People love to hate-play it

I have roughly seven days of playtime logged into Destiny. I have a level 31 Warlock, Titan, and Hunter who are all one piece away from level 32 -- the current cap. I've completed the new Crota's End raid roughly 20 times, 10 of which I ran the sword for our group. You could say that I've played a lot of Destiny.

Even still, I find myself disliking most of the design decisions Bungie has made, and my opinion of the company has really gone downhill in general. The game is not only a Skinner box style loot-treadmill, but it also has a bunch of mind-boggling issues, made worse by the lack of communication by Bungie. It is a textbook example of an overhyped AAA game that failed to meet said hype.

With any luck, the developer will learn from its mistakes, and the game will be worth picking up in 2015. But before that time, I've had a great time experiencing the phenomenon, warts and all.

The problems with Destiny are myriad. At launch, the loot system was utterly broken. Players would be rewarded with purple-level engrams and constantly earn blue quality or lower, which was a real kick in the nuts considering how much work it was to find a purple in the first place. Other issues were rampant, like the concept of forcing players to farm hundreds of materials to level-up armor pieces to reach level 30. Grinding was and still is commonplace, whether you're grinding for currency (Glimmer), weapon experience, armor experience, marks, reputation, or pretty much anything else in the game. "The game starts at level 20" indeed, Bungie.

It was enough to scare people away from even trying it, but not enough to scare away the roughly 10 million users as of December 2014. What is it that keeps people playing? Besides the obvious addiction-oriented reasons that any MMO-like will bring to the market, it's actually really fun to play with friends; every single person I know who plays Destiny does it with friends on a regular basis. Everyone who played solo has quit by now.

Everything in the entire game is better with friends. Whether it's farming, raids, or just plain dicking around in the open-world Patrols or PVP, the game is built so more players will equal more fun. If I had to give an award to "best community" this year it would probably be Destiny, as most of the interactions I've had in-game and online have been positive. This is the core reason why many people, myself included, still play.

There are bright spots beyond the "fun with friends" gimmick -- because let's face it, what game isn't fun with friends? The first raid, the Vault of Glass, was insanely rewarding. Tackling the Vault with five other good friends is one of the best gaming-related experiences I had in 2014 -- that's not a hyperbolic statement. The coordination needed in the early days of the raid with lower-level weapons was crazy, and every room was a puzzle of sorts to solve. Crota's End, the second raid, was the same way, and the rush I felt while running from the horde during the first part was probably how Ian Malcolm felt while sprinting away in terror from Jurassic Park's Tyrannosaurus rex.

I continued to play throughout The Dark Below expansion, which brought its own set of problems, many of which haven't been addressed since launch. There's still a lack of bank space, there's still a lot of loot disparity issues, and the new Exotic upgrade system is incredibly obtuse. There's hints of brilliance in there, like the unique Husk of the Pit "weapon storyline" that will conclude with the hard mode version of the Crota's End raid, but there's not enough to keep most people interested.

I'm very keen to see what the next expansion, House of Wolves, brings to the table. I may be the odd one out here but the Fallen (pictured in the header) are my favorite race in the game, so I really hope Bungie brings it with the third raid after everything is has learned. I'd also like to see more story missions (try five lengthy ones at least, guys), more Strikes, and a complete overhaul of the Strike playlist and weekly system. Perhaps an additional "monthly epic raid" goal, cycling in the three raids. Anything to keep people playing and give them some diversity without curbing the fun factor or making content obsolete.

I've said this time and time again, but the core of Destiny is excellent. It feels great every time I boot it up, and nearly every single gun handles perfectly yet differently. It's really hard to go to any other shooter after a lengthy Destiny session, honestly, and I can't stress that enough. Bungie just needs to lick its wounds, deliver more content, and balance a few things going forward.

Maybe Destiny's "Game of the Year" edition in 2015 will be a must-buy. For now, just sit right there on the fence in the same spot you were in September 2014 -- off of the Game of the Year list.