Here are some of my observations of positive aspects as mentioned above: The gameplay is smooth between all actions. A primary first person shooter with a third person in the Tower City and vehicles, you are able to dial in your preferred playing style. Special abilities for each Guardian class, of which there are three, allow you to really change your play style. As a Warlock I was equally comfortable using a Sniper Rifle and charging with a Shotgun. The ability to upgrade weapons and customize class abilities really enhances this style of play. The visuals are impressive in a few key ways. The texturing is very realistic looking at moderate distance and only become visibly rendered up close, specifically things like texture on brick or concrete. The lighting is fantastic, especially in tandem with weather. There is a layer of fog that sits just outside of the Tower that will change naturally over time changing the view of the surrounding landscape. Even more impressive is the sunrise; the cloud cover will change how much light is displayed. Shafts of lights, known as sunshafts, are prevalent both in Tower and in Old Russia. The waterfalls in Old Russia create rainbows when viewed from the proper angle. Combat visuals highlight with weapon effects and class abilities. See the screen capture I took that shows 3rd person view. The story is exciting as you learn about the past and how it has shaped the current conflict in Destiny. The story primarily follows you on your characters story arc while integrating aspects of the city where you recharge, Tower. The music is the first thing that you hear upon launching the game and all the updates installing. It is of the same feeling you get if you ever played an epic game where the music set the stage for very high expectations and excitement. The game, even in beta, delivers on these expectations. The community is large, with just under 900,000 players participating in the beta. This should translate well for launch. There should be plenty of people available for matchmaking unless you grind levels too quickly. The multiplayer aspect of the game is interesting. A combination of many successful elements from first person shooters is mixed with some MMO-style mechanics which offers some fun gameplay. The world events are fun though if some are designed to be done by at least two players. The world events on the moon I found to be very difficult but manageable for those with a grasp on mechanics. Strikes are the 3-man teams which can be queued for directly in-game by selecting it. It will pair you with other players and you must take out progressive waves of enemies until you take on a boss or two. The waves can be easily destroyed by skilled solo players but often the carelessness of players in these strikes makes having 3 beneficial. You can be revived in moments by your teammates so the frustration curve is not horrible if you die. The mobile app is a great feature that really increases the excitement with the game. You can check your character, see what is in your inventory and browse many other features. It is a nice way to see where you are at and plan out what you would like to do if your time to play is limited. It is easy to give a couple minutes to check your current state while not being at your console. See the captures of the app. Here are some of my observations of negative aspects as mentioned above: The load times that are experience are not horrible, but they are noticeable. I would estimate that 5% of my gameplay was load time. Obviously load times will be less of an issue of you are exploring, for example the exploration in Old Russia. However, if you run strikes and Crucibles frequently, you will have some load time at the start and end. Then if you rejoin it is additional time. This is unavoidable and is really just something that gives you time to be productive in something else for a minute or two. The game can feel “grindy" at times. What this means is that you must continually do the same actions over and over again to obtain the resources that you need to obtain more desirable items. This is especially true if you are trying to get a bunch of glimmer for example which is a primary currency. You can mitigate some of this by using items that you find to increase the collection rate. That being said, the Crucibles already seem grindy especially if you are not playing with friends and just randomly join. The crucible player skill seems to vary greatly. There are some very skilled players mixed with average and novices. There is also the occasional AFK player that frustrates all. As the game matures there will likely be a solid matchmaking system that pairs you with similar skill players. Otherwise, you get beaten fairly easily or beat the other team easily. Overall Destiny upped the ante with features and gameplay and it works, and Destiny wins. I recommend this to anyone who wants a good story with reasonable multiplayer aspects. Not to mention it is a fun shooter at its core. September 9, 2014 is release date with a very likely saturated weekend on September 13, 2014. I hope to see you all in game. - Ryan the OC