was astonished at how creepy and intriguing it was. I was blown away by the interactive storytelling and felt like my character was really part of the action. After the mission there was another cutscene, this time back at the Tower with the NPCs that were originally only there for the armor and missions in the previous games! We actually get to meet Cayde, Zavalla, and Ikora, the class specific Vanguards in the lower level of the tower. Then the funereal Eris Morn enters the scene and the Vanguards more or less shrug her off. Even they think she is over dramatic! Getting to see their personalities stitch together was impressive as I didn’t think they even had personalities, aside from the emo goth personality of Eris. This is more than just a game! This is a story! I am actually daydreaming about what my character can be doing in this world and what part he could play in stopping Oryx! This is exactly what I was hoping Destiny would be, I hope that as I play through “The Taken King” it proves that Destiny is a story that can be told and not just a simple video game.

Time will tell!