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Halo 3
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the video game. For the Nine Inch Nails song that uses this pseudonym, see Head Like a Hole.
Halo 3
Halo 3 final boxshot.JPG
Developer(s)   Bungie
Publisher(s)   Microsoft Game Studios
Artist(s)   Marcus Lehto
Writer(s)   Joseph Staten
Composer(s)   
Martin O'Donnell
Michael Salvatori
Series   Halo
Platform(s)   
Xbox 360
Xbox One
Release date(s)   
NA: September 25, 2007[1]
EU: September 26, 2007
JP: September 27, 2007
Genre(s)   First-person shooter
Mode(s)   
Single-player
Multiplayer
Halo 3 is a 2007 first-person shooter video game developed by Bungie for the Xbox 360 console. The third installment in the Halo franchise, the game concludes the story arc begun in 2001's Halo: Combat Evolved and continued in 2004's Halo 2. The game was released on September 25, 2007, in Australia, Brazil, India, New Zealand, North America, and Singapore; September 26, 2007, in Europe; and September 27, 2007, in Japan. Halo 3's story centers on the interstellar war between twenty-sixth century humanity and a collection of alien races known as the Covenant. The player assumes the role of the Master Chief, a cybernetically enhanced supersoldier, as he battles the Covenant. The game features vehicles, weapons, and gameplay elements not present in previous titles of the series, as well as the addition of saved gameplay films, file sharing, and the Forge map editor—a utility which allows the player to perform modifications to multiplayer levels.
Bungie began developing Halo 3 shortly after Halo 2 shipped. The game was officially announced at E3 2006, and its release was preceded by a multiplayer beta open to select players who purchased the Xbox 360 game Crackdown. Microsoft spent $40 million on marketing the game, in an effort to sell more game consoles and broaden the appeal of the game beyond the established Halo fanbase. Marketing included cross-promotions and an alternate reality game.
On the day before its official release, 4.2 million units of Halo 3 were in retail outlets.[2] Halo 3 grossed US$300 million in its first week.[3] More than one million people played Halo 3 on Xbox Live in the first twenty hours.[4] To date, Halo 3 has sold in excess of 14.5 million copies, making it the fifth best selling Xbox 360 game of all time, the best selling Xbox 360 exclusive title and the best selling first person shooter on the console outside of the Call of Duty games.[5] The game was also the best-selling video game of 2007 in the U.S.[6] Overall, the game was very well received by critics, with the Forge and multiplayer offerings singled out as strong features; however some reviewers criticized single-player aspects, especially the plot and campaign layout. A prequel to the game, Halo 3: ODST, was released worldwide on September 22, 2009. A sequel, Halo 4, released on November 6, 2012, was developed by 343 Industries and grossed $220 million on its launch day. Halo 3 was rereleased as part of Halo: The Master Chief Collection for the Xbox One on November 11, 2014.[7]
Contents  [hide]
1   Gameplay
1.1   Modes
2   Synopsis
2.1   Setting and characters
2.2   Plot
3   Development
3.1   Graphics
3.2   Audio
3.3   Voice cast
3.4   Leaks
4   Release
5   Downloadable content
6   Reception
6.1   Critical reception
6.2   Sales
7   References
8   External links
Gameplay

Master Chief aims his Assault Rifle at a group of Covenant Grunts. A piece of activated equipment, called the bubble shield, is shown.
Halo 3 is a shooter game where players primarily experience gameplay from a first-person perspective. Much of the gameplay takes place on foot, but also includes segments focused on vehicular combat. The balance of weapons and objects in the game was adjusted to better adhere to the "Golden Triangle of Halo": these are weapons, grenades, and melee attacks, which are available to a player in most situations. Players may dual-wield some weapons, forgoing the use of grenades and melee attacks in favor of the combined firepower of two weapons. Many weapons available in previous installments of the series return with minor cosmetic and power alterations. Unlike previous installments, the player's secondary weapon is visible on their player model, holstered or slung across the player's back.[8]
Halo 3 introduces "support weapons", which are cumbersome two-handed weapons that slow the player, but offer greatly increased firepower in return.[9] In addition to weapons, the game contains a new class of gear called equipment;[10] these items have various effects, ranging from defensive screens to shield regeneration and flares. Only one piece of equipment can be carried at a time.[11] The game's vehicular component has been expanded with new drivable and AI-only vehicles.[12][13]
Halo 3 contains non-gameplay additions, such as Forge, a map-editing tool. Forge enables players to insert and remove game objects, such as weapons, crates and vehicles into existing multiplayer maps.[13] Almost all weapons, vehicles, and interactive objects can be placed and moved on maps with Forge.[14] Players can enter Forge games and edit and manipulate objects in real time. A budget limits the amount of objects that can be placed.[15] Players may also save up to 100 films of gameplay to their Xbox 360's hard drive,[16][17] viewing the action from any angle and at different speeds.[18] Halo 3 offers a form of file sharing, where items such as saved films, screenshots, and custom variants can all be uploaded to Bungie's official website, Bungie.net. Anyone can browse user created content that has been uploaded to Bungie's website and tag it to automatically download to their console next time they sign into Xbox Live on Halo 3.[11][19]
Modes
Halo 3's story or campaign mode can be played through alone or cooperatively with up to three other players via Xbox Live or System Link.[20] Instead of having each player be an identical character as in previous Halo games, the first player plays as Master Chief, and the second player plays as the Arbiter. The other two players control two Covenant Elites, N'tho 'Sraom and Usze 'Taham, each with their own backstories. No matter which character is played, each player has identical abilities, though their starting weapons vary.[20] Hidden skulls found on each level cause changes to the gameplay when enabled, such as giving the enemies extra health, changing in-game dialogue, or modifying AI behavior.[21] These skulls, as well as the difficulty level and the speed at which the level is completed, provide multipliers to the total score.[11] Players are awarded gamerscore points for unlocking Achievements by reaching a certain score in each level.[22]
Local area network or Xbox Live supports up to sixteen players in multiplayer matches, with game modes including variations of deathmatch and Capture the Flag. Players must actively seek out other players through their Xbox Live Friends list, using the party invite system, or the LAN search feature to play multiplayer matches with their own custom rules and customized maps. If they are connected to Xbox Live however, a player can choose to have the game decide for them the exact rules and map to play on, as well as finding additional people to play against or with, using the "Matchmaking" system (the automated grouping of players of similar skill). A player will decide from a selection of developer designed "playlists" which each contain a certain way to experience the game.[23]
Like other multiplayer Xbox 360 titles, Halo 3 uses a customized version of TrueSkill ranking system for its matchmaking on a per-playlist basis. A linear measure of a player's experience with the matchmade portion of the game and each particular playlist is also tracked (denoted as EXP).[24] To help players have an enjoyable time online, several peace-of-mind features are implemented within easy reach, such as avoid/feedback options on a player's service record, as well as voice chat mute straight from the in-game scoreboard.[25] Like Halo 2, Halo 3 supports downloadable content and updates.[26]
Synopsis
Setting and characters
See also: Characters of Halo
Halo 3 is set in a science fiction setting during the years 2552 and 2553. In the year 2525, a theocratic alliance of alien races known as the Covenant discover humanity spread across dozens of interstellar colonies.[27] The Covenant declare humanity an affront to their gods and begin destroying colonies by bombarding the planets with barrages of plasma, turning their surfaces into glass. Despite efforts to keep the Covenant from finding further human worlds, a Covenant fleet discovers Earth during Halo 2.[15]
"Halos" are massive ringworlds, ranging from thousands to tens of thousands of kilometers in diameter, scattered across the galaxy. These rings were constructed thousands of years ago by a race known as the Forerunners as weapons of last resort against the parasitic alien species known as the Flood. When activated, the Halos would destroy all sentient life in the galaxy, depriving the Flood of its food.[28] The Forerunners disappeared after they activated the rings.[29] In Halo: Combat Evolved, whilst fleeing the Covenant, the UNSC ship Pillar of Autumn stumbled upon one of these ringworlds, Installation 04. The humans manage to destroy the ring, stopping the Flood; the Covenant, unaware of the destructive nature of the rings, attempt to fire another ring, Installation 05, during Halo 2 in order to fulfill their religious prophecy.[30] One race in the Covenant, the Elites, learn the truth about the rings, and join forces with humanity in order to stop the firing of the ring. Though they are successful, the unexpected shutdown of the installation triggers a fail-safe protocol, priming all the rings for firing from one location, referred to as the Ark.[31] Still oblivious to the true nature of the rings, the Covenant High Prophet of Truth and the remaining loyalist Covenant proceed to head to Earth, where they believe the Ark is buried.
Halo 3's protagonist is Master Chief Petty Officer John-117, a surgically enhanced supersoldier known as a "Spartan". The Chief fights alongside the Arbiter, a disgraced Covenant Elite commander. Two other Elite characters, N'tho 'Sraom and Usze 'Taham, appear as the third and fourth players in cooperative play.[20] Supporting characters from previous games return, including human soldiers Avery Johnson and Miranda Keyes.[15] The Forerunner artificial intelligence 343 Guilty Spark, who tries and fails to stop the Master Chief from destroying its ringworld in Halo: Combat Evolved, also makes an appearance.[15] Also playing a role in the story is the Flood entity known as the "Gravemind". In Halo 2, this leader of the Flood escapes from confinement on Installation 05, invades the Covenant mobile capital city of High Charity, and captures Cortana, a human-created artificial intelligence.[15]
Plot
After the events of the comic tie-in Halo: Uprising,[32] the Master Chief crashes in eastern Africa, where he is found by Johnson and the Arbiter.[33] The Chief, Johnson, and company fight Covenant in the jungle and arrive at a UNSC outpost. Here, Keyes and Lord Hood plan a final effort to stop the Covenant leader, the High Prophet of Truth, from activating a Forerunner artifact uncovered outside the ruins of the city of New Mombasa. The Chief clears anti-air Covenant defenses so Hood can lead the last of Earth's ships against the Prophet, but Truth activates the buried artifact, creating a slipspace portal which he and his followers enter. A Flood-infested ship crash-lands nearby; Elite forces arrive and vitrify Flood-infected areas of Earth, stopping the threat. Following a message Cortana left aboard the Flood ship, the Chief, Arbiter, Elites, Johnson, Keyes and their troops follow Truth through the portal. Joining them is 343 Guilty Spark, who aids the Chief as he has no function to fulfill after the destruction of his ringworld.[34]
Traveling through the portal, the humans and Elites discover an immense artificial structure known as the Ark, far beyond the edges of the Milky Way galaxy. Here, Truth can remotely activate all the Halos. The Flood arrive aboard High Charity in full force, beginning to infest the installation. Truth captures Johnson, as he needs a human to use Forerunner technology. Keyes is killed attempting a rescue, and Johnson is forced to activate the rings.[35] Gravemind forges a truce with the Chief and Arbiter to stop Truth.[36] The Arbiter, Master Chief, and Flood forces arrive and overwhelm Truth's guards, rescuing Johnson and halting the installations' activation. After the Arbiter kills Truth, Gravemind turns on the Chief and Arbiter.[37]
The Chief, Arbiter and Guilty Spark discover that the Ark is constructing another Halo to replace the one that the Chief previously destroyed. The Chief decides to activate this Halo; the ringworld would eliminate the Flood infestation on the Ark while sparing the galaxy at large from destruction. To activate the ring, the Chief rescues Cortana, who has the Activation Index of the destroyed Halo, from High Charity and destroys the city. Arriving on the new Halo, Cortana warns that Gravemind is trying to rebuild itself on the ring. The Chief, Arbiter, and Johnson travel to Halo's control room to activate the ring. Guilty Spark explains that because the ring is not yet complete, a premature activation will destroy it and the Ark. When Johnson ignores his warning, Guilty Spark fatally wounds him to protect "his" ring.[38] Although the Chief destroys Guilty Spark, Johnson soon dies of his injuries. Chief activates the ring, and escapes the ring's self-destruction on the UNSC frigate Forward Unto Dawn. However, the force of Halo's blast causes the slipspace portal to collapse, resulting in only the front half of Forward Unto Dawn, carrying the Arbiter, making it back to Earth.[35]
A memorial service is held on Earth for the fallen heroes of the Human-Covenant war, during which the Arbiter and Lord Hood briefly exchange words regarding the fallen Master Chief. After the memorial service, the Arbiter and his Elite brethren depart for their home planet, Sanghelios.[39] Meanwhile, the rear half of the Forward Unto Dawn drifts in unknown space. Cortana drops a distress beacon, but acknowledges it may be many years before they are rescued. The Chief enters cryonic sleep, telling Cortana to "wake me, when you need me."[40] If the game is completed at the Legendary difficulty level, the scene continues to show the piece of Forward Unto Dawn drifting towards an unknown planet, revealed in the sequel to be known as "Requiem", the primary setting of the campaign of Halo 4.
Development
Halo 3 was initially conceived before Halo 2 was released in 2004.[41] Much of the staff were preoccupied in making extra content for Halo 2, while others continued with the groundwork for the development of Halo 3. Bungie remained quiet as to what their new project was, leaving comments in their weekly update alluding to a "new project".[42] The game was officially announced with a real-time cinematic trailer at E3 2006.[43]
Bungie kept the public informed on game development via weekly updates on their web site. During development, the game was divided into single player and multiplayer builds; this made debugging and testing the much smaller multiplayer files quicker.[44] While details of Halo 3's multiplayer were widely disseminated in the sixteen months leading up to the release,[45] the single-player aspect of the storyline was kept relatively secret throughout much of the development to build up interest. The first campaign screenshots did not appear until a year after the announcement trailer, on July 5, 2007, as a "tease" for the planned pace of marketing.[46]
A public beta test of the game's online multiplayer features, as well as saved films and file share, took place four months before the full release.[47] Players required a Crackdown disc to play the beta.[48]
AI behavior was enhanced and improved; the behavior of enemy Brutes the player faces was modified, giving them a "pack mentality" that causes the aliens to perform similar actions at the same time and altering gameplay.[10][49]
Graphics
Halo 3 utilizes a proprietary, in-house graphics engine.[50] As detailed on the Bungie website, it employs advanced graphics technologies such as high dynamic range, global lighting and depth of field effects within cutscenes.[51] Motion blurring was absent from the beta, but was added to the final game.[52] Most of the dynamic objects in the game cast real-time shadows on themselves and the environment around them, including the game's plant life. Halo 3 uses normal, bump, and parallax mapping to give surfaces more detail without dramatically increasing the number of polygons. Players can see distances of up to ten miles (16 km) away, all fully three-dimensional.[53] Real time reflections were written into the engine; however, they are often unused as Bungie considered it a waste of resources.[54]
Halo 3 does not natively render at true HD resolution (at least 720 lines of vertical resolution).[55] In a Bungie Weekly Update, it was confirmed that the game renders at 1152×640 resolution instead of the usual 1280×720 (HD) resolution that most Xbox 360 games use.[56] This is because Halo 3 uses two frame buffers instead of the usual one, so the lower resolution allowed Bungie to preserve as much of the dynamic range as possible for the game's lighting without adversely affecting the frame rate. The image can be upscaled to 1080p by the Xbox 360.[56]
Audio
As with all titles on the Xbox 360, Halo 3 fully supports 5.1 surround sound audio.[57] In the game, there are over 50,000 pieces of audio, with nearly 40,000 of those being NPC dialogue.[11] This is far more than in either of the preceding Halo titles; Halo 2 had over 15,000 pieces of dialogue. The AI controlling this dialogue is designed to ensure the exchanges flow naturally and convincingly.[53] Separate recordings were made for nearby and distant gunfire to make for a more believable sound experience in the public beta,[58] and the finished game uses Waves Audio plugins to modify dialog and other audio in-game depending on conditions.[59] Distant gunfire sounds, which may first seem like prerecorded ambient sound, may often be the result of an actual firefight happening elsewhere in the game.[60]
Marty O'Donnell again composed the original score for the game. Some pieces of the game's music are produced with a much larger real orchestra than any pieces in the prior two games. For example, the music for the announcement trailer was recorded with a 60-piece orchestra and a 24-piece choir.[43] Halo 3 is the first game in the series to feature custom soundtracks, allowing players to replace in-game music with their own choices.[61] The Halo 3 Original Soundtrack was released on November 20, 2007.[62] Included on the soundtrack is an original composition submitted by fans and judged by Nile Rodgers, Michael Ostin, and Marty O'Donnell.[63]
Voice cast
Voice actors returning to reprise their roles in Halo 3 include Jen Taylor as Cortana, David Scully as Sergeant Johnson and the Elites, Keith David as the Arbiter, Tim Dadabo as 343 Guilty Spark, Ron Perlman as Lord Hood, Robert Davi as Rtas 'Vadum, and Steve Downes as the voice of Master Chief. The game also features new voices, with Terence Stamp and Justis Bolding replacing Halo 2 voice actors Michael Wincott and Julie Benz as the Prophet of Truth and Miranda Keyes respectively.[64] Additional voices include celebrity presenter Jonathan Ross,[65] Nathan Fillion, Adam Baldwin, Alan Tudyk, Katee Sackhoff, and John DiMaggio.[64] Members of the Halo machinima Red vs. Blue (Burnie Burns, Gus Sorola, Matt Hullum, Jason Saldaña, Geoff Ramsey, and Joel Heyman) have a cameo role.[15]
Leaks
Months before the release of Halo 3, the game's final testing copy before its gold release—codenamed Epsilon and confirmed by Bungie to be almost complete[19]—was leaked to the Internet. Microsoft reacted to this leak by having the Xbox Live accounts of gamers caught playing the Epsilon copy banned until the year 9999.[66] Two weeks before Halo 3 was due to be released, full retail copies of the game complete with photographs of the open game box started to appear on the internet auction site eBay.[67] A week before Halo 3 was due for release, major UK catalog retailer Argos accidentally released some of their final retail copies of Halo 3. Microsoft's Entertainment and Devices division were quoted as being "disappointed that it happened" but that "it was just an honest mistake" and that Microsoft had no intention of punishing Argos for the error.[68]
Halo 3's final retail copy was leaked online over a week before its official release. The 6.14 gigabyte file of the game was ripped and downloaded by "thousands" of people within 24 hours of the leak. Videos of the ending of Halo 3, obtained from the leaked copy, were captured and posted on video sharing sites.[69]
Release

A Halo 3 launch event was held at the NASDAQ building in New York City on September 25.
Main article: Halo 3 marketing
Microsoft spent more than $40 million marketing Halo 3. The goal of the campaign was to sell more Xbox 360 consoles and widen the appeal of the game beyond the "Halo faithful" to casual as well as hardcore gamers. Marketing took the form of stages, including trailers of the game, real-time cinematics, recorded gameplay sequences, pre-rendered CGI, and live action film.[70] On September 12, 2007, the "Believe" Halo 3 ad campaign, focused on the epic nature of the story and heroism told through dioramas and third party accounts of Master Chief's service, began with the video "Museum" and continued on past the game's release.[71]
Throughout the course of development Bungie released four "developer documentaries" that explained the processes behind creating parts of the game. A large-scale multiplayer beta test was played on Xbox Live with more than 800 000 members of the public being able to take part and experience the game for themselves.[70] Beginning in June 2007, an alternate reality game called Iris involved players in slowly revealing background information for the game.[70] The actual release was met with worldwide launch parties.[72]
Halo 3 also had marketing tie-ins and promotions. PepsiCo announced a new line of soft drink, a variant of Mountain Dew named Game Fuel, branded with the Halo 3 logo and the Master Chief.[73] Much of the advertising focused on appealing to the general public, rather than just hardcore fans of the game; for example, some 7-Eleven stores advertised Halo 3 and sold specialty cups and copies of the game.[74]
Features   Standard   Limited   Legendary
Game disc and manual   Yes   Yes   Yes
Poster   Yes   Yes   Yes
Interactive Xbox 360 disc   No   Yes   Yes
Bestiarum   No   Yes (book)   Yes (DVD)
Legendary DVD   No   No   Yes
Master Chief helmet case   No   No   Yes
Halo 3 was released in three separate retail versions, branded as "Standard", "Limited" and "Legendary" editions. The Standard Edition contains the game disc, manual, and a small poster with the game's control-map and artwork. The Limited Edition, contained in a metal case, contains the game disc, manual, poster, Xbox 360 bonus disc with featurettes, and a hardcover-bound "Bestiarum", a collection of information and art covering the species, cultures, and civilizations of Halo 3. The Legendary Edition contains the game disc, manual, poster, interactive bonus disc, the Bestiarum on a DVD, Legendary DVD containing exclusive content, and a scale replica of the Master Chief's helmet as a case for the three discs. The slip-cover packaging unfolds into a large heavy-stock poster of Master Chief.[75] Gamestation stores in the UK offered a limited edition Master Chief figurine to the first 1000 preorders.[76]
Upon release, some of the Limited Edition versions of Halo 3 were found to have a defect in the hub that kept the discs in place, which could lead to scratched discs. Microsoft confirmed the problem and offered to replace scratched Halo 3 Limited Edition discs free of charge until the end of January 2008.[77] This was not a problem in either the Legendary Edition or the Standard Edition.[78]
During October 16–31, 2013, Halo 3 was available as a free download for Xbox Live Gold subscribers.[79]
Downloadable content
Halo 3 supports multiplayer map downloadable content as well as game updates via Xbox Live.[80] The first three post-release multiplayer maps, "Standoff", "Rat's Nest", and "Foundry", were released as a pack on December 11, 2007, collectively known as the "Heroic Map Pack".[81] A second group of three maps including a remake of Halo 2 map "Lockout", titled "Blackout", a new map "Ghost Town" and a remake of Halo: Combat Evolved map "Sidewinder", titled "Avalanche" were bundled as the "Legendary Map Pack", on April 15, 2008.[82] These maps introduced visual filters to the Forge pallet, which change the way the maps look.[83] A remake of the Halo: Combat Evolved map "Chill Out", titled "Cold Storage", was released as a free download on "Bungie Day", July 7, 2008.[84] The third multiplayer map pack, titled the "Mythic Map Pack" and consisting of the maps "Orbital", "Assembly", and "Sandbox", was included with the Limited Collectors Edition of Halo Wars.[85] The map pack was released over the Xbox Live Marketplace on April 9, 2009.[86] The fourth and final multiplayer map pack,"Mythic II Map Pack", was released on February 2, 2010. The map pack includes the three new maps from Halo 3: ODST: "Citadel", "Longshore", and a remake of Halo 2 map "Midship", titled "Heretic".[87]
The first version update for Halo 3 was released on February 19, 2008, and addressed various bugs such as melee contest resolution and saved-film theater errors.[88] The next update (called a Title Update) was released September 23, 2008, and includes new Achievements, a new XP ranking system, and various new ways to detect and stop cheating in the game.[89] No further Halo 3 updates were planned.[90]
Reception
Critical reception
Reception
Aggregate scores
Aggregator   Score
GameRankings   94%[100]
Metacritic   94/100[99]
Review scores
Publication   Score
1UP.com   A+[91]
Edge   10/10[92]
Eurogamer   10/10[93]
Famitsu   37/40[94]
Game Informer   9.75/10[95]
GameSpot   9.5/10[12]
GameTrailers   9.8/10[96]
IGN   9.5/10[10]
OXM (US)   10/10[97]
X-Play   5/5 stars[98]
Halo 3 received critical acclaim upon its release. It holds an average of 93.53% and 94/100 on aggregate web sites GameRankings and Metacritic.[99][100] Pro-G's Wesley Yin-Poole assured readers that Halo 3 lived up to the enormous hype surrounding it, writing that the game was "everything we hoped it would be, and much, much, more".[101] Reviewers including Eurogamer's Rob Fahey, GamesRadar's Charlie Barrett, and GameSpot's Jeff Gerstmann felt that the underlying formula of previous Halo games was unchanged, but that this was not a detriment.[93] "Every type of Halo fan, from the hardcore to the casual to the brand new, will find something to satisfy them in Master Chief's third adventure," Barrett asserted,[12][102] while IGN's Hilary Goldstein referred to Halo 3 as "the most complete game available on any console", specifically stating "the Forge and the replay functionality raise the bar for console shooters so high, it may never be surpassed this generation."[10] The gameplay additions to the game, such as equipment and new vehicles, were praised; Gerstmann and Goldstein noted that equipment had much more relevance in multiplayer matches than the campaign.[10][12]
Reception of the single-player aspect varied. Yin-Poole wrote that while the cliffhanger ending of Halo 2 was disappointing, the campaign of Halo 3 was much more satisfying.[101] Gerstmann, GameSpy's Gabe Graziani, and Goldstein maintained that the campaign was too short, especially on easier difficulty levels or with three additional players in co-op.[12][103] Goldstein was highly critical of the eighth level, stating "the penultimate chapter is so bad, just thinking about it puts a rotten taste in my mouth." The New York Times' Charles Herold said the game had a "throwaway" plot and Total Video Games judged the single-player aspect ultimately disappointing.[104][105] Goldstein and Steve West of Cinema Blend thought a part of the game's story was lost by not having the Arbiter featuring as prominently as the character was in Halo 2.[10][106]
Most publications agreed that multiplayer was by far one of the best features; IGN said that the multiplayer map lineup was the strongest of the series,[10] and GameSpy added that "each [multiplayer] map is extremely well-tuned".[103] The Forge level editor and saved films features were singled out as particularly strong features,[12] in addition to superb voice acting and Martin O'Donnell's rich score.[95][103]
Other complaints focused on the artificial intelligence; critics praised the enemy AI but complained that the intelligence of the player's allies was far poorer.[10][12][107] Bryan Vore of Game Informer said that human faces and some textures were just "embarrassing".[95]
Halo 3 was nominated for seven awards from the Spike TV Awards,[108] of which it won "Best Multiplayer Game" and "Most Addictive Video Game Fueled by Dew".[109] It won Time's "Game of the Year" and IGN chose it as the Best Xbox 360 Online Multiplayer Game and Innovative Design of 2007.[110][111][112] The Visual Effects Society awarded Bungie the "Best Real Time Visuals in a Video Game" for Halo 3.[113] Halo 3 took the Calvin Award for "Best Videogame" as selected by Box Office Prophets.[114] Halo 3 also took the award for Xbox 360 Game of the Year 2007 from GameTrailers, and was voted by fans as Game of the Year on G-Phoria. Halo 3 won the Edge Award For Interactive Innovation in August 2008.[115] In 2010, the game was included as one of the titles in the book 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die.[116]
Sales

Bill Gates selling the first official copy of Halo 3 to Ritesh David, at Best Buy in Bellevue, Washington. This was the only item Gates signed at the launch event.
First-day sales of Halo 3 reached $170 million in the U.S., setting a record for highest gross of an entertainment product within 24 hours of its release.[117] The performance beat the previous record setter—Halo 2—which earned $125 million within 24 hours after its launch.[117] The game was preordered by more than one million people in North America.[118] Worldwide more than US$300 million worth were sold in the first week, helping to more than double the sales of the Xbox 360 when compared with the weekly average before the Halo 3 launch.[3]
In the U.S., Halo 3 sold 3.3 million copies in its first 12 days on sale,[119] increasing to 3.7 million copies by November 15, 2007.[120] Reuters UK estimated that Halo 3 may have sold up to 5.2 million copies worldwide in the first two weeks after launch.[3] By November 30, 2007, Halo 3 had sold 5 million copies worldwide, and as of that point, was the best-selling video game of 2007 in the U.S., even though the game is only available on one console.[121] On January 3, 2008, Microsoft announced that Halo 3 has sold 8.1 million copies.[122] The game drew over a million Xbox Live members to play online in the first 20 hours, making it the biggest day for Xbox Live gaming in history.[4][123] The game returned to the top 20 sales charts more than a year after its release in February 2009; Gamasutra reported that the boost might have been due to the release of Halo Wars.[124] By January 2008, 8.1 million copies had been sold.[122] According to Microsoft, Halo 3 had sold 14.5 million copies as of 2012.[5]
Advertising Age reported that movie studio executives were convinced the release of Halo 3 harmed box office receipts; the week's take was 27% less than the previous year's yield.[125] While some executives decided the disparity in estimated and actual gross for films like The Heartbreak Kid was due more to the film's poor reception, other analysts believed that "the audience on [Halo 3] is the 18-to-34 demographic, similar to what you'd see in cinemas" and that this led to a decrease in receipts.[126] Later research suggested that the Halo 3 players still watched the same amount of television and movies, regardless of the time they spent playing the game.[127]
References
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Jump up ^ Sinclair, Brendan (September 24, 2007). "Analyst: 4.2M Halo 3s already at retail". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on September 13, 2013. Retrieved August 24, 2011.
^ Jump up to: a b c Hillis, Scott (October 4, 2007). "Microsoft says "Halo" 1st-week sales were $300 mln". Reuters. Retrieved August 25, 2011.
^ Jump up to: a b McDougall, Paul (September 27, 2007). "Halo 3 Sales Smash Game Industry Records". InformationWeek. Retrieved August 25, 2011.
^ Jump up to: a b "Xbox 360 Best Selling Games Statistics". Halo Waypoint. Microsoft. July 11, 2012. Retrieved July 24, 2012.
Jump up ^ Boyer, Brandon (January 18, 2008). "NPD: 2007 U.S. Game Industry Growth Up 43% To $17.9 Billion". Gamasutra. UBM Tech. Retrieved August 24, 2011.
Jump up ^ Gies, Arthur. "Halo: The Master Chief Collection review: the library". Polygon. Vox Media. Retrieved November 11, 2014.
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Jump up ^ Bungie. Halo 2. Xbox. Microsoft Game Studios. Level/area: The Great Journey. 343 Guilty Spark: After exhausting every other strategic option, my creators activated the rings. They, and all additional sentient life in three radii of the galactic center, died ...as planned.
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Jump up ^ Bungie (September 25, 2007). Halo 3. Xbox 360. Microsoft Game Studios. 343 Guilty Spark: [hysterical after learning that Johnson plans to fire his Halo ring prematurely] Unacceptable! Unacceptable! Absolutely unacceptable! [to the Master Chief] Protocol dictates action! I see now that helping you was wrong! You are the child of my makers. Inheritor of all they left behind. You are Forerunner! But this ring...is mine.
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Destiny (video game)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For other uses, see Destiny (disambiguation).
Destiny
Destiny box art.png
Cover art featuring the game's three character classes: Warlock (left), Hunter (center), and Titan (right). The spherical Traveler is in the background.
Developer(s)   Bungie[a]
Publisher(s)   Activision
Artist(s)   Christopher Barrett[2]
Writer(s)   Joseph Staten
Composer(s)   
Martin O'Donnell[3]
Michael Salvatori
C Paul Johnson
Paul McCartney
Platform(s)   
PlayStation 3
PlayStation 4
Xbox 360
Xbox One
Release date(s)   
WW: September 9, 2014[4]
Genre(s)   Action role-playing, first-person shooter
Mode(s)   Multiplayer
Destiny is an online-only first-person shooter video game developed by Bungie and published by Activision. It was released worldwide on September 9, 2014, for the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One consoles. Destiny marked Bungie's first new console franchise since the Halo series, and it is the first game in a ten-year agreement between Bungie and Activision. Set in a "mythic science fiction" world, the game features a multiplayer "shared-world" environment with elements of role-playing games. Activities in Destiny are divided among player versus environment (PvE) and player versus player (PvP) game types. In addition to normal story missions, PvE features three-player "strikes" and six-player raids. A free roam patrol mode is also available for each planet and features public events. PvP features objective-based modes, as well as traditional deathmatch game modes.
Players take on the role of a Guardian, protectors of Earth's last safe city as they wield a power called Light to protect the City from different alien races. Guardians are tasked with reviving a celestial being called the Traveler, while journeying to different planets to investigate and destroy the alien threats before humanity is completely wiped out. Since launch, Bungie has released four expansion packs furthering the story, adding new content and missions, and new PvP modes. Year One of Destiny featured two small expansions, The Dark Below in December 2014 and House of Wolves in May 2015. A third, larger expansion, The Taken King, was released in September 2015 and marked the beginning of Year Two, changing much of the core gameplay. In December 2015, Destiny shifted to an event-based model, featuring more limited-time events. A new, large expansion called Rise of Iron was released in September 2016, beginning Year Three. Rise of Iron was only released for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One; PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 clients subsequently stopped receiving updates.
Upon its release, Destiny received mixed to positive reviews with criticism centered mostly around the game's storyline and post-campaign content. The game was praised for maintaining lineage from the Halo franchise, particularly in regards to its competitive experiences. On day one of its release, it sold over US$500 million at retail, making it the biggest new franchise launch of all time. It was GamesRadar's 2014 Game of the Year and it received the BAFTA Award for Best Game at the 2014 British Academy Video Games Awards.
Contents  [hide]
1   Gameplay
1.1   Character progression and classes
1.2   Player versus environment (PvE)
1.3   Player versus player (PvP)
2   Synopsis
2.1   Setting
2.2   Characters
2.3   Plot
3   Development
3.1   Technology
3.2   Design
3.3   Soundtrack
3.4   Release
4   Post-release content
4.1   Expansions
4.2   Events
4.3   Gameplay changes
5   Reception
5.1   Critical reception
5.2   Sales
6   Sequel
7   References
8   External links
Gameplay[edit]

Destiny gameplay
Destiny's style has been described as a first-person shooter that incorporates role-playing and massively multiplayer online game (MMO) elements, but Bungie has avoided defining Destiny as a traditional MMO game.[5] Instead, the game has been referred to as a "shared-world shooter,"[6] as it lacks many of the characteristics of a traditional MMO game. For instance, rather than players being able to communicate with all other players in the game or on a particular server — as is the case in many conventional MMO games — Destiny includes on-the-fly matchmaking that allows players to communicate only with other players with whom they are "matched" by the game. To communicate with other players in the game world, players must use their respective console's messaging system.[5] Time-limited events and modes are also occasionally added or featured in-game.[7][8] Activities in Destiny are divided among player versus environment (PvE) and player versus player (PvP) game types across the Cosmodrome and the Plaguelands (added with Rise of Iron) on Earth, its Moon, Venus, and Mars. There are also PvP maps for Mars's moon Phobos and the planet Mercury. A social space on Mercury was added with the House of Wolves expansion, but requires players to go undefeated in the Trials of Osiris Crucible mode in order to access it. Another PvE area, a massive ship called the Dreadnaught that is situated in the rings of Saturn, and two PvE missions on Phobos were added with The Taken King expansion.
Character progression and classes[edit]
Players are able to improve their characters, referred to as Guardians, by gaining experience points (EXP) — when a set number of experience points are accumulated, the player's character will "level up" and gain improved statistics which further enhance performance in battle. Quests, including the "main scenario" quest line, are specific tasks given to the player by non-player characters which reward items and EXP. Completing main scenario quests progresses the overarching plot of the game.
Destiny features three character classes. Each class has their own specific upgrades, perks, special abilities, and two sub-classes that allow the player to finely tune their individual characters to provide a different play style. After choosing a class, players select one of three species for their character: Human, Awoken (bluish-gray-skinned descendants of Humans), or Exo (humanoid machines). They can then customize their character, such as changing its gender or skin color. A character's species is only cosmetic and does not affect gameplay. Players can create two more characters to have a character of each class. The Taken King added a third sub-class for each class, but requires the purchase of the DLC to access the new sub-classes.[9][10]
Hunters are designed to be like a bounty hunter with a focus on agility and mobility. Its Solar-based "Gunslinger" sub-class tree includes stat boosts that award accurate play, a throwing knife attack, the ability to upgrade to a triple jump, and the "Golden Gun" super, a very powerful, flaming magnum with a base magazine of three shots. The Arc-based "Bladedancer" sub-class has a heavier focus on close combat, offering an extended-range "Blink Strike", and an "Arc Blade" super (which allows the player to quickly dart between and kill enemies) with a temporary invisibility option.[9][10] The Taken King added the Void-based "Nightstalker" sub-class that includes a bow-like super called "Shadowshot" that tethers enemies together, limiting movement and preventing enemies from using abilities for a short time.[11]
Warlocks are designed as a mage, or a space wizard, with a larger focus on offensive abilities, recovery, and melee attacks that can reduce the cooldown time of its abilities. Its super in the "Voidwalker" sub-class, "Nova Bomb", is an explosively powerful sphere of Void energy capable of being thrown in different ways. Its "Sunsinger" sub-class features abilities based around the Solar element, with the "Radiance" super allowing the player to temporarily improve their statistics, or revive themselves if killed.[9][10] The Taken King added the Arc-based "Stormcaller" sub-class that includes the super "Stormtrance", which produces lightning bolts that chains between enemies.[11]
Titans are designed to be "tanks", with a focus on withstanding large amounts of damage to allow close quarters combat. The Titan's super in the Arc-based "Striker" sub-class, "Fist of Havoc", is a ground slamming attack that destroys all enemies in its radius. Its Void-based "Defender" sub-class offers the ability to generate a shield with its "Ward of Dawn" super. The shield can also provide temporary stat bonuses to other players that step within it.[9][10] The Taken King added the "Sunbreaker" sub-class, which features a Solar-based super, the "Hammer of Sol", creating a flaming hammer that can be thrown at enemies, or used for close-quarters combat.[11]
Upon reaching the character level cap, character progression shifts to improving their "Light" level by acquiring new and better equipment. This equipment can be gained through a variety of sources, including "strikes", raids, and in-game events. Prior to The Taken King, all legendary and exotic armor, and some rare, contained an attribute called Light. Once players reached level 20, they no longer earned experience to level up; EXP earned after level 20 went towards upgrading weapons and armor, and creating Motes of Light, an in-game currency. Players could only go beyond level 20 by obtaining armor with Light, and these levels were referred to as Light levels. The initial Light level cap was 30, which increased to 32 with The Dark Below and 34 with the House of Wolves. Update patch 2.0, released in preparation for The Taken King, made the character's experience level and Light level separate: level 34 is now the experience level cap for all players; level 40 for players who own The Taken King and Rise of Iron. A higher character level allows for better equipment to be equipped. A character's Light level is now an average of the attack and defense of all equipped gear. For example, if all equipped gear has 170 Light each, the character's Light level will be 170. A higher Light level improves damage output and defense. The highest obtainable Light level was 320 for players who owned The Taken King;[12][13] the expansion's April Update increased it to 335.[14] Rise of Iron increased the highest obtainable Light level to 400.[15]
Players' equipment includes weapons and armor. Legendary and exotic items are the best items for players' characters, and only one exotic weapon and one exotic armor can be equipped at one time. There are several different classes of weapons that are categorized as either a primary, special (secondary), or heavy weapon. Several weapons have an elemental damage type. There is Arc (blue), Solar (orange), and Void (purple). All damage types will deplete enemy shields of that type faster, and the weapon will also do extra damage to enemies if the gameplay modifiers 'Arc Burn', 'Solar Burn' or 'Void Burn' are active. The original maximum attack damage for legendary and exotic weapons was 300. This increased to 331 with The Dark Below and 365 with the House of Wolves. Because of the change to the Light level system, The Taken King numerically changed weapons of 365 damage to 170, but with no loss in damage output (365 damage of Year 1 equals 170 damage of Year 2). As with armor, weapons' attack damage contributes to the Light level and all gear can be infused to increase their numbers.[9][10][13]
There are six armor slots: helmet, gauntlets, chest, legs, class item, and artifact (artifacts were added with The Taken King). Each class has armor specific to them with exotic armor that compliment a character's sub-class. Each piece of armor increases overall defense. Before The Taken King, class items were only cosmetic (such as the Hunter's cloak) and did not have any stat or defense boosts. Class items now have defense that contributes to players' Light level. Players' Ghost companion now also has defense that contributes to their Light level. In addition to earning gear from loot drops by playing missions and other activities, players can purchase gear from faction vendors. Players can pledge their allegiance to one of three factions — Dead Orbit, Future War Cult, or New Monarchy — and earning enough reputation with a faction allows players to earn and purchase that faction's legendary items. Players also earn reputation with other vendors, such as the Vanguard and Crucible, by doing playlists or bounties for that vendor, which also have their own set of legendary items.[9][10][12]
Player versus environment (PvE)[edit]
Player versus environment game types makes up the majority of the game. PvE story missions can be played either solo or as part of a "fireteam" of up to three players. Initially, although there was an order to the story missions, they could be played in any order as more missions became available. For example, after completing Earth's second story mission, three more became available, but did not have to be played in story order. The questing system introduced in House of Wolves and refined in The Taken King now requires story missions to be played in order due to quest step progression. Every day, a random story mission is featured as the Daily Heroic Story Mission, featuring bonus rewards. Each playable area offers an open world "Patrol" mode, where players can travel freely around the area and perform small tasks gathered from beacons, and they can collect materials that are used for upgrading weapons and armor. Players travel around the areas on foot or with their vehicles called Sparrows (very similar to the speeder bikes of Star Wars). Public events happen periodically and any player in the same location can participate. These location-specific events include eliminating a target, defeating incoming waves of enemies, and defending a Warsat (a crashed satellite).[16][17][18]
"Strikes" are cooperative missions played with a party of three players that culminate with a boss; most strikes are side missions that are not part of the main plot. Players can play much harder versions of the strikes in what are called the SIVA Crisis Strike (formerly Vanguard Heroic Playlist) and the Weekly Nightfall Strike, which grant bonus rewards. While the SIVA Crisis is a playlist of strikes from The Taken King and Rise Of Iron, the Weekly Nightfall Strike, which is harder than heroic, is only one strike that changes every week with a chance for greater rewards. The Daily Heroic Story Mission, SIVA Crisis Strike, and Weekly Nightfall Strike each feature game modifiers that increase difficulty. Game modifiers can be positive or negative for the player. For example, a positive modifier would be "Small Arms", where damage for the player's primary weapons are doubled, but a negative modifier would be "Chaff", where the player's radar is disabled. Raids are advanced cooperative missions designed to be played by a team of six players — the only PvE game type that allows more than three players in a fireteam. Raids culminate with the elimination of a major boss that relates to the story.[16][17][18] With the release of Rise of Iron, there are four raids in Destiny.
From social spaces (the Tower on Earth, the Vestian Outpost added with House of Wolves, and the Iron Temple added with Rise of Iron), players can redeem "engrams" into items, buy items, and collect challenges known as bounties to complete during activities to earn experience, build their reputation among factions, and sometimes earn items. Beyond armor and weapons, items that players can obtain include ships that represent themselves during travel cutscenes, shaders for customizing the color scheme of their armor, emblems which are banners for players' names, emotes such as a dance or gesture, and shells for their Ghost companion.[16][17][18][19]
Player versus player (PvP)[edit]
In addition to these player versus environment challenges, player versus player combat exists in what is called the Crucible. The Crucible, which can have a maximum of twelve players depending on game type, contains playlists of PvP modes, including "Control", "Clash", "Rumble", and "Skirmish". Control is six-versus-six where teams try to capture and maintain control of zones. Clash is a classic six-versus-six team deathmatch. Rumble is a six-player free-for-all deathmatch. Skirmish is a three-versus-three deathmatch where players can revive allies. New modes have been added via expansions, including "Elimination" (House of Wolves), a similar mode to Skirmish except divided into nine rounds in which the team must kill all three of their opponents at once,[20] "Rift" (The Taken King), a six-versus-six capture the flag-like mode where players must deliver a "Spark" to the opposing team's base, killing enemies in its radius,[21] and "Supremacy" (Rise of Iron), a six-versus-six mode where players drop crests when killed and points are scored by picking up crests dropped by the enemy team.[22]
Other modes are available occasionally during time-limited periods, such as "Salvage", a three-versus-three king of the hill game type, "Combined Arms", where the Control and Clash modes are on maps with vehicles and turrets, "Inferno" (The Dark Below), a modifier on multiple game modes where points are solely scored on kills and the player's radar is disabled, "Doubles" (The Dark Below), a two-versus-two version of Skirmish, "Mayhem" (The Taken King), a modifier on Clash and Rumble where cooldown times for all abilities are greatly reduced, and "Zone Control" (The Taken King), a modified version of Control where points are only scored for maintaining control of zones, and not by kills or point captures.[7][23][24][25][26] A random mode is featured as the Daily and Weekly Crucible mode with bonus rewards. As of September 2015, players who do not own The Taken King or Rise of Iron expansions only have access to three-versus-three and six-versus-six Crucible playlists on previous maps with assorted modes, and no longer have access to playlists for individual modes.[27]
In Crucible modes, player statistics (such as weapon power and defense) are balanced between players. The periodic events Iron Banner and Trials of Osiris are offered, which disable balancing. These events have their own set of bounties and allows players the chance to earn exclusive items. Iron Banner became available shortly after the launch of Destiny and originally only used the Control game mode; it now rotates between Control, Clash, Rift, and Supremacy. It is available during the last week of each month.[8][20][28][29][30] Trials of Osiris was added with the House of Wolves expansion and uses the Elimination mode. It is available every weekend from Friday until the weekly reset on Tuesday. Players who go undefeated in this mode gain access to an exclusive social space on Mercury called The Lighthouse.[20]
A week prior to the launch of the Rise of Iron expansion, the option to make private matches was added; this option is available to all players on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, regardless if they purchase Rise of Iron. Private matches allow players to set up their own custom matches. Customization options include game mode, map, score and time limits, enabling light level, and time of day. Players can choose the amount of players for the match, including beginning a match by themselves.[22]
Synopsis[edit]
Setting[edit]
Bungie described the setting of Destiny as a "mythic science-fiction" world.[31] The setting, about 700 years in the future, follows a prosperous period of exploration, peace, and technological advancement known as the Golden Age.[32] In a universe where humans have spread out and colonized planets in the Solar System, an event known as "the Collapse" saw the mysterious dissolution of these colonies, the end of the Golden Age, and mankind teetering on the brink of extinction. The only known survivors of the Collapse are those living on Earth, who were saved by "the Traveler", a white, spherical celestial body whose appearance centuries before had enabled humans to reach the stars.[33] The Collapse was caused by a mysterious force called the Darkness, an ancient enemy of the Traveler that plagues the galaxy. The Traveler now hovers above the last safe city on Earth, simply called The Last City that is surrounded by a massive Wall, and its presence allows the Guardians — the defenders of the City — the ability to wield an unknown power, only referred to as "Light". The player takes on the role of a Guardian, and is tasked with reviving the Traveler while investigating and destroying alien threats before humanity is completely wiped out. Destiny centers on the journey of the Guardians, the last defenders of humanity, set to protect Earth's last city.
Upon mankind's first attempt to repopulate and reconstruct after the Collapse, it is discovered that hostile alien races have occupied mankind's former colonies and civilizations, and are now encroaching upon the City. Throughout the game, players have to combat aggressive aliens who have occupied the Solar System. Just like the Light for the Guardians, the Darkness lends powers to these alien threats. There are five separate races in the game, each occupying different planets. The Fallen are an insectoid race of nomadic pirates who scavenge ruined settlements on Earth, the Moon, and Venus for resources. The Hive are a macabre race of ancient aliens who have created massive underground settlements beneath Earth and the Moon's surface. The Vex are semi-organic androids who are attempting to seize control of Venus and Mars by turning them into their machines, which they have already done to Mercury. The Cabal are a military-industrial empire of massive amphibians who have established massive fortifications on Mars. The Taken, a new race introduced in The Taken King, are corrupted versions of regular enemies, who infest areas on every planet. Rise of Iron added a new faction of Fallen called the Devil Splicers, which are Fallen who have been modified by a technological plague called SIVA. They are found on Earth in a zone outside of the Wall called the Plaguelands.
Every race utilizes different strategies and weapons in combat. The Fallen possess cloaking and short-range teleportation technologies to increase their mobility. The Hive use superior numbers to overwhelm their opponents in close quarters while more elite units attack from a distance. The Vex utilize hard-light shields and teleport units of infantry into the battlefield en-masse. The Cabal rely on heavy armor, ballistic shields, and jump packs to combat players. The Taken, in addition to all the other races specialties, use high mobility and plenty of long-range attacks to out-maneuver the player. The Devil Splicers use multiple, unpredictable, lightning-like shots to surprise the player and hit them even while strafing. All of these races are hostile towards each other (with the exception of the Hive and the Taken), as they can often be observed attacking one another in-game for territorial dominance. The majority of the game's lore, detailing backstory on characters, weapons, the alien races, planets, etc., is found in Grimoire cards collected throughout the game and accessed through Bungie's website and the Destiny app.
Characters[edit]

The AI Ghost with the default "Generalist" Ghost shell. In-game, Ghost is about the size of a softball.
In addition to the playable Guardians, Destiny has many non-playable characters (NPCs) that aide the Guardians either in story missions, or by selling gear, weapons, or materials. The main NPCs in Destiny are Ghost (originally Peter Dinklage, replaced by Nolan North[34]), a robot artificial intelligence that accompanies the Guardians;[35] The Speaker (Bill Nighy), the representative of The Traveler; the Exo Stranger (Lauren Cohan), a mysterious female Exo who is interested in the Guardian's activities, but is not a Guardian herself; Mara Sov (Kirsten Potter), the Queen of the Reef and the Awoken, and the Kell (leader) of the Fallen House of Wolves; Prince Uldren Sov (Brandon O'Neill), the Queen's brother; Ikora Rey (Gina Torres), the Warlock Vanguard; Commander Zavala (Lance Reddick), the Titan Vanguard; Cayde-6 (Nathan Fillion), the Hunter Vanguard; and Master Rahool (Erick Avari), the Tower's Cryptarch who decodes engrams and buys curiosities from Guardians.[36] The player's Guardian is voiced by one of six people, depending on which species and gender the player selects when creating their character: Matthew Mercer and Susan Eisenberg as the male and female Human guardians, Crispin Freeman and Grey Griffin as the male and female Awoken Guardians, and Peter Jessop and Cree Summer as the male and female Exo Guardians.[36]
Other notable NPCs include Lord Shaxx (Lennie James), the Crucible Handler; Lakshmi-2 (Shohreh Aghdashloo), representative of Future War Cult; Arach Jalaal (Peter Stormare), representative of Dead Orbit; Executor Hideo (James Remar), representative of New Monarchy; Tess Everis (Claudia Black), Eververse Trading Company (microtransaction vendor that primarily sells emotes); Banshee-44 (John DiMaggio), the Gunsmith; Amanda Holliday (Courtenay Taylor), ship and sparrow merchant; Lord Saladin (Keith Ferguson), former Iron Banner vendor who became the main NPC of Rise of Iron; Xûr (Fred Tatasciore), an Agent of the Nine and exotic items vendor; and Eva Levante, the Guardian Outfitter (vendor that sells emblems and armor shaders).[36]
Several characters were introduced in the expansions and events of Destiny. These include Petra Venj (April Stewart), the Queen's Emissary who was introduced with the Queen's Wrath event and returned as a main NPC in House of Wolves; Eris Morn (Morla Gorrondona), Crota's Bane vendor that was introduced as the main NPC of The Dark Below and is a main NPC of The Taken King; Variks the Loyal (Dee Bradley Baker), House of Judgment vendor who was introduced as a main NPC of the House of Wolves and is a Fallen Vandal loyal to the Queen; Master Ives (Gideon Emery), the Vestian Outpost's Cryptarch; Brother Vance (Bob O'Donnell), a Disciple of Osiris and the Trials of Osiris vendor — Osiris is a character in the lore of Destiny; Tyra Karn, an archivist in the Iron Temple added with Rise of Iron who is also a Cryptarch; Shiro-4, a scout and Vanguard vendor in the Iron Temple; and Lady Efrideet, a former Iron Lord discovered to still be alive who has taken command of the Iron Banner in Saladin's place, as Saladin is now focused on the SIVA Crisis.[36]
Plot[edit]
When the game begins, Ghost is searching amongst the detritus of Old Russia until it finds and resurrects the player's Guardian, who had been dead for a long time from an unknown fate. Ghost then guides the Guardian to a jump ship and they take it to the Tower. There, they meet the Speaker, who briefs them about the Darkness. The Guardian is then tasked to probe the nearby Cosmodrome, where humanity used to launch its forays into outer space, fending off Fallen enemies and eventually the Hive, who were thought to have been confined to the Moon. The Guardian discovers that an old Russian Warmind called Rasputin, an AI built to defend Earth, is still alive and acting with unknown intent. The Guardian also tracks down codes to raise an ancient Array to connect it to long-lost colonies throughout the Solar System, and finds that Rasputin is controlling the Array. They then set off to the Moon in search of a lost Guardian who was looking for a way into the Hive fortress. After locating his corpse and dead Ghost, the player's Guardian's Ghost discovers that the Hive are raising an army and plan to invade Earth. The Guardian quickly sets about disrupting their efforts, including shutting down a ritual that the Hive were using to drain power from the Traveler, destroying a powerful weapon called the Sword of Crota,[c] and severing their long-distance communications. Around this time, the Guardian is contacted by the Exo Stranger, a mysterious woman who summons them to Venus to face a new enemy, the Vex.
When the Guardian arrives on Venus, the Exo Stranger describes the Vex as an evil so dark it despises other evil. She tells them about the Black Garden, a city where the Vex are born, and implores the Guardian to find it and rip out its heart, as it is the only way the Traveler will begin to heal. Ghost says that they need to speak to the Awoken, who lurk out in the Reef and refuse to take sides in the galaxy's wars. The Exo Stranger then leaves as she did not have time to explain things further. Once the Guardian arrives at the Reef, they meet the Queen of the Reef, Mara Sov, and her brother, Prince Uldren Sov, who tells the Guardian that they will help them locate the Black Garden if they bring them the head of a Vex Gate Lord. The Guardian travels back to Venus, where they uncover the Archive, which reveals secrets about the Vex, including the location of a place called the Vault of Glass, and pathways across the galaxy. After defeating Draksis, a Fallen Kell of the House of Winter,[d] the Guardian confronts the Vex Gate Lord, claims its head, and returns to the Queen, who tells them to take its eye to the Meridian Bay on Mars, where it can be used to enter the Black Garden.
After arriving on Mars in the Meridian Bay, Ghost informs the Guardian of its inhabitants. The Cabal have been trying to break the encryption on the Vex Gate with only limited success, but they do control many of the places that the Guardian needs to visit on Mars thanks to their Exclusion Zone, which nobody had ever penetrated. The player's Guardian becomes the first to penetrate the Exclusion Zone and heads to the Garden's Spire, which charges the Gate Lord's eye. They also travel to the Buried City, the birthplace of many technological wonders where they discover an AI that used to be linked to the Warmind of Mars, but is now controlled by Rasputin. With the Vex now present on Mars, the Guardian finds out what they are doing; they are returning to their home, the Black Garden.
The Guardian then sets off to the Black Garden. After going through a teleporter, they find themselves in a place that is not on any map of known space and time. After several battles, the Guardian reaches the heart of the Black Garden, which the Vex appear to be worshiping. The heart summons three Sol Progeny — a group of Vex units called Eschaton Mind, Imminent Mind, and Primeval Mind. After defeating the three Sol Progeny, the heart is destroyed, returning the Guardian to Mars and lifting the shroud of Darkness from the Traveler back on Earth. At the Tower, the Speaker addresses gathered Guardians in a celebratory speech. Over in the nearby hanger, though, the player's Guardian converses with the Exo Stranger, who says that the fight is far from over.
With the heart of the Black Garden destroyed, a team of Guardians decide to investigate the mysterious Vault of Glass ("Vault of Glass" raid). Described as the "Vex underworld" by the Ishtar Collective, the Vault is a realm where the Vex can control reality—even erase people from existence (a power used by a Vex sub-race called Gorgons). While these powers do not extend to outside the Vault, its enigmatic nature has lured countless Guardians, including the ill-fated Kabr, the Legionless, and Praedyth. In their descent of the Vault, the team defeats The Templar and its Oracles. They then successfully traverse the Gorgon's labyrinth undetected before reaching Atheon, Time's Conflux, a central figure of the Vex Conflux network who has powerful control over time, being able to send Guardians into the distant past or future at will. After fighting their way through time, the Guardians defeat Atheon, eliminating a major threat of the Vex.
Development[edit]
Development for Destiny began at Bungie in 2010 under the code name "Project Tiger", shortly after the release of Halo: Reach.[37][38] This coincided with the announcement of a 10-year publishing agreement with Activision Blizzard.[39][40] Under Bungie's agreement with Activision, new intellectual property developed by Bungie will be owned by Bungie, not Activision, in a deal similar to the EA Partners Program.[40][41] Details of this contract were revealed during the course of Activision's lawsuit against Jason West and Vincent Zampella, founders and former employees of Infinity Ward, including provisions for four Destiny games over the course of the ten-year deal.[42][43][44] Initially, Activision Blizzard CEO Robert Kotick suggested that the total investment in Destiny would be around $500 million. Bungie's COO Pete Parsons clarified that the game's development cost is not even close to $500 million, saying, "For marketing you'd have to ask Activision people, but for development costs, not anything close to $500 million."[45] Activision subsequently confirmed the $500 million figure, stating that marketing, up-front infrastructure costs, and investment in the game's engine were included, and could be amortized over the life of the IP.[46] Bungie would earn an additional $2.5 million bonus payout if the first game achieved a Metacritic score of 90 or above.[37][47]
By mid-2013, most of the ground work for Destiny had been completed including lore, game engine, and many environments and missions, tracking for a September 2013 release.[37][48] However, a "supercut" of the game's story and mission structure presented by Joseph Staten's writing team did not test well with Bungie upper management, led by Jason Jones.[37] Jones felt that the story was too dense and linear— a design philosophy he felt was important to Destiny was the ability for the player to choose where to go at any time.[37] As a result, the entire mission progression of the game was rebuilt between mid-2013 and the game's launch in September 2014, shifting away from a structure that quickly introduced the four major environments — Earth, the Moon, Venus, and Mars — to a hub-based structure in which each planet would be visited sequentially with an expanding variety of missions on each.[37] Existing missions were spliced and rearranged to fit this new paradigm, including dialogue and cinematics. Staten decided to leave the company amidst this reboot, though this would not be announced until September 2013.[49]
To cement the new framework, Jones developed the director interface that exists in the shipping version of the game, from which planets and missions can be selected.[37] He also established the "Iron Bar", a series of executive meetings which would oversee the massive project restructuring. This also involved rescoping the project to be more focused — areas such as the Hive fortress Dreadnaught, an Earth location called the European Dead Zone, and Osiris' temple on Mercury were cut — all were later featured in expansion packs. The restructuring also required an internal delay of the release date first from September 2013 to March 2014, and again to its actual release of September 9, 2014.[37][48] With Staten's departure, the writing team he had built at Bungie for the Halo series was left leaderless and isolated. As a result, much of this extra time was spent perfecting the gameplay and feel of the shooting while the narrative was only polished to a perfunctory level and "the story was written without writers".[37]
On April 11, 2014, Bungie fired its long-time composer and audio director, Martin O'Donnell.[50] For Destiny, O'Donnell collaborated with Paul McCartney on an eight-movement symphonic suite called Music of the Spheres which was completed in 2013.[51] The dispute which led to his termination originated from O'Donnell's belief that the Activision deal had begun to erode the collegial culture at Bungie. Activision was reluctant to release the symphony as a standalone work and went over O'Donnell's head to replace it with their own music in a prominent E3 2013 trailer.[51] In the ensuing disagreement, O'Donnell came into conflict with both Activision and Bungie leadership and was accused of "unacceptable conduct" in his performance review, leading to his termination.[51] Fans were concerned that the absence of Martin O'Donnell would affect the in-game music of Destiny; however, Pete Parsons of Bungie confirmed that Destiny's music was already complete by this point.[52] O'Donnell prevailed in a civil suit against Bungie over the improper dismissal in September 2015, winning unpaid wages, profit sharing, and lost stock.[51] As a side-effect of this ruling, forty minutes out of the forty-eight-minute-long Music of the Spheres currently exist in the public domain.[53]
Technology[edit]
Destiny incorporates a new game engine that allows global illumination and real-time dynamic lighting to occur together in cohesion.[54] In addition, Bungie's goal is that Destiny will natively render graphics at 1080p on both the Xbox One and PlayStation 4.[55] An innovation in Bungie's "hopper" technology, which has been the backbone for Halo's matchmaking system, will allow better player matchmaking in order to create a more natural experience in either cooperative or competitive multiplayer modes.[56] Developers at Bungie have criticized the new engine as ill-suited to the online nature of the game. Its resource-intensive nature makes even small changes to maps require an overnight rendering and compiling process.[37] Internal sources called the development of new maps and missions "grueling" on account of the game engine.[37]
Design[edit]
For Destiny, lead writer Joseph Staten hoped to build a universe that would "take on a life of its own".[57] The designers worked around "seven pillars", seven core principles which ensure that the game is accessible to both casual, novice players and experienced veterans of first-person shooters and MMOs.[31][32][58] This includes integration with social media, allowing players to gain information about new quests and their friends' activities.[31] In designing the playable classes, Bungie was inspired by different sources of science fiction. Hunters are a reconnaissance class meant to be reminiscent of the classic bounty hunter. Bungie cites as influences Star Wars' Han Solo and classic characters from old Western films such as Clint Eastwood's Man with No Name. Warlocks combine weapons with special powers from "the Traveler", and are meant to be a form of "space wizard". The Warlock class is influenced by the Star Wars series's Jedi Knights, The Lord of the Rings series's Gandalf, and The Matrix series's Morpheus. Titans, which favor heavy weapons and melee attacks and are intended to be reminiscent of the classic "future soldier", were inspired by Bungie's own Master Chief from Halo, Stormtroopers from Star Wars, and other "space marines" from science fiction.[59] Bungie also cited the influence of action role-playing games Monster Hunter and Dark Souls, noting their mechanical depth and brutality.[60]
Peter Dinklage originally voiced the character Ghost in the base game. The character did not have any lines in the two expansions of Year One. Nolan North replaced Dinklage for The Taken King and also re-recorded all of Ghost's lines from the original game, as Bungie wanted "to create a consistent storytelling experience from beginning to end". North was excited to put his mark on the role and hopes to evolve the character in future Destiny releases. He said that he did not listen to any of Dinklage's recordings, as he did not want any preconceived notions to influence his performance.[34] According to Bungie, the actor change was made due to Dinklage's availability.[61] David Cross was hired to write jokes for the character Ghost but none of his work was used in the final game.[62]
Soundtrack[edit]
Destiny Original Soundtrack
Destiny Soundtrack cover.jpg
Soundtrack album by Martin O'Donnell, Michael Salvatori, C Paul Johnson, Paul McCartney
Released   September 26, 2014
Genre   
Classical orchestral ambient
Length   138:48
Label   Bungie Music Publishing
Destiny Original Soundtrack is the official soundtrack for the video game, composed by Martin O'Donnell, Michael Salvatori, C Paul Johnson, Skye Lewin, and Stan LePard, with contributions and input from British musician and former Beatles songwriter, Paul McCartney. Released digitally via iTunes on September 26, 2014, the soundtrack contains 44 instrumental compositions from the game.[63][64] The soundtrack marked O'Donnell's final work for Bungie, after years of composing for the Halo franchise, as well as several games before that. In addition, McCartney wrote and recorded an original song inspired by the game, titled "Hope for the Future."[63][65][66]
Early in Destiny's development, O'Donnell was contacted by Pete Parsons (current Chief Operating Officer of Bungie), and was asked to begin writing music for the game. At the time, Destiny was still in its infancy, as it lacked any gameplay material for O'Donnell to score music to, so instead, O'Donnell began creating music based solely on the games ideas, stories, and artwork.[67] By February 17, 2013, over 50 minutes of the soundtrack had already been recorded with a 106-piece orchestra at Abbey Road Studios in London.[68] O'Donnell gave the early pieces of music to Bungie in hopes that they would foster inspiration within the development team.[69]
Unlike the Halo series, where pieces of music were only 2–3 minutes long, Martin has stated that the soundtrack for Destiny has no time restrictions, with the pieces clocking in "as long as they need to be."[68] O'Donnell collaborated with Paul McCartney on the soundtrack for the better part of two years, as they traded ideas, melody samples, and themes back and forth.[70] On April 11, 2014, Martin O'Donnell was dismissed without cause by the board of directors at Bungie.[71] This caused concern as to whether this would affect the game; however, Pete Parsons stated that O'Donnell's work on the game had been completed before his dismissal and would appear in the final product.[72]
Release[edit]
Destiny concept art and plot elements first leaked in November 2012.[73] Bungie supplemented the leak with more details, expressing regret that another upcoming video game had been revealed ahead of schedule.[74] Destiny's official unveiling occurred at the PlayStation 4 announcement event on February 20, 2013.[75][76] An alpha test took place from June 12 to 16, 2014 exclusively on PS4.[77] A public beta test began on PlayStation consoles on July 17, 2014 and Xbox consoles on July 23, 2014, available to players who pre-ordered the game.[78] Before the beta closed on July 27, it attracted around 4.6 million players.[79][80] The game went gold on August 23, 2014.[81] Destiny was released worldwide on September 9, 2014 for the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One.[4] Players who pre-ordered the game received early access to the Vanguard Armory.[82] Additionally, pre-orders from GameStop received an exclusive "red" sparrow vehicle.[83] Players who pre-ordered Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare received a Blacksmith armor shader in Destiny.[84] Those who purchased the digital PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360 versions of the game were allowed to download the PlayStation 4 or Xbox One clients respectively at no additional cost, until January 15, 2015.[85][86]
Some of the game's initial content, including certain items and missions, were timed exclusives for PlayStation platforms.[87] These included the "Dust Palace" strike, the "Exodus Blue" Crucible map, two exotic weapons (the auto rifle "Monte Carlo" and hand cannon "Hawkmoon"), a rare gear set for each class (Manifold Seeker for Warlock, Vanir for Titan, and Argus for Hunter), and three ships ("Aurora Awake", "Crypt Hammer", and "Outrageous Fortune").[88] Each expansion has followed suit and has had timed exclusives for PlayStation platforms. The initial exclusive content and the content of the first two expansions became available for the Xbox platforms with the release of The Taken King. The Taken King's and Rise of Iron's exclusive content will become available in fall 2017.[87][89][90][91]
Three collector's editions of Destiny were released: the Limited Edition, the Ghost Edition, and the Digital Limited Edition. The Limited Edition included a Steelbook game case, the Arms & Armament Field Guide, postcards from the Golden Age, Antique Star Chart, and in-game content: an exclusive Ghost shell, ship, character emblem, and the Destiny Expansion Pass. The Ghost Edition included everything in the Limited Edition, as well as a motion-activated replica Ghost with lights and the voice of Peter Dinklage and a set of photos and stickers. The Digital Limited Edition included Destiny and the in-game content included in the physical collector's editions.[92] A PS4 bundle was also available, which included a 500GB glacier white PS4 and a copy of Destiny.[93]
With the release of The Taken King, two new retail versions of Destiny, the "Legendary Edition" and "Collector's Edition", were released alongside The Taken King: both included a copy of the game, all "Year One" DLC, and The Taken King. A Digital Collector's Edition is also available. Year One players received commemorative items when purchasing The Taken King.[26][94] A new PS4 bundle was also available, which included a limited edition white 500GB PS4 with Destiny artwork on the face of the console, the Legendary Edition of The Taken King, and all bonus content from the Legendary and Digital Collector's Editions.[95] Players who purchased The Taken King received an item called Spark of Light, which boosted one new character to level 25, the minimum level needed to play The Taken King's content.[96]
With the release of Rise of Iron, a new retail version of Destiny was also released alongside the expansion called "Destiny: The Collection". It includes a copy of the game, and all DLC up to and including Rise of Iron. Like The Taken King, players who purchase Rise of Iron receive an item called Spark of Light, although this one boosts one new character to level 40, which is the minimum level needed to play Rise of Iron's content.[97]
Post-release content[edit]
Main articles: Destiny post-release content, Destiny: The Taken King, and Destiny: Rise of Iron
Prior to the official release of Destiny in September 2014, Bungie declared that a major component of the game would be a continuous release of new content. Bungie Director of Production Jonty Barnes said: "We're going to continuously update the game from now until the end of time. That's always going to be part of the philosophy of Destiny. We always wanted to build a new universe but keep building upon it, rather than to do a complete and utter restart periodically."[98] By the time of Destiny's launch, two planned packs of downloadable content (DLC) had been officially announced: The Dark Below and House of Wolves.[99][100] From the launch of Destiny, players could purchase the Destiny Expansion Pass, which included the first two expansions at a discounted price versus buying them separately.[101] Players also received an exclusive sparrow (EV-30 Tumbler) if they purchased the Expansion Pass or The Dark Below by January 15, 2015.[102] At E3 2015, Bungie officially announced a new expansion called The Taken King.[103] A new, large expansion was confirmed in February 2016;[104][105] its title, Rise of Iron, was revealed in June 2016.[106]
Bungie released the game's first raid, the "Vault of Glass", as part of the September 16, 2014, update and at the time, it was described as "Destiny's most difficult mission". The Vault of Glass centers on the Vex race on Venus and requires players to defeat Atheon, Time's Conflux.[107] In the weeks proceeding from the release of Destiny, players were reporting areas that could be accessed by various glitches or secret accesses.[108] These areas have been described as appearing "half-baked", and were noted to often be devoid of items or NPCs.[109] In an interview with Eurogamer, on the claims that these were on-disc DLC, Bungie president Harold Ryan replied that the content were incomplete resources intended to reduce download requirements for future DLC.[110]
The October 13, 2015, update brought the new vending shop "Eververse Trading Company", featuring NPC Tess Everis who now sells emotes in exchange for a new in-game currency, Silver — some complimentary Silver was given to all players when logging in after the update. Players can obtain more Silver via microtransactions.[111] One of the first emotes was the Enthusiastic Dance, inspired by the Carlton Dance from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Bungie stressed that these emotes are completely optional and the microtransactions are an effort to "bolster the service provided by our live team for another full year".[112] On December 15, 2015, boosting packs became available as microtransactions. The pack automatically boosts one character to level 25, and also features a temporary stat boost and "Telemetry" items to assist in further leveling.[113]
For Year Two following the release of The Taken King, senior designer Derek Carroll explained that the studio wanted to shift towards an "event-based model" with "surprises" for players, available to all owners of The Taken King at no additional charge, as opposed to a timed roadmap, as had previously been speculated.[114][115] Marketing director Eric Osborne further clarified its plans for "Year Two", stating that it would not consist solely of time-limited events as had been implied by others, but new "events, activities, content, and features", as well as an event planned for early 2016 that will be "far larger than anything you’ve seen since the release of The Taken King".[116]
Prior to Rise of Iron's launch and due to the expansion only being released for current consoles (PS4 and One), players' accounts on legacy consoles (PS3 and 360) were split from current consoles. Accounts were previously shared across consoles of the same family. Legacy consoles received their last update on July 26, 2016, excluding emergency fixes for future game-breaking issues.[117]
Expansions[edit]
The Dark Below was released on December 9, 2014. The expansion added new content centering on the Hive race and their deity Crota, Son of Oryx. In addition to a new raid, "Crota's End", maximum attack damage was increased to 331 and the Light level increased to 32.[118][119][120] House of Wolves was released on May 19, 2015; the expansion added new content centering on the Fallen race as players attempt to thwart a campaign by Skolas, Kell of Kells, to unite the Fallen race under his rule. Maximum attack damage was increased to 365 and the Light level increased to 34. A new social space was added (Vestian Outpost), as well as two multiplayer modes: the Prison of Elders (a PvE arena) and Trials of Osiris (PvP game type).[28][87][121][122]
The Taken King was released on September 15, 2015, marking the end of "Year One" of Destiny.[103] The expansion focuses on Oryx, The Taken King and father of Crota, as he leads a new race of enemy, the Taken, to avenge his son's death. A new raid, "King's Fall", was added, new sub-classes were added, as well as many changes to the core gameplay of Destiny, including maximum Light level of 320.[11][26][103][123][124][125] The Taken King's April 12, 2016 update, referred to as the "April Update", increased the maximum Light level to 335. The update also added new challenges and increased difficulty for the Prison of Elders PvE arena, among other activities. A new quest storyline was also added where players must defeat Malok, a Taken prince attempting a rise to power in the aftermath of Oryx's defeat.[14][126]
Rise of Iron was released on September 20, 2016, for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One only, and marked the end of "Year Two". It focuses on the Fallen race as they have breached the Wall that surrounds the City and have acquired the SIVA virus, a Golden Age nanotechnology characterized by self-replication and self-assembly. Lord Saladin guides players as they set out to become the new generation of the Iron Lords and wipe out SIVA. New additions include a new PvP game mode, a significant light level increase (385 at launch, 400 with hard raid), a new Patrol zone on Earth (The Plaguelands), a new social space (Iron Temple), and a new raid, "Wrath of the Machine".[106]
Events[edit]
Shortly after the launch of Destiny, a two-week long event began on September 23, 2014, called "Queen's Wrath" with Petra Venj as its main NPC. This event featured bounties and multiple challenges on existing missions for players to complete to obtain exclusive items.[127] A two-week long Halloween-themed event began on October 26, 2015 called "Festival of the Lost" where players could complete quest lines to earn decorative masks for their Guardians. Eva Levante was the main NPC for this event.[128] It returned the following year on October 25, 2016, featuring new quests, masks, and rewards from new NPC Tyra Karn in the Iron Temple, as well as returning ones from the previous year from Eva Levante.[129] On December 8, 2015, a new three-week long event became available called the "Sparrow Racing League" (SRL) with Amanda Holliday as its main NPC. In this event, players raced against each other on their sparrows, which Bungie described as a "six-player, free-for-all death race through enemy territory."[130][131] It was only available to players who owned The Taken King.[132] Sparrow Racing League returned as part of a new holiday event called "The Dawning" on December 13, 2016. The event introduced a new scoring system for Strikes, new quests, weapons, gear, gifts, and treasures, and SRL itself featured new tracks and new rewards.[133] A Valentine's Day-themed event called "Crimson Days" commenced on February 9, 2016 and lasted for one week. Lord Shaxx was the main NPC of the event, and featured a new Crucible mode called Crimson Doubles, a two-versus-two Elimination-style game with a special buff.[134][135]
Gameplay changes[edit]
Alongside the new story content of The Taken King, other major changes were made to the core gameplay of Destiny as part of the version 2.0 patch released on September 8, 2015, which coincided with a week-long free preview of the PvP multiplayer modes and maps of The Taken King; some of these changes apply to all users, regardless of whether they purchase The Taken King.[136][137] The voice of the player's Ghost, Peter Dinklage, was replaced by Nolan North; all of Dinklage's existing Ghost dialogue was retroactively replaced with new versions recorded by North.[138]
Experience points are used to level past 20, as opposed to the previous "Light level" system. Characters' previously existing Light levels were converted to character levels when transitioning to the 2.0 patch, while a new separate Light level was determined by averaging the strength and power of the character's equipped gear.[139][140] Class items, newly introduced Ghost shells for all players, and a new equippable item, a relic, provide additional boosts to a player's abilities.[141] The process of earning faction reputation changed; players "pledge" to a faction for a week, during which they earn reputation for the chosen faction in addition to standard reputation.[142] The Gunsmith NPC now offers reputation for the completion of weapon field testing bounties, which allow the ability to purchase a weekly Legendary weapon from his "Foundry Orders".[141] A mercy rule and matchmaking improvements were added to the Crucible.[141] Players' vaults can now hold up to 108 armor pieces, 108 weapons, and 72 miscellaneous items.[143]
A new "Progress" tab was added to the user menu, which displays character progression through the game's quest storylines, as well as currently active bounties and faction reputation. Up to four active bounties and quests can be pinned to be displayed on the bottom-right of the screen when Nav Mode is used.[144] Players can turn in quests and bounties at any time, and up to 32 quests and 16 bounties can be stored in their inventory.[141][142] All existing storylines were adapted to work under this new system.[136] A new interface known as "Collections" allows players to track their exotic items, emblems, armor shaders, sparrows, ships, and emotes that they have found, as well as clues for how to obtain those they do not possess.[141][142]
The new "Legendary Mark" currency replaces Vanguard and Crucible marks (which were completely removed), and are shared across all of a user's characters.[141] Legendary Marks can be used to re-purchase exotic items that had already been found by a user, along with upgraded versions of some pre-existing exotics through the new "Exotic Blueprints" system (although this also requires Exotic Shards),[143] and engrams that are guaranteed to contain a legendary weapon. Gear can be "infused" with more powerful items to increase their strength, provided they are "of the same Year and gear slot, a similar quality and a higher level than the current gear". This allows players the choice of what weapons and gear they want to make the strongest.[141][143]
Newer weapons and some Year One exotics are capable of higher damage than existing Year One weapons; damage values on all existing weapons were scaled down numerically from 365 to 170 (though damage output is the same), with higher values representing weapons that are more powerful than those from Year One.[143]
Reception[edit]
Critical reception[edit]
Reception
Aggregate score
Aggregator   Score
Metacritic   (PS4) 76/100[145]
(XONE) 75/100[146]
Review scores
Publication   Score
CVG   8/10[147]
Eurogamer   8/10[148]
Game Informer   8.75/10[149]
GameSpot   6/10[151]
GamesRadar   4.5/5 stars[150]
GameTrailers   8/10[152]
Giant Bomb   3/5 stars[153]
IGN   7.8/10[154]
Joystiq   4/5 stars[155]
OXM (US)   8/10[156]
Polygon   6/10[157]
Hardcore Gamer   4/5[158]
Destiny received mixed to positive critical reception upon release. Aggregating review website Metacritic gave the Xbox One version 75/100 based on 11 reviews,[146] and the PlayStation 4 version 76/100 based on 95 reviews.[145] Bungie halted pre-release reviews stating that they felt the game should be graded only when its social aspects were operative and populated with "thousands of gamers" in order to give a proper assessment.[159]
GameSpot described the game as "a multiplayer shooter that cobbles together elements of massively multiplayer games but overlooks the lessons developers of such games learned many years ago"; however, the game's competitive multiplayer modes were praised for carrying on Bungie's expertise from the Halo franchise with well-designed maps.[151] Danny O'Dwyer stated Destiny's development surfaces some troubling ethical questions about the role of game design in keeping players addicted, and compared it to slot machines and lab-pigeons in variable reward experiments. "I'm not saying it's a bad game... I'm saying it's a manipulative one. I mean it's 'farm-ville' for shooter fans; instead of farming for land, you're farming for XP, loot, and whatever fake new currency the game creates to keep you inside another masterfully crafted ratio-scheduling system."[160]
GameTrailers gave a generally positive review, but also criticized the weak story and uninspired game locations. However, they did praise the graphics as well as the rush the combat can provide the player.[152] A general lack of cohesive communication between players was also criticized, with Game Informer calling it "downplayed and difficult".[161] Eurogamer felt that the game's environments were "meticulously built, with plenty of enticing nooks and thoughtfully placed cover to support that thrilling combat", but that Patrol mode exposed the worlds as being more like "giant shooter levels connected by narrow passageways than a truly expansive open world".[148]
Destiny was criticized for its lack of story content, with many pointing to the disjointed narrative and shallow plot implementation. Bungie has since acknowledged that the story was lacking in some respects, and stated that the game's first DLC expansion, The Dark Below, would focus on providing more background to the universe of Destiny.[162] The game's end-game content was the subject of criticism, due to its particular focus on grinding for rare items through various means (including multiplayer games and other missions).[163] The discovery of "loot caves" — locations with quickly re-spawning enemies that could previously be used to farm for items — along with initial issues surrounding the Vault of Glass raid mission became associated with these lingering issues.[164][165][166][167] Despite the criticism, the game received the title of Game of the Year from GamesRadar,[168] the BAFTA Award for Best Game at the British Academy Video Games Awards.[169] At 2014 NAVGTR the game won Original Dramatic Score, New IP and Control Precision, and was nominated for Game Design(New IP), Control Design(3D), Character Design and Art Direction(Contemporary).[170]
Sales[edit]
On September 10, 2014, Activision claimed that Destiny was the most successful new gaming franchise launch, as the game shipped more than US$500 million to retail stores and first-parties worldwide.[171] As of September 17, 2014, there have been over 11 million gameplay sessions within North America.[172] It was also the biggest software launch for the PlayStation 4 since holiday 2013.[173] On November 4, 2014, Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg revealed that the game has 9.5 million registered players.[174] On December 23, 2014, Bungie revealed that 13 million people have played the game since its launch.[175] As of January 5, 2015, the game has 16 million registered players.[176] As of September 17, 2015, the game has 20 million players.[177]
Destiny sold 91,277 physical retail copies for PlayStation 4 and 49,503 retail copies for PlayStation 3 within the first week of release in Japan, placing second and third place respectively within the Japanese software sales charts for that particular week.[178] Destiny was the third best-selling retail game in the United States in 2014.[179] On May 6, 2015, Activision Blizzard announced that Destiny, along with another title from its subsidiary Blizzard Entertainment, Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft have generated nearly one-billion dollars for the company.[180]
57% of Taken King's UK sales were on PlayStation 4.[181]
As of November 2015, Destiny has 25 million registered users, a 5 million increase in 3 months.[182]
Sequel[edit]
In November 2014, Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg said "Work has also begun on future expansion packs as well as on our next full game release".[183] Bungie confirmed that players' characters and progression will carry over into future releases.[184] Based on documents of the original release schedule for Destiny, Bungie and Activision intended to release new, disc-based sequels every other year until 2019, with large downloadable expansions in between.[185] Originally planned for a September 2016 release (based on the original documents),[185] Bungie confirmed on February 11, 2016 that a full sequel will be released in 2017.[104][105] That same month, video game writer Christopher Schlerf, who was the lead writer for Halo 4 and worked on Mass Effect: Andromeda, joined Bungie.[186] In December 2016, Bungie announced that Vicarious Visions would be joining the development team along with Activision.[187] In Activision's earnings report for 2016, Hirshberg said that Destiny's sequel is still "on track for release this fall [2017]." He said there is a big announcement planned but did not specify when. Activision said the sequel will "broaden the franchise's global reach." Hirshberg elaborated that players who have spent hours in the original will "love" the sequel, and for those who have not played Destiny, or have not played in a while,
...we think we've made a sequel that's going to have a lot for them to love, too. The cornerstone of that is a great cinematic story that's been a real focus with a great cast of memorable, relatable characters, coupled with some very nice ways to make the game more accessible to a casual player. Without losing anything that our core players love, we've made it more accessible to someone who just wants to have a great, more casual first-person action experience.[188]
The sequel may also release on PC.[188]
References[edit]
Note
Jump up ^ Additional development by High Moon Studios.[1]
Jump up ^ Peter Dinklage voiced Ghost in the original release of Destiny, but due to his availability, veteran voice actor Nolan North replaced Dinklage with the release of The Taken King expansion, and re-recorded all of Dinklage's lines from the base game.
Jump up ^ As of The Taken King, "The Sword of Crota" mission is now the first mission of The Dark Below questline.
Jump up ^ As of The Taken King, the "Scourge of Winter" mission is now the first mission of the House of Wolves questline.
Footnote
Jump up ^ Nunneley, Stephany. "High Moon Studios is lending a hand on Destiny development [confirmed]".
Jump up ^ Vore, Bryan (December 20, 2013). "The Places Of Destiny". Game Informer. Retrieved September 27, 2014.
Jump up ^ Yin-Poole, Wesley (April 14, 2014). "Bungie insists Destiny remains on track despite composer exit". Eurogamer. Retrieved September 16, 2014.
^ Jump up to: a b "Destiny Pre-Order". Bungie. May 25, 2014. Retrieved May 25, 2014.
^ Jump up to: a b Good, Owen. "Bungie Reveals its Destiny in This Documentary". Kotaku. Kotaku. Retrieved February 25, 2013.
Jump up ^ Goldfard, Andrew (February 21, 2013). "Destiny Coming to PlayStation 4". IGN. Retrieved February 23, 2013.
^ Jump up to: a b Suszek, Mike (September 19, 2014). "Destiny combines arms in the Crucible this weekend". Joystiq. AOL. Retrieved January 25, 2015.
^ Jump up to: a b Cavalli, Earnest (November 14, 2014). "Iron Banner 2.0 comes to Destiny next week". Joystiq. AOL. Retrieved January 25, 2015.
^ Jump up to: a b c d e f "Destiny: complete class guide". VG24/7. Retrieved April 10, 2015.
^ Jump up to: a b c d e f "Destiny Class Guide - should you pick Titan, Hunter or Warlock?". GamesRadar. Retrieved April 10, 2015.
^ Jump up to: a b c d Miller, Matt (June 15, 2015). "Destiny's New Subclasses Explained". Game Informer. Retrieved June 18, 2015.
^ Jump up to: a b Sampson, Aaron (August 19, 2015). "Destiny:The Taken King - New Light Level Explained". GameSpot. Retrieved September 9, 2015.
^ Jump up to: a b DeeJ (October 15, 2015). "Bungie Weekly Update – 10/15/2015". Bungie. Retrieved January 20, 2016.
^ Jump up to: a b "Destiny's April update detailed with 335 Light, high-level Prison of Elders and more". Polygon. Vox Media. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
Jump up ^ DeeJ (October 13, 2016). "This Week at Bungie – 10/13/2016". Bungie. Retrieved November 20, 2016.
^ Jump up to: a b c "Destiny: choosing your class, and why it matters". VG24/7. Retrieved April 10, 2015.
^ Jump up to: a b c "Destiny review: Bungie's successor to Halo has issues but shows promise". Canada.com. Retrieved April 10, 2015.
^ Jump up to: a b c "Bungie knew about Destiny's Loot Cave, it just didn't think you'd care about it". Polygon. Vox Media. Retrieved April 10, 2015.
Jump up ^ "Destiny's post-Level 20 features and systems explained". Polygon. Vox Media. Retrieved April 10, 2015.
^ Jump up to: a b c "Destiny: Trials of Osiris is the new PvP end game". VG24/7. Retrieved June 20, 2015.
Jump up ^ "Destiny: The Taken King's new Rift mode is a shot in the arm for the Crucible". Polygon. Vox Media. Retrieved 9 September 2015.
^ Jump up to: a b Dornbush, Jonathan (August 16, 2016). "Gamescom 2016: Destiny Getting Private PvP Matches, New Rise of Iron Maps Detailed". IGN. Retrieved August 16, 2016.
Jump up ^ "Destiny: Inferno mode returns this week with Inferno Clash". VG24/7. Retrieved 10 September 2015.
Jump up ^ "Destiny's Inferno mode returns to the Crucible this week". Polygon. Vox Media. Retrieved 10 September 2015.

Halo 3
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the video game. For the Nine Inch Nails song that uses this pseudonym, see Head Like a Hole.
Halo 3
Halo 3 final boxshot.JPG
Developer(s)   Bungie
Publisher(s)   Microsoft Game Studios
Artist(s)   Marcus Lehto
Writer(s)   Joseph Staten
Composer(s)   
Martin O'Donnell
Michael Salvatori
Series   Halo
Platform(s)   
Xbox 360
Xbox One
Release date(s)   
NA: September 25, 2007[1]
EU: September 26, 2007
JP: September 27, 2007
Genre(s)   First-person shooter
Mode(s)   
Single-player
Multiplayer
Halo 3 is a 2007 first-person shooter video game developed by Bungie for the Xbox 360 console. The third installment in the Halo franchise, the game concludes the story arc begun in 2001's Halo: Combat Evolved and continued in 2004's Halo 2. The game was released on September 25, 2007, in Australia, Brazil, India, New Zealand, North America, and Singapore; September 26, 2007, in Europe; and September 27, 2007, in Japan. Halo 3's story centers on the interstellar war between twenty-sixth century humanity and a collection of alien races known as the Covenant. The player assumes the role of the Master Chief, a cybernetically enhanced supersoldier, as he battles the Covenant. The game features vehicles, weapons, and gameplay elements not present in previous titles of the series, as well as the addition of saved gameplay films, file sharing, and the Forge map editor—a utility which allows the player to perform modifications to multiplayer levels.
Bungie began developing Halo 3 shortly after Halo 2 shipped. The game was officially announced at E3 2006, and its release was preceded by a multiplayer beta open to select players who purchased the Xbox 360 game Crackdown. Microsoft spent $40 million on marketing the game, in an effort to sell more game consoles and broaden the appeal of the game beyond the established Halo fanbase. Marketing included cross-promotions and an alternate reality game.
On the day before its official release, 4.2 million units of Halo 3 were in retail outlets.[2] Halo 3 grossed US$300 million in its first week.[3] More than one million people played Halo 3 on Xbox Live in the first twenty hours.[4] To date, Halo 3 has sold in excess of 14.5 million copies, making it the fifth best selling Xbox 360 game of all time, the best selling Xbox 360 exclusive title and the best selling first person shooter on the console outside of the Call of Duty games.[5] The game was also the best-selling video game of 2007 in the U.S.[6] Overall, the game was very well received by critics, with the Forge and multiplayer offerings singled out as strong features; however some reviewers criticized single-player aspects, especially the plot and campaign layout. A prequel to the game, Halo 3: ODST, was released worldwide on September 22, 2009. A sequel, Halo 4, released on November 6, 2012, was developed by 343 Industries and grossed $220 million on its launch day. Halo 3 was rereleased as part of Halo: The Master Chief Collection for the Xbox One on November 11, 2014.[7]
Contents  [hide]
1   Gameplay
1.1   Modes
2   Synopsis
2.1   Setting and characters
2.2   Plot
3   Development
3.1   Graphics
3.2   Audio
3.3   Voice cast
3.4   Leaks
4   Release
5   Downloadable content
6   Reception
6.1   Critical reception
6.2   Sales
7   References
8   External links
Gameplay

Master Chief aims his Assault Rifle at a group of Covenant Grunts. A piece of activated equipment, called the bubble shield, is shown.
Halo 3 is a shooter game where players primarily experience gameplay from a first-person perspective. Much of the gameplay takes place on foot, but also includes segments focused on vehicular combat. The balance of weapons and objects in the game was adjusted to better adhere to the "Golden Triangle of Halo": these are weapons, grenades, and melee attacks, which are available to a player in most situations. Players may dual-wield some weapons, forgoing the use of grenades and melee attacks in favor of the combined firepower of two weapons. Many weapons available in previous installments of the series return with minor cosmetic and power alterations. Unlike previous installments, the player's secondary weapon is visible on their player model, holstered or slung across the player's back.[8]
Halo 3 introduces "support weapons", which are cumbersome two-handed weapons that slow the player, but offer greatly increased firepower in return.[9] In addition to weapons, the game contains a new class of gear called equipment;[10] these items have various effects, ranging from defensive screens to shield regeneration and flares. Only one piece of equipment can be carried at a time.[11] The game's vehicular component has been expanded with new drivable and AI-only vehicles.[12][13]
Halo 3 contains non-gameplay additions, such as Forge, a map-editing tool. Forge enables players to insert and remove game objects, such as weapons, crates and vehicles into existing multiplayer maps.[13] Almost all weapons, vehicles, and interactive objects can be placed and moved on maps with Forge.[14] Players can enter Forge games and edit and manipulate objects in real time. A budget limits the amount of objects that can be placed.[15] Players may also save up to 100 films of gameplay to their Xbox 360's hard drive,[16][17] viewing the action from any angle and at different speeds.[18] Halo 3 offers a form of file sharing, where items such as saved films, screenshots, and custom variants can all be uploaded to Bungie's official website, Bungie.net. Anyone can browse user created content that has been uploaded to Bungie's website and tag it to automatically download to their console next time they sign into Xbox Live on Halo 3.[11][19]
Modes
Halo 3's story or campaign mode can be played through alone or cooperatively with up to three other players via Xbox Live or System Link.[20] Instead of having each player be an identical character as in previous Halo games, the first player plays as Master Chief, and the second player plays as the Arbiter. The other two players control two Covenant Elites, N'tho 'Sraom and Usze 'Taham, each with their own backstories. No matter which character is played, each player has identical abilities, though their starting weapons vary.[20] Hidden skulls found on each level cause changes to the gameplay when enabled, such as giving the enemies extra health, changing in-game dialogue, or modifying AI behavior.[21] These skulls, as well as the difficulty level and the speed at which the level is completed, provide multipliers to the total score.[11] Players are awarded gamerscore points for unlocking Achievements by reaching a certain score in each level.[22]
Local area network or Xbox Live supports up to sixteen players in multiplayer matches, with game modes including variations of deathmatch and Capture the Flag. Players must actively seek out other players through their Xbox Live Friends list, using the party invite system, or the LAN search feature to play multiplayer matches with their own custom rules and customized maps. If they are connected to Xbox Live however, a player can choose to have the game decide for them the exact rules and map to play on, as well as finding additional people to play against or with, using the "Matchmaking" system (the automated grouping of players of similar skill). A player will decide from a selection of developer designed "playlists" which each contain a certain way to experience the game.[23]
Like other multiplayer Xbox 360 titles, Halo 3 uses a customized version of TrueSkill ranking system for its matchmaking on a per-playlist basis. A linear measure of a player's experience with the matchmade portion of the game and each particular playlist is also tracked (denoted as EXP).[24] To help players have an enjoyable time online, several peace-of-mind features are implemented within easy reach, such as avoid/feedback options on a player's service record, as well as voice chat mute straight from the in-game scoreboard.[25] Like Halo 2, Halo 3 supports downloadable content and updates.[26]
Synopsis
Setting and characters
See also: Characters of Halo
Halo 3 is set in a science fiction setting during the years 2552 and 2553. In the year 2525, a theocratic alliance of alien races known as the Covenant discover humanity spread across dozens of interstellar colonies.[27] The Covenant declare humanity an affront to their gods and begin destroying colonies by bombarding the planets with barrages of plasma, turning their surfaces into glass. Despite efforts to keep the Covenant from finding further human worlds, a Covenant fleet discovers Earth during Halo 2.[15]
"Halos" are massive ringworlds, ranging from thousands to tens of thousands of kilometers in diameter, scattered across the galaxy. These rings were constructed thousands of years ago by a race known as the Forerunners as weapons of last resort against the parasitic alien species known as the Flood. When activated, the Halos would destroy all sentient life in the galaxy, depriving the Flood of its food.[28] The Forerunners disappeared after they activated the rings.[29] In Halo: Combat Evolved, whilst fleeing the Covenant, the UNSC ship Pillar of Autumn stumbled upon one of these ringworlds, Installation 04. The humans manage to destroy the ring, stopping the Flood; the Covenant, unaware of the destructive nature of the rings, attempt to fire another ring, Installation 05, during Halo 2 in order to fulfill their religious prophecy.[30] One race in the Covenant, the Elites, learn the truth about the rings, and join forces with humanity in order to stop the firing of the ring. Though they are successful, the unexpected shutdown of the installation triggers a fail-safe protocol, priming all the rings for firing from one location, referred to as the Ark.[31] Still oblivious to the true nature of the rings, the Covenant High Prophet of Truth and the remaining loyalist Covenant proceed to head to Earth, where they believe the Ark is buried.
Halo 3's protagonist is Master Chief Petty Officer John-117, a surgically enhanced supersoldier known as a "Spartan". The Chief fights alongside the Arbiter, a disgraced Covenant Elite commander. Two other Elite characters, N'tho 'Sraom and Usze 'Taham, appear as the third and fourth players in cooperative play.[20] Supporting characters from previous games return, including human soldiers Avery Johnson and Miranda Keyes.[15] The Forerunner artificial intelligence 343 Guilty Spark, who tries and fails to stop the Master Chief from destroying its ringworld in Halo: Combat Evolved, also makes an appearance.[15] Also playing a role in the story is the Flood entity known as the "Gravemind". In Halo 2, this leader of the Flood escapes from confinement on Installation 05, invades the Covenant mobile capital city of High Charity, and captures Cortana, a human-created artificial intelligence.[15]
Plot
After the events of the comic tie-in Halo: Uprising,[32] the Master Chief crashes in eastern Africa, where he is found by Johnson and the Arbiter.[33] The Chief, Johnson, and company fight Covenant in the jungle and arrive at a UNSC outpost. Here, Keyes and Lord Hood plan a final effort to stop the Covenant leader, the High Prophet of Truth, from activating a Forerunner artifact uncovered outside the ruins of the city of New Mombasa. The Chief clears anti-air Covenant defenses so Hood can lead the last of Earth's ships against the Prophet, but Truth activates the buried artifact, creating a slipspace portal which he and his followers enter. A Flood-infested ship crash-lands nearby; Elite forces arrive and vitrify Flood-infected areas of Earth, stopping the threat. Following a message Cortana left aboard the Flood ship, the Chief, Arbiter, Elites, Johnson, Keyes and their troops follow Truth through the portal. Joining them is 343 Guilty Spark, who aids the Chief as he has no function to fulfill after the destruction of his ringworld.[34]
Traveling through the portal, the humans and Elites discover an immense artificial structure known as the Ark, far beyond the edges of the Milky Way galaxy. Here, Truth can remotely activate all the Halos. The Flood arrive aboard High Charity in full force, beginning to infest the installation. Truth captures Johnson, as he needs a human to use Forerunner technology. Keyes is killed attempting a rescue, and Johnson is forced to activate the rings.[35] Gravemind forges a truce with the Chief and Arbiter to stop Truth.[36] The Arbiter, Master Chief, and Flood forces arrive and overwhelm Truth's guards, rescuing Johnson and halting the installations' activation. After the Arbiter kills Truth, Gravemind turns on the Chief and Arbiter.[37]
The Chief, Arbiter and Guilty Spark discover that the Ark is constructing another Halo to replace the one that the Chief previously destroyed. The Chief decides to activate this Halo; the ringworld would eliminate the Flood infestation on the Ark while sparing the galaxy at large from destruction. To activate the ring, the Chief rescues Cortana, who has the Activation Index of the destroyed Halo, from High Charity and destroys the city. Arriving on the new Halo, Cortana warns that Gravemind is trying to rebuild itself on the ring. The Chief, Arbiter, and Johnson travel to Halo's control room to activate the ring. Guilty Spark explains that because the ring is not yet complete, a premature activation will destroy it and the Ark. When Johnson ignores his warning, Guilty Spark fatally wounds him to protect "his" ring.[38] Although the Chief destroys Guilty Spark, Johnson soon dies of his injuries. Chief activates the ring, and escapes the ring's self-destruction on the UNSC frigate Forward Unto Dawn. However, the force of Halo's blast causes the slipspace portal to collapse, resulting in only the front half of Forward Unto Dawn, carrying the Arbiter, making it back to Earth.[35]
A memorial service is held on Earth for the fallen heroes of the Human-Covenant war, during which the Arbiter and Lord Hood briefly exchange words regarding the fallen Master Chief. After the memorial service, the Arbiter and his Elite brethren depart for their home planet, Sanghelios.[39] Meanwhile, the rear half of the Forward Unto Dawn drifts in unknown space. Cortana drops a distress beacon, but acknowledges it may be many years before they are rescued. The Chief enters cryonic sleep, telling Cortana to "wake me, when you need me."[40] If the game is completed at the Legendary difficulty level, the scene continues to show the piece of Forward Unto Dawn drifting towards an unknown planet, revealed in the sequel to be known as "Requiem", the primary setting of the campaign of Halo 4.
Development
Halo 3 was initially conceived before Halo 2 was released in 2004.[41] Much of the staff were preoccupied in making extra content for Halo 2, while others continued with the groundwork for the development of Halo 3. Bungie remained quiet as to what their new project was, leaving comments in their weekly update alluding to a "new project".[42] The game was officially announced with a real-time cinematic trailer at E3 2006.[43]
Bungie kept the public informed on game development via weekly updates on their web site. During development, the game was divided into single player and multiplayer builds; this made debugging and testing the much smaller multiplayer files quicker.[44] While details of Halo 3's multiplayer were widely disseminated in the sixteen months leading up to the release,[45] the single-player aspect of the storyline was kept relatively secret throughout much of the development to build up interest. The first campaign screenshots did not appear until a year after the announcement trailer, on July 5, 2007, as a "tease" for the planned pace of marketing.[46]
A public beta test of the game's online multiplayer features, as well as saved films and file share, took place four months before the full release.[47] Players required a Crackdown disc to play the beta.[48]
AI behavior was enhanced and improved; the behavior of enemy Brutes the player faces was modified, giving them a "pack mentality" that causes the aliens to perform similar actions at the same time and altering gameplay.[10][49]
Graphics
Halo 3 utilizes a proprietary, in-house graphics engine.[50] As detailed on the Bungie website, it employs advanced graphics technologies such as high dynamic range, global lighting and depth of field effects within cutscenes.[51] Motion blurring was absent from the beta, but was added to the final game.[52] Most of the dynamic objects in the game cast real-time shadows on themselves and the environment around them, including the game's plant life. Halo 3 uses normal, bump, and parallax mapping to give surfaces more detail without dramatically increasing the number of polygons. Players can see distances of up to ten miles (16 km) away, all fully three-dimensional.[53] Real time reflections were written into the engine; however, they are often unused as Bungie considered it a waste of resources.[54]
Halo 3 does not natively render at true HD resolution (at least 720 lines of vertical resolution).[55] In a Bungie Weekly Update, it was confirmed that the game renders at 1152×640 resolution instead of the usual 1280×720 (HD) resolution that most Xbox 360 games use.[56] This is because Halo 3 uses two frame buffers instead of the usual one, so the lower resolution allowed Bungie to preserve as much of the dynamic range as possible for the game's lighting without adversely affecting the frame rate. The image can be upscaled to 1080p by the Xbox 360.[56]
Audio
As with all titles on the Xbox 360, Halo 3 fully supports 5.1 surround sound audio.[57] In the game, there are over 50,000 pieces of audio, with nearly 40,000 of those being NPC dialogue.[11] This is far more than in either of the preceding Halo titles; Halo 2 had over 15,000 pieces of dialogue. The AI controlling this dialogue is designed to ensure the exchanges flow naturally and convincingly.[53] Separate recordings were made for nearby and distant gunfire to make for a more believable sound experience in the public beta,[58] and the finished game uses Waves Audio plugins to modify dialog and other audio in-game depending on conditions.[59] Distant gunfire sounds, which may first seem like prerecorded ambient sound, may often be the result of an actual firefight happening elsewhere in the game.[60]
Marty O'Donnell again composed the original score for the game. Some pieces of the game's music are produced with a much larger real orchestra than any pieces in the prior two games. For example, the music for the announcement trailer was recorded with a 60-piece orchestra and a 24-piece choir.[43] Halo 3 is the first game in the series to feature custom soundtracks, allowing players to replace in-game music with their own choices.[61] The Halo 3 Original Soundtrack was released on November 20, 2007.[62] Included on the soundtrack is an original composition submitted by fans and judged by Nile Rodgers, Michael Ostin, and Marty O'Donnell.[63]
Voice cast
Voice actors returning to reprise their roles in Halo 3 include Jen Taylor as Cortana, David Scully as Sergeant Johnson and the Elites, Keith David as the Arbiter, Tim Dadabo as 343 Guilty Spark, Ron Perlman as Lord Hood, Robert Davi as Rtas 'Vadum, and Steve Downes as the voice of Master Chief. The game also features new voices, with Terence Stamp and Justis Bolding replacing Halo 2 voice actors Michael Wincott and Julie Benz as the Prophet of Truth and Miranda Keyes respectively.[64] Additional voices include celebrity presenter Jonathan Ross,[65] Nathan Fillion, Adam Baldwin, Alan Tudyk, Katee Sackhoff, and John DiMaggio.[64] Members of the Halo machinima Red vs. Blue (Burnie Burns, Gus Sorola, Matt Hullum, Jason Saldaña, Geoff Ramsey, and Joel Heyman) have a cameo role.[15]
Leaks
Months before the release of Halo 3, the game's final testing copy before its gold release—codenamed Epsilon and confirmed by Bungie to be almost complete[19]—was leaked to the Internet. Microsoft reacted to this leak by having the Xbox Live accounts of gamers caught playing the Epsilon copy banned until the year 9999.[66] Two weeks before Halo 3 was due to be released, full retail copies of the game complete with photographs of the open game box started to appear on the internet auction site eBay.[67] A week before Halo 3 was due for release, major UK catalog retailer Argos accidentally released some of their final retail copies of Halo 3. Microsoft's Entertainment and Devices division were quoted as being "disappointed that it happened" but that "it was just an honest mistake" and that Microsoft had no intention of punishing Argos for the error.[68]
Halo 3's final retail copy was leaked online over a week before its official release. The 6.14 gigabyte file of the game was ripped and downloaded by "thousands" of people within 24 hours of the leak. Videos of the ending of Halo 3, obtained from the leaked copy, were captured and posted on video sharing sites.[69]
Release

A Halo 3 launch event was held at the NASDAQ building in New York City on September 25.
Main article: Halo 3 marketing
Microsoft spent more than $40 million marketing Halo 3. The goal of the campaign was to sell more Xbox 360 consoles and widen the appeal of the game beyond the "Halo faithful" to casual as well as hardcore gamers. Marketing took the form of stages, including trailers of the game, real-time cinematics, recorded gameplay sequences, pre-rendered CGI, and live action film.[70] On September 12, 2007, the "Believe" Halo 3 ad campaign, focused on the epic nature of the story and heroism told through dioramas and third party accounts of Master Chief's service, began with the video "Museum" and continued on past the game's release.[71]
Throughout the course of development Bungie released four "developer documentaries" that explained the processes behind creating parts of the game. A large-scale multiplayer beta test was played on Xbox Live with more than 800 000 members of the public being able to take part and experience the game for themselves.[70] Beginning in June 2007, an alternate reality game called Iris involved players in slowly revealing background information for the game.[70] The actual release was met with worldwide launch parties.[72]
Halo 3 also had marketing tie-ins and promotions. PepsiCo announced a new line of soft drink, a variant of Mountain Dew named Game Fuel, branded with the Halo 3 logo and the Master Chief.[73] Much of the advertising focused on appealing to the general public, rather than just hardcore fans of the game; for example, some 7-Eleven stores advertised Halo 3 and sold specialty cups and copies of the game.[74]
Features   Standard   Limited   Legendary
Game disc and manual   Yes   Yes   Yes
Poster   Yes   Yes   Yes
Interactive Xbox 360 disc   No   Yes   Yes
Bestiarum   No   Yes (book)   Yes (DVD)
Legendary DVD   No   No   Yes
Master Chief helmet case   No   No   Yes
Halo 3 was released in three separate retail versions, branded as "Standard", "Limited" and "Legendary" editions. The Standard Edition contains the game disc, manual, and a small poster with the game's control-map and artwork. The Limited Edition, contained in a metal case, contains the game disc, manual, poster, Xbox 360 bonus disc with featurettes, and a hardcover-bound "Bestiarum", a collection of information and art covering the species, cultures, and civilizations of Halo 3. The Legendary Edition contains the game disc, manual, poster, interactive bonus disc, the Bestiarum on a DVD, Legendary DVD containing exclusive content, and a scale replica of the Master Chief's helmet as a case for the three discs. The slip-cover packaging unfolds into a large heavy-stock poster of Master Chief.[75] Gamestation stores in the UK offered a limited edition Master Chief figurine to the first 1000 preorders.[76]
Upon release, some of the Limited Edition versions of Halo 3 were found to have a defect in the hub that kept the discs in place, which could lead to scratched discs. Microsoft confirmed the problem and offered to replace scratched Halo 3 Limited Edition discs free of charge until the end of January 2008.[77] This was not a problem in either the Legendary Edition or the Standard Edition.[78]
During October 16–31, 2013, Halo 3 was available as a free download for Xbox Live Gold subscribers.[79]
Downloadable content
Halo 3 supports multiplayer map downloadable content as well as game updates via Xbox Live.[80] The first three post-release multiplayer maps, "Standoff", "Rat's Nest", and "Foundry", were released as a pack on December 11, 2007, collectively known as the "Heroic Map Pack".[81] A second group of three maps including a remake of Halo 2 map "Lockout", titled "Blackout", a new map "Ghost Town" and a remake of Halo: Combat Evolved map "Sidewinder", titled "Avalanche" were bundled as the "Legendary Map Pack", on April 15, 2008.[82] These maps introduced visual filters to the Forge pallet, which change the way the maps look.[83] A remake of the Halo: Combat Evolved map "Chill Out", titled "Cold Storage", was released as a free download on "Bungie Day", July 7, 2008.[84] The third multiplayer map pack, titled the "Mythic Map Pack" and consisting of the maps "Orbital", "Assembly", and "Sandbox", was included with the Limited Collectors Edition of Halo Wars.[85] The map pack was released over the Xbox Live Marketplace on April 9, 2009.[86] The fourth and final multiplayer map pack,"Mythic II Map Pack", was released on February 2, 2010. The map pack includes the three new maps from Halo 3: ODST: "Citadel", "Longshore", and a remake of Halo 2 map "Midship", titled "Heretic".[87]
The first version update for Halo 3 was released on February 19, 2008, and addressed various bugs such as melee contest resolution and saved-film theater errors.[88] The next update (called a Title Update) was released September 23, 2008, and includes new Achievements, a new XP ranking system, and various new ways to detect and stop cheating in the game.[89] No further Halo 3 updates were planned.[90]
Reception
Critical reception
Reception
Aggregate scores
Aggregator   Score
GameRankings   94%[100]
Metacritic   94/100[99]
Review scores
Publication   Score
1UP.com   A+[91]
Edge   10/10[92]
Eurogamer   10/10[93]
Famitsu   37/40[94]
Game Informer   9.75/10[95]
GameSpot   9.5/10[12]
GameTrailers   9.8/10[96]
IGN   9.5/10[10]
OXM (US)   10/10[97]
X-Play   5/5 stars[98]
Halo 3 received critical acclaim upon its release. It holds an average of 93.53% and 94/100 on aggregate web sites GameRankings and Metacritic.[99][100] Pro-G's Wesley Yin-Poole assured readers that Halo 3 lived up to the enormous hype surrounding it, writing that the game was "everything we hoped it would be, and much, much, more".[101] Reviewers including Eurogamer's Rob Fahey, GamesRadar's Charlie Barrett, and GameSpot's Jeff Gerstmann felt that the underlying formula of previous Halo games was unchanged, but that this was not a detriment.[93] "Every type of Halo fan, from the hardcore to the casual to the brand new, will find something to satisfy them in Master Chief's third adventure," Barrett asserted,[12][102] while IGN's Hilary Goldstein referred to Halo 3 as "the most complete game available on any console", specifically stating "the Forge and the replay functionality raise the bar for console shooters so high, it may never be surpassed this generation."[10] The gameplay additions to the game, such as equipment and new vehicles, were praised; Gerstmann and Goldstein noted that equipment had much more relevance in multiplayer matches than the campaign.[10][12]
Reception of the single-player aspect varied. Yin-Poole wrote that while the cliffhanger ending of Halo 2 was disappointing, the campaign of Halo 3 was much more satisfying.[101] Gerstmann, GameSpy's Gabe Graziani, and Goldstein maintained that the campaign was too short, especially on easier difficulty levels or with three additional players in co-op.[12][103] Goldstein was highly critical of the eighth level, stating "the penultimate chapter is so bad, just thinking about it puts a rotten taste in my mouth." The New York Times' Charles Herold said the game had a "throwaway" plot and Total Video Games judged the single-player aspect ultimately disappointing.[104][105] Goldstein and Steve West of Cinema Blend thought a part of the game's story was lost by not having the Arbiter featuring as prominently as the character was in Halo 2.[10][106]
Most publications agreed that multiplayer was by far one of the best features; IGN said that the multiplayer map lineup was the strongest of the series,[10] and GameSpy added that "each [multiplayer] map is extremely well-tuned".[103] The Forge level editor and saved films features were singled out as particularly strong features,[12] in addition to superb voice acting and Martin O'Donnell's rich score.[95][103]
Other complaints focused on the artificial intelligence; critics praised the enemy AI but complained that the intelligence of the player's allies was far poorer.[10][12][107] Bryan Vore of Game Informer said that human faces and some textures were just "embarrassing".[95]
Halo 3 was nominated for seven awards from the Spike TV Awards,[108] of which it won "Best Multiplayer Game" and "Most Addictive Video Game Fueled by Dew".[109] It won Time's "Game of the Year" and IGN chose it as the Best Xbox 360 Online Multiplayer Game and Innovative Design of 2007.[110][111][112] The Visual Effects Society awarded Bungie the "Best Real Time Visuals in a Video Game" for Halo 3.[113] Halo 3 took the Calvin Award for "Best Videogame" as selected by Box Office Prophets.[114] Halo 3 also took the award for Xbox 360 Game of the Year 2007 from GameTrailers, and was voted by fans as Game of the Year on G-Phoria. Halo 3 won the Edge Award For Interactive Innovation in August 2008.[115] In 2010, the game was included as one of the titles in the book 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die.[116]
Sales

Bill Gates selling the first official copy of Halo 3 to Ritesh David, at Best Buy in Bellevue, Washington. This was the only item Gates signed at the launch event.
First-day sales of Halo 3 reached $170 million in the U.S., setting a record for highest gross of an entertainment product within 24 hours of its release.[117] The performance beat the previous record setter—Halo 2—which earned $125 million within 24 hours after its launch.[117] The game was preordered by more than one million people in North America.[118] Worldwide more than US$300 million worth were sold in the first week, helping to more than double the sales of the Xbox 360 when compared with the weekly average before the Halo 3 launch.[3]
In the U.S., Halo 3 sold 3.3 million copies in its first 12 days on sale,[119] increasing to 3.7 million copies by November 15, 2007.[120] Reuters UK estimated that Halo 3 may have sold up to 5.2 million copies worldwide in the first two weeks after launch.[3] By November 30, 2007, Halo 3 had sold 5 million copies worldwide, and as of that point, was the best-selling video game of 2007 in the U.S., even though the game is only available on one console.[121] On January 3, 2008, Microsoft announced that Halo 3 has sold 8.1 million copies.[122] The game drew over a million Xbox Live members to play online in the first 20 hours, making it the biggest day for Xbox Live gaming in history.[4][123] The game returned to the top 20 sales charts more than a year after its release in February 2009; Gamasutra reported that the boost might have been due to the release of Halo Wars.[124] By January 2008, 8.1 million copies had been sold.[122] According to Microsoft, Halo 3 had sold 14.5 million copies as of 2012.[5]
Advertising Age reported that movie studio executives were convinced the release of Halo 3 harmed box office receipts; the week's take was 27% less than the previous year's yield.[125] While some executives decided the disparity in estimated and actual gross for films like The Heartbreak Kid was due more to the film's poor reception, other analysts believed that "the audience on [Halo 3] is the 18-to-34 demographic, similar to what you'd see in cinemas" and that this led to a decrease in receipts.[126] Later research suggested that the Halo 3 players still watched the same amount of television and movies, regardless of the time they spent playing the game.[127]
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Jump up ^ Bungie. Halo 2. Xbox. Microsoft Game Studios. 343 Guilty Spark: Fail-safe protocol: in the event of unexpected shut-down, the entire system will move to standby status. All installations are now ready for remote activation. / Commander Keyes: Remote activation? From here? / 343 Guilty Spark: Don't be ridiculous. [...] Why... the Ark, of course.
Jump up ^ Bungie (June 14, 2007). "Halo: Uprising On Halo3.com". Microsoft Game Studios. Archived from the original on June 16, 2007. Retrieved August 24, 2011. ...the miniseries will bridge the gap between Halo 2 and the upcoming release of the highly-anticipated Halo 3 video game...
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Destiny (video game)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For other uses, see Destiny (disambiguation).
Destiny
Destiny box art.png
Cover art featuring the game's three character classes: Warlock (left), Hunter (center), and Titan (right). The spherical Traveler is in the background.
Developer(s)   Bungie[a]
Publisher(s)   Activision
Artist(s)   Christopher Barrett[2]
Writer(s)   Joseph Staten
Composer(s)   
Martin O'Donnell[3]
Michael Salvatori
C Paul Johnson
Paul McCartney
Platform(s)   
PlayStation 3
PlayStation 4
Xbox 360
Xbox One
Release date(s)   
WW: September 9, 2014[4]
Genre(s)   Action role-playing, first-person shooter
Mode(s)   Multiplayer
Destiny is an online-only first-person shooter video game developed by Bungie and published by Activision. It was released worldwide on September 9, 2014, for the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One consoles. Destiny marked Bungie's first new console franchise since the Halo series, and it is the first game in a ten-year agreement between Bungie and Activision. Set in a "mythic science fiction" world, the game features a multiplayer "shared-world" environment with elements of role-playing games. Activities in Destiny are divided among player versus environment (PvE) and player versus player (PvP) game types. In addition to normal story missions, PvE features three-player "strikes" and six-player raids. A free roam patrol mode is also available for each planet and features public events. PvP features objective-based modes, as well as traditional deathmatch game modes.
Players take on the role of a Guardian, protectors of Earth's last safe city as they wield a power called Light to protect the City from different alien races. Guardians are tasked with reviving a celestial being called the Traveler, while journeying to different planets to investigate and destroy the alien threats before humanity is completely wiped out. Since launch, Bungie has released four expansion packs furthering the story, adding new content and missions, and new PvP modes. Year One of Destiny featured two small expansions, The Dark Below in December 2014 and House of Wolves in May 2015. A third, larger expansion, The Taken King, was released in September 2015 and marked the beginning of Year Two, changing much of the core gameplay. In December 2015, Destiny shifted to an event-based model, featuring more limited-time events. A new, large expansion called Rise of Iron was released in September 2016, beginning Year Three. Rise of Iron was only released for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One; PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 clients subsequently stopped receiving updates.
Upon its release, Destiny received mixed to positive reviews with criticism centered mostly around the game's storyline and post-campaign content. The game was praised for maintaining lineage from the Halo franchise, particularly in regards to its competitive experiences. On day one of its release, it sold over US$500 million at retail, making it the biggest new franchise launch of all time. It was GamesRadar's 2014 Game of the Year and it received the BAFTA Award for Best Game at the 2014 British Academy Video Games Awards.
Contents  [hide]
1   Gameplay
1.1   Character progression and classes
1.2   Player versus environment (PvE)
1.3   Player versus player (PvP)
2   Synopsis
2.1   Setting
2.2   Characters
2.3   Plot
3   Development
3.1   Technology
3.2   Design
3.3   Soundtrack
3.4   Release
4   Post-release content
4.1   Expansions
4.2   Events
4.3   Gameplay changes
5   Reception
5.1   Critical reception
5.2   Sales
6   Sequel
7   References
8   External links
Gameplay[edit]

Destiny gameplay
Destiny's style has been described as a first-person shooter that incorporates role-playing and massively multiplayer online game (MMO) elements, but Bungie has avoided defining Destiny as a traditional MMO game.[5] Instead, the game has been referred to as a "shared-world shooter,"[6] as it lacks many of the characteristics of a traditional MMO game. For instance, rather than players being able to communicate with all other players in the game or on a particular server — as is the case in many conventional MMO games — Destiny includes on-the-fly matchmaking that allows players to communicate only with other players with whom they are "matched" by the game. To communicate with other players in the game world, players must use their respective console's messaging system.[5] Time-limited events and modes are also occasionally added or featured in-game.[7][8] Activities in Destiny are divided among player versus environment (PvE) and player versus player (PvP) game types across the Cosmodrome and the Plaguelands (added with Rise of Iron) on Earth, its Moon, Venus, and Mars. There are also PvP maps for Mars's moon Phobos and the planet Mercury. A social space on Mercury was added with the House of Wolves expansion, but requires players to go undefeated in the Trials of Osiris Crucible mode in order to access it. Another PvE area, a massive ship called the Dreadnaught that is situated in the rings of Saturn, and two PvE missions on Phobos were added with The Taken King expansion.
Character progression and classes[edit]
Players are able to improve their characters, referred to as Guardians, by gaining experience points (EXP) — when a set number of experience points are accumulated, the player's character will "level up" and gain improved statistics which further enhance performance in battle. Quests, including the "main scenario" quest line, are specific tasks given to the player by non-player characters which reward items and EXP. Completing main scenario quests progresses the overarching plot of the game.
Destiny features three character classes. Each class has their own specific upgrades, perks, special abilities, and two sub-classes that allow the player to finely tune their individual characters to provide a different play style. After choosing a class, players select one of three species for their character: Human, Awoken (bluish-gray-skinned descendants of Humans), or Exo (humanoid machines). They can then customize their character, such as changing its gender or skin color. A character's species is only cosmetic and does not affect gameplay. Players can create two more characters to have a character of each class. The Taken King added a third sub-class for each class, but requires the purchase of the DLC to access the new sub-classes.[9][10]
Hunters are designed to be like a bounty hunter with a focus on agility and mobility. Its Solar-based "Gunslinger" sub-class tree includes stat boosts that award accurate play, a throwing knife attack, the ability to upgrade to a triple jump, and the "Golden Gun" super, a very powerful, flaming magnum with a base magazine of three shots. The Arc-based "Bladedancer" sub-class has a heavier focus on close combat, offering an extended-range "Blink Strike", and an "Arc Blade" super (which allows the player to quickly dart between and kill enemies) with a temporary invisibility option.[9][10] The Taken King added the Void-based "Nightstalker" sub-class that includes a bow-like super called "Shadowshot" that tethers enemies together, limiting movement and preventing enemies from using abilities for a short time.[11]
Warlocks are designed as a mage, or a space wizard, with a larger focus on offensive abilities, recovery, and melee attacks that can reduce the cooldown time of its abilities. Its super in the "Voidwalker" sub-class, "Nova Bomb", is an explosively powerful sphere of Void energy capable of being thrown in different ways. Its "Sunsinger" sub-class features abilities based around the Solar element, with the "Radiance" super allowing the player to temporarily improve their statistics, or revive themselves if killed.[9][10] The Taken King added the Arc-based "Stormcaller" sub-class that includes the super "Stormtrance", which produces lightning bolts that chains between enemies.[11]
Titans are designed to be "tanks", with a focus on withstanding large amounts of damage to allow close quarters combat. The Titan's super in the Arc-based "Striker" sub-class, "Fist of Havoc", is a ground slamming attack that destroys all enemies in its radius. Its Void-based "Defender" sub-class offers the ability to generate a shield with its "Ward of Dawn" super. The shield can also provide temporary stat bonuses to other players that step within it.[9][10] The Taken King added the "Sunbreaker" sub-class, which features a Solar-based super, the "Hammer of Sol", creating a flaming hammer that can be thrown at enemies, or used for close-quarters combat.[11]
Upon reaching the character level cap, character progression shifts to improving their "Light" level by acquiring new and better equipment. This equipment can be gained through a variety of sources, including "strikes", raids, and in-game events. Prior to The Taken King, all legendary and exotic armor, and some rare, contained an attribute called Light. Once players reached level 20, they no longer earned experience to level up; EXP earned after level 20 went towards upgrading weapons and armor, and creating Motes of Light, an in-game currency. Players could only go beyond level 20 by obtaining armor with Light, and these levels were referred to as Light levels. The initial Light level cap was 30, which increased to 32 with The Dark Below and 34 with the House of Wolves. Update patch 2.0, released in preparation for The Taken King, made the character's experience level and Light level separate: level 34 is now the experience level cap for all players; level 40 for players who own The Taken King and Rise of Iron. A higher character level allows for better equipment to be equipped. A character's Light level is now an average of the attack and defense of all equipped gear. For example, if all equipped gear has 170 Light each, the character's Light level will be 170. A higher Light level improves damage output and defense. The highest obtainable Light level was 320 for players who owned The Taken King;[12][13] the expansion's April Update increased it to 335.[14] Rise of Iron increased the highest obtainable Light level to 400.[15]
Players' equipment includes weapons and armor. Legendary and exotic items are the best items for players' characters, and only one exotic weapon and one exotic armor can be equipped at one time. There are several different classes of weapons that are categorized as either a primary, special (secondary), or heavy weapon. Several weapons have an elemental damage type. There is Arc (blue), Solar (orange), and Void (purple). All damage types will deplete enemy shields of that type faster, and the weapon will also do extra damage to enemies if the gameplay modifiers 'Arc Burn', 'Solar Burn' or 'Void Burn' are active. The original maximum attack damage for legendary and exotic weapons was 300. This increased to 331 with The Dark Below and 365 with the House of Wolves. Because of the change to the Light level system, The Taken King numerically changed weapons of 365 damage to 170, but with no loss in damage output (365 damage of Year 1 equals 170 damage of Year 2). As with armor, weapons' attack damage contributes to the Light level and all gear can be infused to increase their numbers.[9][10][13]
There are six armor slots: helmet, gauntlets, chest, legs, class item, and artifact (artifacts were added with The Taken King). Each class has armor specific to them with exotic armor that compliment a character's sub-class. Each piece of armor increases overall defense. Before The Taken King, class items were only cosmetic (such as the Hunter's cloak) and did not have any stat or defense boosts. Class items now have defense that contributes to players' Light level. Players' Ghost companion now also has defense that contributes to their Light level. In addition to earning gear from loot drops by playing missions and other activities, players can purchase gear from faction vendors. Players can pledge their allegiance to one of three factions — Dead Orbit, Future War Cult, or New Monarchy — and earning enough reputation with a faction allows players to earn and purchase that faction's legendary items. Players also earn reputation with other vendors, such as the Vanguard and Crucible, by doing playlists or bounties for that vendor, which also have their own set of legendary items.[9][10][12]
Player versus environment (PvE)[edit]
Player versus environment game types makes up the majority of the game. PvE story missions can be played either solo or as part of a "fireteam" of up to three players. Initially, although there was an order to the story missions, they could be played in any order as more missions became available. For example, after completing Earth's second story mission, three more became available, but did not have to be played in story order. The questing system introduced in House of Wolves and refined in The Taken King now requires story missions to be played in order due to quest step progression. Every day, a random story mission is featured as the Daily Heroic Story Mission, featuring bonus rewards. Each playable area offers an open world "Patrol" mode, where players can travel freely around the area and perform small tasks gathered from beacons, and they can collect materials that are used for upgrading weapons and armor. Players travel around the areas on foot or with their vehicles called Sparrows (very similar to the speeder bikes of Star Wars). Public events happen periodically and any player in the same location can participate. These location-specific events include eliminating a target, defeating incoming waves of enemies, and defending a Warsat (a crashed satellite).[16][17][18]
"Strikes" are cooperative missions played with a party of three players that culminate with a boss; most strikes are side missions that are not part of the main plot. Players can play much harder versions of the strikes in what are called the SIVA Crisis Strike (formerly Vanguard Heroic Playlist) and the Weekly Nightfall Strike, which grant bonus rewards. While the SIVA Crisis is a playlist of strikes from The Taken King and Rise Of Iron, the Weekly Nightfall Strike, which is harder than heroic, is only one strike that changes every week with a chance for greater rewards. The Daily Heroic Story Mission, SIVA Crisis Strike, and Weekly Nightfall Strike each feature game modifiers that increase difficulty. Game modifiers can be positive or negative for the player. For example, a positive modifier would be "Small Arms", where damage for the player's primary weapons are doubled, but a negative modifier would be "Chaff", where the player's radar is disabled. Raids are advanced cooperative missions designed to be played by a team of six players — the only PvE game type that allows more than three players in a fireteam. Raids culminate with the elimination of a major boss that relates to the story.[16][17][18] With the release of Rise of Iron, there are four raids in Destiny.
From social spaces (the Tower on Earth, the Vestian Outpost added with House of Wolves, and the Iron Temple added with Rise of Iron), players can redeem "engrams" into items, buy items, and collect challenges known as bounties to complete during activities to earn experience, build their reputation among factions, and sometimes earn items. Beyond armor and weapons, items that players can obtain include ships that represent themselves during travel cutscenes, shaders for customizing the color scheme of their armor, emblems which are banners for players' names, emotes such as a dance or gesture, and shells for their Ghost companion.[16][17][18][19]
Player versus player (PvP)[edit]
In addition to these player versus environment challenges, player versus player combat exists in what is called the Crucible. The Crucible, which can have a maximum of twelve players depending on game type, contains playlists of PvP modes, including "Control", "Clash", "Rumble", and "Skirmish". Control is six-versus-six where teams try to capture and maintain control of zones. Clash is a classic six-versus-six team deathmatch. Rumble is a six-player free-for-all deathmatch. Skirmish is a three-versus-three deathmatch where players can revive allies. New modes have been added via expansions, including "Elimination" (House of Wolves), a similar mode to Skirmish except divided into nine rounds in which the team must kill all three of their opponents at once,[20] "Rift" (The Taken King), a six-versus-six capture the flag-like mode where players must deliver a "Spark" to the opposing team's base, killing enemies in its radius,[21] and "Supremacy" (Rise of Iron), a six-versus-six mode where players drop crests when killed and points are scored by picking up crests dropped by the enemy team.[22]
Other modes are available occasionally during time-limited periods, such as "Salvage", a three-versus-three king of the hill game type, "Combined Arms", where the Control and Clash modes are on maps with vehicles and turrets, "Inferno" (The Dark Below), a modifier on multiple game modes where points are solely scored on kills and the player's radar is disabled, "Doubles" (The Dark Below), a two-versus-two version of Skirmish, "Mayhem" (The Taken King), a modifier on Clash and Rumble where cooldown times for all abilities are greatly reduced, and "Zone Control" (The Taken King), a modified version of Control where points are only scored for maintaining control of zones, and not by kills or point captures.[7][23][24][25][26] A random mode is featured as the Daily and Weekly Crucible mode with bonus rewards. As of September 2015, players who do not own The Taken King or Rise of Iron expansions only have access to three-versus-three and six-versus-six Crucible playlists on previous maps with assorted modes, and no longer have access to playlists for individual modes.[27]
In Crucible modes, player statistics (such as weapon power and defense) are balanced between players. The periodic events Iron Banner and Trials of Osiris are offered, which disable balancing. These events have their own set of bounties and allows players the chance to earn exclusive items. Iron Banner became available shortly after the launch of Destiny and originally only used the Control game mode; it now rotates between Control, Clash, Rift, and Supremacy. It is available during the last week of each month.[8][20][28][29][30] Trials of Osiris was added with the House of Wolves expansion and uses the Elimination mode. It is available every weekend from Friday until the weekly reset on Tuesday. Players who go undefeated in this mode gain access to an exclusive social space on Mercury called The Lighthouse.[20]
A week prior to the launch of the Rise of Iron expansion, the option to make private matches was added; this option is available to all players on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, regardless if they purchase Rise of Iron. Private matches allow players to set up their own custom matches. Customization options include game mode, map, score and time limits, enabling light level, and time of day. Players can choose the amount of players for the match, including beginning a match by themselves.[22]
Synopsis[edit]
Setting[edit]
Bungie described the setting of Destiny as a "mythic science-fiction" world.[31] The setting, about 700 years in the future, follows a prosperous period of exploration, peace, and technological advancement known as the Golden Age.[32] In a universe where humans have spread out and colonized planets in the Solar System, an event known as "the Collapse" saw the mysterious dissolution of these colonies, the end of the Golden Age, and mankind teetering on the brink of extinction. The only known survivors of the Collapse are those living on Earth, who were saved by "the Traveler", a white, spherical celestial body whose appearance centuries before had enabled humans to reach the stars.[33] The Collapse was caused by a mysterious force called the Darkness, an ancient enemy of the Traveler that plagues the galaxy. The Traveler now hovers above the last safe city on Earth, simply called The Last City that is surrounded by a massive Wall, and its presence allows the Guardians — the defenders of the City — the ability to wield an unknown power, only referred to as "Light". The player takes on the role of a Guardian, and is tasked with reviving the Traveler while investigating and destroying alien threats before humanity is completely wiped out. Destiny centers on the journey of the Guardians, the last defenders of humanity, set to protect Earth's last city.
Upon mankind's first attempt to repopulate and reconstruct after the Collapse, it is discovered that hostile alien races have occupied mankind's former colonies and civilizations, and are now encroaching upon the City. Throughout the game, players have to combat aggressive aliens who have occupied the Solar System. Just like the Light for the Guardians, the Darkness lends powers to these alien threats. There are five separate races in the game, each occupying different planets. The Fallen are an insectoid race of nomadic pirates who scavenge ruined settlements on Earth, the Moon, and Venus for resources. The Hive are a macabre race of ancient aliens who have created massive underground settlements beneath Earth and the Moon's surface. The Vex are semi-organic androids who are attempting to seize control of Venus and Mars by turning them into their machines, which they have already done to Mercury. The Cabal are a military-industrial empire of massive amphibians who have established massive fortifications on Mars. The Taken, a new race introduced in The Taken King, are corrupted versions of regular enemies, who infest areas on every planet. Rise of Iron added a new faction of Fallen called the Devil Splicers, which are Fallen who have been modified by a technological plague called SIVA. They are found on Earth in a zone outside of the Wall called the Plaguelands.
Every race utilizes different strategies and weapons in combat. The Fallen possess cloaking and short-range teleportation technologies to increase their mobility. The Hive use superior numbers to overwhelm their opponents in close quarters while more elite units attack from a distance. The Vex utilize hard-light shields and teleport units of infantry into the battlefield en-masse. The Cabal rely on heavy armor, ballistic shields, and jump packs to combat players. The Taken, in addition to all the other races specialties, use high mobility and plenty of long-range attacks to out-maneuver the player. The Devil Splicers use multiple, unpredictable, lightning-like shots to surprise the player and hit them even while strafing. All of these races are hostile towards each other (with the exception of the Hive and the Taken), as they can often be observed attacking one another in-game for territorial dominance. The majority of the game's lore, detailing backstory on characters, weapons, the alien races, planets, etc., is found in Grimoire cards collected throughout the game and accessed through Bungie's website and the Destiny app.
Characters[edit]

The AI Ghost with the default "Generalist" Ghost shell. In-game, Ghost is about the size of a softball.
In addition to the playable Guardians, Destiny has many non-playable characters (NPCs) that aide the Guardians either in story missions, or by selling gear, weapons, or materials. The main NPCs in Destiny are Ghost (originally Peter Dinklage, replaced by Nolan North[34]), a robot artificial intelligence that accompanies the Guardians;[35] The Speaker (Bill Nighy), the representative of The Traveler; the Exo Stranger (Lauren Cohan), a mysterious female Exo who is interested in the Guardian's activities, but is not a Guardian herself; Mara Sov (Kirsten Potter), the Queen of the Reef and the Awoken, and the Kell (leader) of the Fallen House of Wolves; Prince Uldren Sov (Brandon O'Neill), the Queen's brother; Ikora Rey (Gina Torres), the Warlock Vanguard; Commander Zavala (Lance Reddick), the Titan Vanguard; Cayde-6 (Nathan Fillion), the Hunter Vanguard; and Master Rahool (Erick Avari), the Tower's Cryptarch who decodes engrams and buys curiosities from Guardians.[36] The player's Guardian is voiced by one of six people, depending on which species and gender the player selects when creating their character: Matthew Mercer and Susan Eisenberg as the male and female Human guardians, Crispin Freeman and Grey Griffin as the male and female Awoken Guardians, and Peter Jessop and Cree Summer as the male and female Exo Guardians.[36]
Other notable NPCs include Lord Shaxx (Lennie James), the Crucible Handler; Lakshmi-2 (Shohreh Aghdashloo), representative of Future War Cult; Arach Jalaal (Peter Stormare), representative of Dead Orbit; Executor Hideo (James Remar), representative of New Monarchy; Tess Everis (Claudia Black), Eververse Trading Company (microtransaction vendor that primarily sells emotes); Banshee-44 (John DiMaggio), the Gunsmith; Amanda Holliday (Courtenay Taylor), ship and sparrow merchant; Lord Saladin (Keith Ferguson), former Iron Banner vendor who became the main NPC of Rise of Iron; Xûr (Fred Tatasciore), an Agent of the Nine and exotic items vendor; and Eva Levante, the Guardian Outfitter (vendor that sells emblems and armor shaders).[36]
Several characters were introduced in the expansions and events of Destiny. These include Petra Venj (April Stewart), the Queen's Emissary who was introduced with the Queen's Wrath event and returned as a main NPC in House of Wolves; Eris Morn (Morla Gorrondona), Crota's Bane vendor that was introduced as the main NPC of The Dark Below and is a main NPC of The Taken King; Variks the Loyal (Dee Bradley Baker), House of Judgment vendor who was introduced as a main NPC of the House of Wolves and is a Fallen Vandal loyal to the Queen; Master Ives (Gideon Emery), the Vestian Outpost's Cryptarch; Brother Vance (Bob O'Donnell), a Disciple of Osiris and the Trials of Osiris vendor — Osiris is a character in the lore of Destiny; Tyra Karn, an archivist in the Iron Temple added with Rise of Iron who is also a Cryptarch; Shiro-4, a scout and Vanguard vendor in the Iron Temple; and Lady Efrideet, a former Iron Lord discovered to still be alive who has taken command of the Iron Banner in Saladin's place, as Saladin is now focused on the SIVA Crisis.[36]
Plot[edit]
When the game begins, Ghost is searching amongst the detritus of Old Russia until it finds and resurrects the player's Guardian, who had been dead for a long time from an unknown fate. Ghost then guides the Guardian to a jump ship and they take it to the Tower. There, they meet the Speaker, who briefs them about the Darkness. The Guardian is then tasked to probe the nearby Cosmodrome, where humanity used to launch its forays into outer space, fending off Fallen enemies and eventually the Hive, who were thought to have been confined to the Moon. The Guardian discovers that an old Russian Warmind called Rasputin, an AI built to defend Earth, is still alive and acting with unknown intent. The Guardian also tracks down codes to raise an ancient Array to connect it to long-lost colonies throughout the Solar System, and finds that Rasputin is controlling the Array. They then set off to the Moon in search of a lost Guardian who was looking for a way into the Hive fortress. After locating his corpse and dead Ghost, the player's Guardian's Ghost discovers that the Hive are raising an army and plan to invade Earth. The Guardian quickly sets about disrupting their efforts, including shutting down a ritual that the Hive were using to drain power from the Traveler, destroying a powerful weapon called the Sword of Crota,[c] and severing their long-distance communications. Around this time, the Guardian is contacted by the Exo Stranger, a mysterious woman who summons them to Venus to face a new enemy, the Vex.
When the Guardian arrives on Venus, the Exo Stranger describes the Vex as an evil so dark it despises other evil. She tells them about the Black Garden, a city where the Vex are born, and implores the Guardian to find it and rip out its heart, as it is the only way the Traveler will begin to heal. Ghost says that they need to speak to the Awoken, who lurk out in the Reef and refuse to take sides in the galaxy's wars. The Exo Stranger then leaves as she did not have time to explain things further. Once the Guardian arrives at the Reef, they meet the Queen of the Reef, Mara Sov, and her brother, Prince Uldren Sov, who tells the Guardian that they will help them locate the Black Garden if they bring them the head of a Vex Gate Lord. The Guardian travels back to Venus, where they uncover the Archive, which reveals secrets about the Vex, including the location of a place called the Vault of Glass, and pathways across the galaxy. After defeating Draksis, a Fallen Kell of the House of Winter,[d] the Guardian confronts the Vex Gate Lord, claims its head, and returns to the Queen, who tells them to take its eye to the Meridian Bay on Mars, where it can be used to enter the Black Garden.
After arriving on Mars in the Meridian Bay, Ghost informs the Guardian of its inhabitants. The Cabal have been trying to break the encryption on the Vex Gate with only limited success, but they do control many of the places that the Guardian needs to visit on Mars thanks to their Exclusion Zone, which nobody had ever penetrated. The player's Guardian becomes the first to penetrate the Exclusion Zone and heads to the Garden's Spire, which charges the Gate Lord's eye. They also travel to the Buried City, the birthplace of many technological wonders where they discover an AI that used to be linked to the Warmind of Mars, but is now controlled by Rasputin. With the Vex now present on Mars, the Guardian finds out what they are doing; they are returning to their home, the Black Garden.
The Guardian then sets off to the Black Garden. After going through a teleporter, they find themselves in a place that is not on any map of known space and time. After several battles, the Guardian reaches the heart of the Black Garden, which the Vex appear to be worshiping. The heart summons three Sol Progeny — a group of Vex units called Eschaton Mind, Imminent Mind, and Primeval Mind. After defeating the three Sol Progeny, the heart is destroyed, returning the Guardian to Mars and lifting the shroud of Darkness from the Traveler back on Earth. At the Tower, the Speaker addresses gathered Guardians in a celebratory speech. Over in the nearby hanger, though, the player's Guardian converses with the Exo Stranger, who says that the fight is far from over.
With the heart of the Black Garden destroyed, a team of Guardians decide to investigate the mysterious Vault of Glass ("Vault of Glass" raid). Described as the "Vex underworld" by the Ishtar Collective, the Vault is a realm where the Vex can control reality—even erase people from existence (a power used by a Vex sub-race called Gorgons). While these powers do not extend to outside the Vault, its enigmatic nature has lured countless Guardians, including the ill-fated Kabr, the Legionless, and Praedyth. In their descent of the Vault, the team defeats The Templar and its Oracles. They then successfully traverse the Gorgon's labyrinth undetected before reaching Atheon, Time's Conflux, a central figure of the Vex Conflux network who has powerful control over time, being able to send Guardians into the distant past or future at will. After fighting their way through time, the Guardians defeat Atheon, eliminating a major threat of the Vex.
Development[edit]
Development for Destiny began at Bungie in 2010 under the code name "Project Tiger", shortly after the release of Halo: Reach.[37][38] This coincided with the announcement of a 10-year publishing agreement with Activision Blizzard.[39][40] Under Bungie's agreement with Activision, new intellectual property developed by Bungie will be owned by Bungie, not Activision, in a deal similar to the EA Partners Program.[40][41] Details of this contract were revealed during the course of Activision's lawsuit against Jason West and Vincent Zampella, founders and former employees of Infinity Ward, including provisions for four Destiny games over the course of the ten-year deal.[42][43][44] Initially, Activision Blizzard CEO Robert Kotick suggested that the total investment in Destiny would be around $500 million. Bungie's COO Pete Parsons clarified that the game's development cost is not even close to $500 million, saying, "For marketing you'd have to ask Activision people, but for development costs, not anything close to $500 million."[45] Activision subsequently confirmed the $500 million figure, stating that marketing, up-front infrastructure costs, and investment in the game's engine were included, and could be amortized over the life of the IP.[46] Bungie would earn an additional $2.5 million bonus payout if the first game achieved a Metacritic score of 90 or above.[37][47]
By mid-2013, most of the ground work for Destiny had been completed including lore, game engine, and many environments and missions, tracking for a September 2013 release.[37][48] However, a "supercut" of the game's story and mission structure presented by Joseph Staten's writing team did not test well with Bungie upper management, led by Jason Jones.[37] Jones felt that the story was too dense and linear— a design philosophy he felt was important to Destiny was the ability for the player to choose where to go at any time.[37] As a result, the entire mission progression of the game was rebuilt between mid-2013 and the game's launch in September 2014, shifting away from a structure that quickly introduced the four major environments — Earth, the Moon, Venus, and Mars — to a hub-based structure in which each planet would be visited sequentially with an expanding variety of missions on each.[37] Existing missions were spliced and rearranged to fit this new paradigm, including dialogue and cinematics. Staten decided to leave the company amidst this reboot, though this would not be announced until September 2013.[49]
To cement the new framework, Jones developed the director interface that exists in the shipping version of the game, from which planets and missions can be selected.[37] He also established the "Iron Bar", a series of executive meetings which would oversee the massive project restructuring. This also involved rescoping the project to be more focused — areas such as the Hive fortress Dreadnaught, an Earth location called the European Dead Zone, and Osiris' temple on Mercury were cut — all were later featured in expansion packs. The restructuring also required an internal delay of the release date first from September 2013 to March 2014, and again to its actual release of September 9, 2014.[37][48] With Staten's departure, the writing team he had built at Bungie for the Halo series was left leaderless and isolated. As a result, much of this extra time was spent perfecting the gameplay and feel of the shooting while the narrative was only polished to a perfunctory level and "the story was written without writers".[37]
On April 11, 2014, Bungie fired its long-time composer and audio director, Martin O'Donnell.[50] For Destiny, O'Donnell collaborated with Paul McCartney on an eight-movement symphonic suite called Music of the Spheres which was completed in 2013.[51] The dispute which led to his termination originated from O'Donnell's belief that the Activision deal had begun to erode the collegial culture at Bungie. Activision was reluctant to release the symphony as a standalone work and went over O'Donnell's head to replace it with their own music in a prominent E3 2013 trailer.[51] In the ensuing disagreement, O'Donnell came into conflict with both Activision and Bungie leadership and was accused of "unacceptable conduct" in his performance review, leading to his termination.[51] Fans were concerned that the absence of Martin O'Donnell would affect the in-game music of Destiny; however, Pete Parsons of Bungie confirmed that Destiny's music was already complete by this point.[52] O'Donnell prevailed in a civil suit against Bungie over the improper dismissal in September 2015, winning unpaid wages, profit sharing, and lost stock.[51] As a side-effect of this ruling, forty minutes out of the forty-eight-minute-long Music of the Spheres currently exist in the public domain.[53]
Technology[edit]
Destiny incorporates a new game engine that allows global illumination and real-time dynamic lighting to occur together in cohesion.[54] In addition, Bungie's goal is that Destiny will natively render graphics at 1080p on both the Xbox One and PlayStation 4.[55] An innovation in Bungie's "hopper" technology, which has been the backbone for Halo's matchmaking system, will allow better player matchmaking in order to create a more natural experience in either cooperative or competitive multiplayer modes.[56] Developers at Bungie have criticized the new engine as ill-suited to the online nature of the game. Its resource-intensive nature makes even small changes to maps require an overnight rendering and compiling process.[37] Internal sources called the development of new maps and missions "grueling" on account of the game engine.[37]
Design[edit]
For Destiny, lead writer Joseph Staten hoped to build a universe that would "take on a life of its own".[57] The designers worked around "seven pillars", seven core principles which ensure that the game is accessible to both casual, novice players and experienced veterans of first-person shooters and MMOs.[31][32][58] This includes integration with social media, allowing players to gain information about new quests and their friends' activities.[31] In designing the playable classes, Bungie was inspired by different sources of science fiction. Hunters are a reconnaissance class meant to be reminiscent of the classic bounty hunter. Bungie cites as influences Star Wars' Han Solo and classic characters from old Western films such as Clint Eastwood's Man with No Name. Warlocks combine weapons with special powers from "the Traveler", and are meant to be a form of "space wizard". The Warlock class is influenced by the Star Wars series's Jedi Knights, The Lord of the Rings series's Gandalf, and The Matrix series's Morpheus. Titans, which favor heavy weapons and melee attacks and are intended to be reminiscent of the classic "future soldier", were inspired by Bungie's own Master Chief from Halo, Stormtroopers from Star Wars, and other "space marines" from science fiction.[59] Bungie also cited the influence of action role-playing games Monster Hunter and Dark Souls, noting their mechanical depth and brutality.[60]
Peter Dinklage originally voiced the character Ghost in the base game. The character did not have any lines in the two expansions of Year One. Nolan North replaced Dinklage for The Taken King and also re-recorded all of Ghost's lines from the original game, as Bungie wanted "to create a consistent storytelling experience from beginning to end". North was excited to put his mark on the role and hopes to evolve the character in future Destiny releases. He said that he did not listen to any of Dinklage's recordings, as he did not want any preconceived notions to influence his performance.[34] According to Bungie, the actor change was made due to Dinklage's availability.[61] David Cross was hired to write jokes for the character Ghost but none of his work was used in the final game.[62]
Soundtrack[edit]
Destiny Original Soundtrack
Destiny Soundtrack cover.jpg
Soundtrack album by Martin O'Donnell, Michael Salvatori, C Paul Johnson, Paul McCartney
Released   September 26, 2014
Genre   
Classical orchestral ambient
Length   138:48
Label   Bungie Music Publishing
Destiny Original Soundtrack is the official soundtrack for the video game, composed by Martin O'Donnell, Michael Salvatori, C Paul Johnson, Skye Lewin, and Stan LePard, with contributions and input from British musician and former Beatles songwriter, Paul McCartney. Released digitally via iTunes on September 26, 2014, the soundtrack contains 44 instrumental compositions from the game.[63][64] The soundtrack marked O'Donnell's final work for Bungie, after years of composing for the Halo franchise, as well as several games before that. In addition, McCartney wrote and recorded an original song inspired by the game, titled "Hope for the Future."[63][65][66]
Early in Destiny's development, O'Donnell was contacted by Pete Parsons (current Chief Operating Officer of Bungie), and was asked to begin writing music for the game. At the time, Destiny was still in its infancy, as it lacked any gameplay material for O'Donnell to score music to, so instead, O'Donnell began creating music based solely on the games ideas, stories, and artwork.[67] By February 17, 2013, over 50 minutes of the soundtrack had already been recorded with a 106-piece orchestra at Abbey Road Studios in London.[68] O'Donnell gave the early pieces of music to Bungie in hopes that they would foster inspiration within the development team.[69]
Unlike the Halo series, where pieces of music were only 2–3 minutes long, Martin has stated that the soundtrack for Destiny has no time restrictions, with the pieces clocking in "as long as they need to be."[68] O'Donnell collaborated with Paul McCartney on the soundtrack for the better part of two years, as they traded ideas, melody samples, and themes back and forth.[70] On April 11, 2014, Martin O'Donnell was dismissed without cause by the board of directors at Bungie.[71] This caused concern as to whether this would affect the game; however, Pete Parsons stated that O'Donnell's work on the game had been completed before his dismissal and would appear in the final product.[72]
Release[edit]
Destiny concept art and plot elements first leaked in November 2012.[73] Bungie supplemented the leak with more details, expressing regret that another upcoming video game had been revealed ahead of schedule.[74] Destiny's official unveiling occurred at the PlayStation 4 announcement event on February 20, 2013.[75][76] An alpha test took place from June 12 to 16, 2014 exclusively on PS4.[77] A public beta test began on PlayStation consoles on July 17, 2014 and Xbox consoles on July 23, 2014, available to players who pre-ordered the game.[78] Before the beta closed on July 27, it attracted around 4.6 million players.[79][80] The game went gold on August 23, 2014.[81] Destiny was released worldwide on September 9, 2014 for the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One.[4] Players who pre-ordered the game received early access to the Vanguard Armory.[82] Additionally, pre-orders from GameStop received an exclusive "red" sparrow vehicle.[83] Players who pre-ordered Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare received a Blacksmith armor shader in Destiny.[84] Those who purchased the digital PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360 versions of the game were allowed to download the PlayStation 4 or Xbox One clients respectively at no additional cost, until January 15, 2015.[85][86]
Some of the game's initial content, including certain items and missions, were timed exclusives for PlayStation platforms.[87] These included the "Dust Palace" strike, the "Exodus Blue" Crucible map, two exotic weapons (the auto rifle "Monte Carlo" and hand cannon "Hawkmoon"), a rare gear set for each class (Manifold Seeker for Warlock, Vanir for Titan, and Argus for Hunter), and three ships ("Aurora Awake", "Crypt Hammer", and "Outrageous Fortune").[88] Each expansion has followed suit and has had timed exclusives for PlayStation platforms. The initial exclusive content and the content of the first two expansions became available for the Xbox platforms with the release of The Taken King. The Taken King's and Rise of Iron's exclusive content will become available in fall 2017.[87][89][90][91]
Three collector's editions of Destiny were released: the Limited Edition, the Ghost Edition, and the Digital Limited Edition. The Limited Edition included a Steelbook game case, the Arms & Armament Field Guide, postcards from the Golden Age, Antique Star Chart, and in-game content: an exclusive Ghost shell, ship, character emblem, and the Destiny Expansion Pass. The Ghost Edition included everything in the Limited Edition, as well as a motion-activated replica Ghost with lights and the voice of Peter Dinklage and a set of photos and stickers. The Digital Limited Edition included Destiny and the in-game content included in the physical collector's editions.[92] A PS4 bundle was also available, which included a 500GB glacier white PS4 and a copy of Destiny.[93]
With the release of The Taken King, two new retail versions of Destiny, the "Legendary Edition" and "Collector's Edition", were released alongside The Taken King: both included a copy of the game, all "Year One" DLC, and The Taken King. A Digital Collector's Edition is also available. Year One players received commemorative items when purchasing The Taken King.[26][94] A new PS4 bundle was also available, which included a limited edition white 500GB PS4 with Destiny artwork on the face of the console, the Legendary Edition of The Taken King, and all bonus content from the Legendary and Digital Collector's Editions.[95] Players who purchased The Taken King received an item called Spark of Light, which boosted one new character to level 25, the minimum level needed to play The Taken King's content.[96]
With the release of Rise of Iron, a new retail version of Destiny was also released alongside the expansion called "Destiny: The Collection". It includes a copy of the game, and all DLC up to and including Rise of Iron. Like The Taken King, players who purchase Rise of Iron receive an item called Spark of Light, although this one boosts one new character to level 40, which is the minimum level needed to play Rise of Iron's content.[97]
Post-release content[edit]
Main articles: Destiny post-release content, Destiny: The Taken King, and Destiny: Rise of Iron
Prior to the official release of Destiny in September 2014, Bungie declared that a major component of the game would be a continuous release of new content. Bungie Director of Production Jonty Barnes said: "We're going to continuously update the game from now until the end of time. That's always going to be part of the philosophy of Destiny. We always wanted to build a new universe but keep building upon it, rather than to do a complete and utter restart periodically."[98] By the time of Destiny's launch, two planned packs of downloadable content (DLC) had been officially announced: The Dark Below and House of Wolves.[99][100] From the launch of Destiny, players could purchase the Destiny Expansion Pass, which included the first two expansions at a discounted price versus buying them separately.[101] Players also received an exclusive sparrow (EV-30 Tumbler) if they purchased the Expansion Pass or The Dark Below by January 15, 2015.[102] At E3 2015, Bungie officially announced a new expansion called The Taken King.[103] A new, large expansion was confirmed in February 2016;[104][105] its title, Rise of Iron, was revealed in June 2016.[106]
Bungie released the game's first raid, the "Vault of Glass", as part of the September 16, 2014, update and at the time, it was described as "Destiny's most difficult mission". The Vault of Glass centers on the Vex race on Venus and requires players to defeat Atheon, Time's Conflux.[107] In the weeks proceeding from the release of Destiny, players were reporting areas that could be accessed by various glitches or secret accesses.[108] These areas have been described as appearing "half-baked", and were noted to often be devoid of items or NPCs.[109] In an interview with Eurogamer, on the claims that these were on-disc DLC, Bungie president Harold Ryan replied that the content were incomplete resources intended to reduce download requirements for future DLC.[110]
The October 13, 2015, update brought the new vending shop "Eververse Trading Company", featuring NPC Tess Everis who now sells emotes in exchange for a new in-game currency, Silver — some complimentary Silver was given to all players when logging in after the update. Players can obtain more Silver via microtransactions.[111] One of the first emotes was the Enthusiastic Dance, inspired by the Carlton Dance from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Bungie stressed that these emotes are completely optional and the microtransactions are an effort to "bolster the service provided by our live team for another full year".[112] On December 15, 2015, boosting packs became available as microtransactions. The pack automatically boosts one character to level 25, and also features a temporary stat boost and "Telemetry" items to assist in further leveling.[113]
For Year Two following the release of The Taken King, senior designer Derek Carroll explained that the studio wanted to shift towards an "event-based model" with "surprises" for players, available to all owners of The Taken King at no additional charge, as opposed to a timed roadmap, as had previously been speculated.[114][115] Marketing director Eric Osborne further clarified its plans for "Year Two", stating that it would not consist solely of time-limited events as had been implied by others, but new "events, activities, content, and features", as well as an event planned for early 2016 that will be "far larger than anything you’ve seen since the release of The Taken King".[116]
Prior to Rise of Iron's launch and due to the expansion only being released for current consoles (PS4 and One), players' accounts on legacy consoles (PS3 and 360) were split from current consoles. Accounts were previously shared across consoles of the same family. Legacy consoles received their last update on July 26, 2016, excluding emergency fixes for future game-breaking issues.[117]
Expansions[edit]
The Dark Below was released on December 9, 2014. The expansion added new content centering on the Hive race and their deity Crota, Son of Oryx. In addition to a new raid, "Crota's End", maximum attack damage was increased to 331 and the Light level increased to 32.[118][119][120] House of Wolves was released on May 19, 2015; the expansion added new content centering on the Fallen race as players attempt to thwart a campaign by Skolas, Kell of Kells, to unite the Fallen race under his rule. Maximum attack damage was increased to 365 and the Light level increased to 34. A new social space was added (Vestian Outpost), as well as two multiplayer modes: the Prison of Elders (a PvE arena) and Trials of Osiris (PvP game type).[28][87][121][122]
The Taken King was released on September 15, 2015, marking the end of "Year One" of Destiny.[103] The expansion focuses on Oryx, The Taken King and father of Crota, as he leads a new race of enemy, the Taken, to avenge his son's death. A new raid, "King's Fall", was added, new sub-classes were added, as well as many changes to the core gameplay of Destiny, including maximum Light level of 320.[11][26][103][123][124][125] The Taken King's April 12, 2016 update, referred to as the "April Update", increased the maximum Light level to 335. The update also added new challenges and increased difficulty for the Prison of Elders PvE arena, among other activities. A new quest storyline was also added where players must defeat Malok, a Taken prince attempting a rise to power in the aftermath of Oryx's defeat.[14][126]
Rise of Iron was released on September 20, 2016, for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One only, and marked the end of "Year Two". It focuses on the Fallen race as they have breached the Wall that surrounds the City and have acquired the SIVA virus, a Golden Age nanotechnology characterized by self-replication and self-assembly. Lord Saladin guides players as they set out to become the new generation of the Iron Lords and wipe out SIVA. New additions include a new PvP game mode, a significant light level increase (385 at launch, 400 with hard raid), a new Patrol zone on Earth (The Plaguelands), a new social space (Iron Temple), and a new raid, "Wrath of the Machine".[106]
Events[edit]
Shortly after the launch of Destiny, a two-week long event began on September 23, 2014, called "Queen's Wrath" with Petra Venj as its main NPC. This event featured bounties and multiple challenges on existing missions for players to complete to obtain exclusive items.[127] A two-week long Halloween-themed event began on October 26, 2015 called "Festival of the Lost" where players could complete quest lines to earn decorative masks for their Guardians. Eva Levante was the main NPC for this event.[128] It returned the following year on October 25, 2016, featuring new quests, masks, and rewards from new NPC Tyra Karn in the Iron Temple, as well as returning ones from the previous year from Eva Levante.[129] On December 8, 2015, a new three-week long event became available called the "Sparrow Racing League" (SRL) with Amanda Holliday as its main NPC. In this event, players raced against each other on their sparrows, which Bungie described as a "six-player, free-for-all death race through enemy territory."[130][131] It was only available to players who owned The Taken King.[132] Sparrow Racing League returned as part of a new holiday event called "The Dawning" on December 13, 2016. The event introduced a new scoring system for Strikes, new quests, weapons, gear, gifts, and treasures, and SRL itself featured new tracks and new rewards.[133] A Valentine's Day-themed event called "Crimson Days" commenced on February 9, 2016 and lasted for one week. Lord Shaxx was the main NPC of the event, and featured a new Crucible mode called Crimson Doubles, a two-versus-two Elimination-style game with a special buff.[134][135]
Gameplay changes[edit]
Alongside the new story content of The Taken King, other major changes were made to the core gameplay of Destiny as part of the version 2.0 patch released on September 8, 2015, which coincided with a week-long free preview of the PvP multiplayer modes and maps of The Taken King; some of these changes apply to all users, regardless of whether they purchase The Taken King.[136][137] The voice of the player's Ghost, Peter Dinklage, was replaced by Nolan North; all of Dinklage's existing Ghost dialogue was retroactively replaced with new versions recorded by North.[138]
Experience points are used to level past 20, as opposed to the previous "Light level" system. Characters' previously existing Light levels were converted to character levels when transitioning to the 2.0 patch, while a new separate Light level was determined by averaging the strength and power of the character's equipped gear.[139][140] Class items, newly introduced Ghost shells for all players, and a new equippable item, a relic, provide additional boosts to a player's abilities.[141] The process of earning faction reputation changed; players "pledge" to a faction for a week, during which they earn reputation for the chosen faction in addition to standard reputation.[142] The Gunsmith NPC now offers reputation for the completion of weapon field testing bounties, which allow the ability to purchase a weekly Legendary weapon from his "Foundry Orders".[141] A mercy rule and matchmaking improvements were added to the Crucible.[141] Players' vaults can now hold up to 108 armor pieces, 108 weapons, and 72 miscellaneous items.[143]
A new "Progress" tab was added to the user menu, which displays character progression through the game's quest storylines, as well as currently active bounties and faction reputation. Up to four active bounties and quests can be pinned to be displayed on the bottom-right of the screen when Nav Mode is used.[144] Players can turn in quests and bounties at any time, and up to 32 quests and 16 bounties can be stored in their inventory.[141][142] All existing storylines were adapted to work under this new system.[136] A new interface known as "Collections" allows players to track their exotic items, emblems, armor shaders, sparrows, ships, and emotes that they have found, as well as clues for how to obtain those they do not possess.[141][142]
The new "Legendary Mark" currency replaces Vanguard and Crucible marks (which were completely removed), and are shared across all of a user's characters.[141] Legendary Marks can be used to re-purchase exotic items that had already been found by a user, along with upgraded versions of some pre-existing exotics through the new "Exotic Blueprints" system (although this also requires Exotic Shards),[143] and engrams that are guaranteed to contain a legendary weapon. Gear can be "infused" with more powerful items to increase their strength, provided they are "of the same Year and gear slot, a similar quality and a higher level than the current gear". This allows players the choice of what weapons and gear they want to make the strongest.[141][143]
Newer weapons and some Year One exotics are capable of higher damage than existing Year One weapons; damage values on all existing weapons were scaled down numerically from 365 to 170 (though damage output is the same), with higher values representing weapons that are more powerful than those from Year One.[143]
Reception[edit]
Critical reception[edit]
Reception
Aggregate score
Aggregator   Score
Metacritic   (PS4) 76/100[145]
(XONE) 75/100[146]
Review scores
Publication   Score
CVG   8/10[147]
Eurogamer   8/10[148]
Game Informer   8.75/10[149]
GameSpot   6/10[151]
GamesRadar   4.5/5 stars[150]
GameTrailers   8/10[152]
Giant Bomb   3/5 stars[153]
IGN   7.8/10[154]
Joystiq   4/5 stars[155]
OXM (US)   8/10[156]
Polygon   6/10[157]
Hardcore Gamer   4/5[158]
Destiny received mixed to positive critical reception upon release. Aggregating review website Metacritic gave the Xbox One version 75/100 based on 11 reviews,[146] and the PlayStation 4 version 76/100 based on 95 reviews.[145] Bungie halted pre-release reviews stating that they felt the game should be graded only when its social aspects were operative and populated with "thousands of gamers" in order to give a proper assessment.[159]
GameSpot described the game as "a multiplayer shooter that cobbles together elements of massively multiplayer games but overlooks the lessons developers of such games learned many years ago"; however, the game's competitive multiplayer modes were praised for carrying on Bungie's expertise from the Halo franchise with well-designed maps.[151] Danny O'Dwyer stated Destiny's development surfaces some troubling ethical questions about the role of game design in keeping players addicted, and compared it to slot machines and lab-pigeons in variable reward experiments. "I'm not saying it's a bad game... I'm saying it's a manipulative one. I mean it's 'farm-ville' for shooter fans; instead of farming for land, you're farming for XP, loot, and whatever fake new currency the game creates to keep you inside another masterfully crafted ratio-scheduling system."[160]
GameTrailers gave a generally positive review, but also criticized the weak story and uninspired game locations. However, they did praise the graphics as well as the rush the combat can provide the player.[152] A general lack of cohesive communication between players was also criticized, with Game Informer calling it "downplayed and difficult".[161] Eurogamer felt that the game's environments were "meticulously built, with plenty of enticing nooks and thoughtfully placed cover to support that thrilling combat", but that Patrol mode exposed the worlds as being more like "giant shooter levels connected by narrow passageways than a truly expansive open world".[148]
Destiny was criticized for its lack of story content, with many pointing to the disjointed narrative and shallow plot implementation. Bungie has since acknowledged that the story was lacking in some respects, and stated that the game's first DLC expansion, The Dark Below, would focus on providing more background to the universe of Destiny.[162] The game's end-game content was the subject of criticism, due to its particular focus on grinding for rare items through various means (including multiplayer games and other missions).[163] The discovery of "loot caves" — locations with quickly re-spawning enemies that could previously be used to farm for items — along with initial issues surrounding the Vault of Glass raid mission became associated with these lingering issues.[164][165][166][167] Despite the criticism, the game received the title of Game of the Year from GamesRadar,[168] the BAFTA Award for Best Game at the British Academy Video Games Awards.[169] At 2014 NAVGTR the game won Original Dramatic Score, New IP and Control Precision, and was nominated for Game Design(New IP), Control Design(3D), Character Design and Art Direction(Contemporary).[170]
Sales[edit]
On September 10, 2014, Activision claimed that Destiny was the most successful new gaming franchise launch, as the game shipped more than US$500 million to retail stores and first-parties worldwide.[171] As of September 17, 2014, there have been over 11 million gameplay sessions within North America.[172] It was also the biggest software launch for the PlayStation 4 since holiday 2013.[173] On November 4, 2014, Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg revealed that the game has 9.5 million registered players.[174] On December 23, 2014, Bungie revealed that 13 million people have played the game since its launch.[175] As of January 5, 2015, the game has 16 million registered players.[176] As of September 17, 2015, the game has 20 million players.[177]
Destiny sold 91,277 physical retail copies for PlayStation 4 and 49,503 retail copies for PlayStation 3 within the first week of release in Japan, placing second and third place respectively within the Japanese software sales charts for that particular week.[178] Destiny was the third best-selling retail game in the United States in 2014.[179] On May 6, 2015, Activision Blizzard announced that Destiny, along with another title from its subsidiary Blizzard Entertainment, Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft have generated nearly one-billion dollars for the company.[180]
57% of Taken King's UK sales were on PlayStation 4.[181]
As of November 2015, Destiny has 25 million registered users, a 5 million increase in 3 months.[182]
Sequel[edit]
In November 2014, Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg said "Work has also begun on future expansion packs as well as on our next full game release".[183] Bungie confirmed that players' characters and progression will carry over into future releases.[184] Based on documents of the original release schedule for Destiny, Bungie and Activision intended to release new, disc-based sequels every other year until 2019, with large downloadable expansions in between.[185] Originally planned for a September 2016 release (based on the original documents),[185] Bungie confirmed on February 11, 2016 that a full sequel will be released in 2017.[104][105] That same month, video game writer Christopher Schlerf, who was the lead writer for Halo 4 and worked on Mass Effect: Andromeda, joined Bungie.[186] In December 2016, Bungie announced that Vicarious Visions would be joining the development team along with Activision.[187] In Activision's earnings report for 2016, Hirshberg said that Destiny's sequel is still "on track for release this fall [2017]." He said there is a big announcement planned but did not specify when. Activision said the sequel will "broaden the franchise's global reach." Hirshberg elaborated that players who have spent hours in the original will "love" the sequel, and for those who have not played Destiny, or have not played in a while,
...we think we've made a sequel that's going to have a lot for them to love, too. The cornerstone of that is a great cinematic story that's been a real focus with a great cast of memorable, relatable characters, coupled with some very nice ways to make the game more accessible to a casual player. Without losing anything that our core players love, we've made it more accessible to someone who just wants to have a great, more casual first-person action experience.[188]
The sequel may also release on PC.[188]
References[edit]
Note
Jump up ^ Additional development by High Moon Studios.[1]
Jump up ^ Peter Dinklage voiced Ghost in the original release of Destiny, but due to his availability, veteran voice actor Nolan North replaced Dinklage with the release of The Taken King expansion, and re-recorded all of Dinklage's lines from the base game.
Jump up ^ As of The Taken King, "The Sword of Crota" mission is now the first mission of The Dark Below questline.
Jump up ^ As of The Taken King, the "Scourge of Winter" mission is now the first mission of the House of Wolves questline.
Footnote
Jump up ^ Nunneley, Stephany. "High Moon Studios is lending a hand on Destiny development [confirmed]".
Jump up ^ Vore, Bryan (December 20, 2013). "The Places Of Destiny". Game Informer. Retrieved September 27, 2014.
Jump up ^ Yin-Poole, Wesley (April 14, 2014). "Bungie insists Destiny remains on track despite composer exit". Eurogamer. Retrieved September 16, 2014.
^ Jump up to: a b "Destiny Pre-Order". Bungie. May 25, 2014. Retrieved May 25, 2014.
^ Jump up to: a b Good, Owen. "Bungie Reveals its Destiny in This Documentary". Kotaku. Kotaku. Retrieved February 25, 2013.
Jump up ^ Goldfard, Andrew (February 21, 2013). "Destiny Coming to PlayStation 4". IGN. Retrieved February 23, 2013.
^ Jump up to: a b Suszek, Mike (September 19, 2014). "Destiny combines arms in the Crucible this weekend". Joystiq. AOL. Retrieved January 25, 2015.
^ Jump up to: a b Cavalli, Earnest (November 14, 2014). "Iron Banner 2.0 comes to Destiny next week". Joystiq. AOL. Retrieved January 25, 2015.
^ Jump up to: a b c d e f "Destiny: complete class guide". VG24/7. Retrieved April 10, 2015.
^ Jump up to: a b c d e f "Destiny Class Guide - should you pick Titan, Hunter or Warlock?". GamesRadar. Retrieved April 10, 2015.
^ Jump up to: a b c d Miller, Matt (June 15, 2015). "Destiny's New Subclasses Explained". Game Informer. Retrieved June 18, 2015.
^ Jump up to: a b Sampson, Aaron (August 19, 2015). "Destiny:The Taken King - New Light Level Explained". GameSpot. Retrieved September 9, 2015.
^ Jump up to: a b DeeJ (October 15, 2015). "Bungie Weekly Update – 10/15/2015". Bungie. Retrieved January 20, 2016.
^ Jump up to: a b "Destiny's April update detailed with 335 Light, high-level Prison of Elders and more". Polygon. Vox Media. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
Jump up ^ DeeJ (October 13, 2016). "This Week at Bungie – 10/13/2016". Bungie. Retrieved November 20, 2016.
^ Jump up to: a b c "Destiny: choosing your class, and why it matters". VG24/7. Retrieved April 10, 2015.
^ Jump up to: a b c "Destiny review: Bungie's successor to Halo has issues but shows promise". Canada.com. Retrieved April 10, 2015.
^ Jump up to: a b c "Bungie knew about Destiny's Loot Cave, it just didn't think you'd care about it". Polygon. Vox Media. Retrieved April 10, 2015.
Jump up ^ "Destiny's post-Level 20 features and systems explained". Polygon. Vox Media. Retrieved April 10, 2015.
^ Jump up to: a b c "Destiny: Trials of Osiris is the new PvP end game". VG24/7. Retrieved June 20, 2015.
Jump up ^ "Destiny: The Taken King's new Rift mode is a shot in the arm for the Crucible". Polygon. Vox Media. Retrieved 9 September 2015.
^ Jump up to: a b Dornbush, Jonathan (August 16, 2016). "Gamescom 2016: Destiny Getting Private PvP Matches, New Rise of Iron Maps Detailed". IGN. Retrieved August 16, 2016.
Jump up ^ "Destiny: Inferno mode returns this week with Inferno Clash". VG24/7. Retrieved 10 September 2015.
Jump up ^ "Destiny's Inferno mode returns to the Crucible this week". Polygon. Vox Media. Retrieved 10 September 2015.

lolis

CIA MAN
           Dr. Pavel, I'm CIA.
          Dr. Pavel nods, nervous. CIA Man hands the Driver a
          briefcase.

                         

                          DRIVER
           He wasn't alone.
          CIA Man, confused, spots the Hooded Men. He turns to Dr.
          Pavel.

                         

                          CIA MAN
           You don't get to bring friends.

           DR. PAVEL

                          (SHAKEN)
           They are not my friends.

                          DRIVER
           Don't worry, no charge for them.

                          CIA MAN
           Why would I want them?

                          DRIVER
           They were trying to grab your
           prize. (Smiles.) They work for the
           mercenary. The masked man.

                         

                          CIA MAN

                          (EXCITED)
           Bane?
          The Driver nods. CIA Man turns to his Special Forces Men.

                         

                          CIA MAN
           Get 'em on board - I'll call it in.

                         

                         

          EXT. SKIES OVER MOUNTAIN RANGE - DAY

          The commuter plane struggles over snow-capped mountains.

                         

          INT. MAIN CABIN, COMMUTER PLANE - CONTINUOUS


                         
          The three Hooded Men kneel by the cargo door, handcuffed.
          CIA Man grabs Hooded Man 1.

                          CIA MAN
           What are you doing in the middle of
           my operation?

           3.

                         
          Hooded Man 1 says nothing. CIA Man pulls out a handgun.
           The flight plan I just filed with
           the Agency lists me, my men, and
           Dr. Pavel here. But only one of
           you.
          CIA Man opens the cargo door. Special Forces hang Hooded Man
          1 out into the howling wind - CIA Man shouts above the wind.

                         

                          CIA MAN

           FIRST ONE TO TALK GETS TO STAY ON
           MY AIRCRAFT! (Cocks weapon.)

           SO...WHO PAID YOU TO GRAB DR.

           PAVEL?!

                         
          Nothing. CIA Man fires out the open door and the Special
          Forces yank Hooded Man 1 back in, clubbing him quiet.

                          CIA MAN

           HE DIDN'T FLY SO GOOD! WHO WANTS TO

           TRY NEXT?!

                         
          The Soldiers grab Hooded Man 2, hang him out the door.

                          CIA MAN

           TELL ME ABOUT BANE! WHY DOES HE

           WEAR THE MASK?!

                         
          The prisoner says nothing. CIA Man presses the gun to the
          man's hood - he cocks the gun...nothing.

                          CIA MAN

           LOT OF LOYALTY FOR A HIRED GUN!

                         

           THIRD PRISONER (O.S.)
           Or he's wondering why someone would
           shoot a man before throwing him out
           of an aeroplane.

                         
          CIA Man turns to the Third Prisoner. Shuts the cargo door.

                          CIA MAN
           Wiseguy, huh? At least you can
           talk. Who are you?

                         

                          THIRD PRISONER
           We are nothing. We are the dirt
           beneath your feet. And no one cared
           who I was until I put on the
           mask...

                         
          CIA Man, wary, approaches the Third Prisoner - pulls off his
          hood, revealing a dark mask with a breathing apparatus. The
          eyes behind it are cold. Still. This is Bane.

           4.

                         

                         

                          BANE
           Who we are does not matter. What
           matters is our plan.

                          CIA MAN

                          (FASCINATED)
           If I pull this off, will you die?

                          BANE
           It would be extremely painful.

                         

                          CIA MAN
           You're a big guy -

                          BANE
           For you.

                         

                          CIA MAN

                          (UNNERVED)
           Was being caught part of your plan?

                          BANE
           Of course. Dr. Pavel refused our
           offer in favor of yours. We had to
           know what he told you about us.

           DR. PAVEL
           Nothing! I said nothing!

                         

                          CIA MAN
           Why not just ask him?

                          BANE
           He would not have told us.

                         

                          CIA MAN
           You have methods.

                          BANE
           Him, I need healthy. You present no
           such problem.
          CIA Man laughs for the Special Forces' benefit. A heavy bass
          tone is rising. The Sergeant looks out the window.

                         

                         

          EXT. SKIES OVER MOUNTAIN RANGE - CONTINUOUS

          The commuter plane is dwarfed by a massive transport plane
          looming over it, dangerously close...

           5.

                         

                         

          INT. MAIN CABIN, COMMUTER PLANE - CONTINUOUS

          The plane lurches. The noise is building.

                          SERGEANT
           Sir?

                         

                          CIA MAN
           Well congratulations, you got
           yourselves caught. What's the next
           step of your master plan?

                         

                          BANE
           Crashing this plane...

                         

          EXT. MOUNTAINS - CONTINUOUS


                         
          The ramp of the transport opens... Four men leap out on
          tethers - dropping towards the commuter plane, two each
          side...

                         

                         

          INT. MAIN CABIN, COMMUTER PLANE - CONTINUOUS

          The Spacial Forces react to the turbulence from the plane
          above. CIA Man looks at Bane.

                          BANE

                          (RISING)
           With no survivors.
          A Special Forces soldier spins around - an Armed Man is
          outside the window. Bang -

                         

                         

          EXT. SKIES OVER MOUNTAIN RANGE - CONTINUOUS

          Two men shoot through the windows, the other two attach
          grapples to the fuselage - give the thumbs up - hoists start
          to pull and the tail of the commuter plane is lifted,
          unnaturally.

                         

          INT. COCKPIT, COMMUTER PLANE - CONTINUOUS

          The Pilots battle the controls as the plane tilts forward.

           6.

                         

                         

          INT. MAIN CABIN, COMMUTER PLANE - CONTINUOUS

          Like lightning, Bane has the CIA Man is his handcuffed arms,
          legs wrapped around a seat back, The entire cabin upends.
          Tumbling chaos - Soldiers falling - Bane cracks CIA Man's
          neck and drops him onto the Sergeant - they tumble down the
          plane, smashing into the cockpit door with a terminal thud.
          Dr. Pavel, strapped in, pushes against the seat in front of
          him - the plane vibrates, trying to tear itself apart.

                         

                         

          EXT. ATLAS MOUNTAINS - CONTINUOUS

          The men climb the tail of the smaller plane as it dangles
          helplessly above the mountains. Its wings shear off.

                         

                         

          INT. MAIN CABIN, COMMUTER PLANE - CONTINUOUS

          Bane breaks his handcuffs as if they were plastic, then
          opens his legs and drops down the cabin, somersaulting
          gracefully and using his arms to stop himself halfway down,
          by Dr. Pavel.

                         

          EXT. SKIES OVER MOUNTAIN RANGE - CONTINUOUS

          The men attach explosives to the tail, then jump away,
          swinging out as the tail explodes.

                         

          INT. MAIN CABIN, COMMUTER PLANE - CONTINUOUS

          An explosion takes off the rear door of the cabin - the
          Armed Men drop through the smoke on cables.
          A body bag is lowered into the cabin. Bane lies it on the
          seat backs next to Dr. Pavel and unzips it to reveal a body
          the same age and build as Dr. Pavel.

                         
          Bane rips Dr. Pavel's sleeve - pulls out a length of
          surgical tubing - pushes a needle into Dr. Pavel's arm -
          runs the tube to the body's arm... Dr. Pavel watches,
          horrified, as Bane starts compressions on the body's chest,
          drawing Dr. Pavel's blood across the tube and into the
          body...

                         
          An Armed Man pulls Hooded Man 1 up through the cabin and
          out. Bane stops Hooded Man 2.

           7.

                         

                         

                          BANE
           Friend. They expect one of us in
           the wreckage.
          The man nods, unhooks himself, takes Bane's arm.

                         

                          HOODED MAN 2
           Have we started the fire?

                          BANE

                          (NODS)
           The fire rises.
          Hooded Man 2 hands Bane his line. Bane clips it around Dr.
          Pavel, takes out a knife and cuts Dr. Pavel's seat belt. Dr.
          Pavel panics, flails. Bane takes his arms. Gentle.

                         

                          BANE
           Calm, Doctor. Now is not time for
           fear...
          Bane slides Dr. Pavel out of his seat. They hang in the
          vertical, windblown cabin. Bane takes out a detonator.

                         

                          BANE
           That comes later.
          Bane presses the detonator - the cabin drops from around
          them, revealing the terrifying drop to the peaks below. Dr.
          Pavel screams as they are hoisted up towards the transport,
          and we -

CIA MAN
           Dr. Pavel, I'm CIA.
          Dr. Pavel nods, nervous. CIA Man hands the Driver a
          briefcase.

                         

                          DRIVER
           He wasn't alone.
          CIA Man, confused, spots the Hooded Men. He turns to Dr.
          Pavel.

                         

                          CIA MAN
           You don't get to bring friends.

           DR. PAVEL

                          (SHAKEN)
           They are not my friends.

                          DRIVER
           Don't worry, no charge for them.

                          CIA MAN
           Why would I want them?

                          DRIVER
           They were trying to grab your
           prize. (Smiles.) They work for the
           mercenary. The masked man.

                         

                          CIA MAN

                          (EXCITED)
           Bane?
          The Driver nods. CIA Man turns to his Special Forces Men.

                         

                          CIA MAN
           Get 'em on board - I'll call it in.

                         

                         

          EXT. SKIES OVER MOUNTAIN RANGE - DAY

          The commuter plane struggles over snow-capped mountains.

                         

          INT. MAIN CABIN, COMMUTER PLANE - CONTINUOUS


                         
          The three Hooded Men kneel by the cargo door, handcuffed.
          CIA Man grabs Hooded Man 1.

                          CIA MAN
           What are you doing in the middle of
           my operation?

           3.

                         
          Hooded Man 1 says nothing. CIA Man pulls out a handgun.
           The flight plan I just filed with
           the Agency lists me, my men, and
           Dr. Pavel here. But only one of
           you.
          CIA Man opens the cargo door. Special Forces hang Hooded Man
          1 out into the howling wind - CIA Man shouts above the wind.

                         

                          CIA MAN

           FIRST ONE TO TALK GETS TO STAY ON
           MY AIRCRAFT! (Cocks weapon.)

           SO...WHO PAID YOU TO GRAB DR.

           PAVEL?!

                         
          Nothing. CIA Man fires out the open door and the Special
          Forces yank Hooded Man 1 back in, clubbing him quiet.

                          CIA MAN

           HE DIDN'T FLY SO GOOD! WHO WANTS TO

           TRY NEXT?!

                         
          The Soldiers grab Hooded Man 2, hang him out the door.

                          CIA MAN

           TELL ME ABOUT BANE! WHY DOES HE

           WEAR THE MASK?!

                         
          The prisoner says nothing. CIA Man presses the gun to the
          man's hood - he cocks the gun...nothing.

                          CIA MAN

           LOT OF LOYALTY FOR A HIRED GUN!

                         

           THIRD PRISONER (O.S.)
           Or he's wondering why someone would
           shoot a man before throwing him out
           of an aeroplane.

                         
          CIA Man turns to the Third Prisoner. Shuts the cargo door.

                          CIA MAN
           Wiseguy, huh? At least you can
           talk. Who are you?

                         

                          THIRD PRISONER
           We are nothing. We are the dirt
           beneath your feet. And no one cared
           who I was until I put on the
           mask...

                         
          CIA Man, wary, approaches the Third Prisoner - pulls off his
          hood, revealing a dark mask with a breathing apparatus. The
          eyes behind it are cold. Still. This is Bane.

           4.

                         

                         

                          BANE
           Who we are does not matter. What
           matters is our plan.

                          CIA MAN

                          (FASCINATED)
           If I pull this off, will you die?

                          BANE
           It would be extremely painful.

                         

                          CIA MAN
           You're a big guy -

                          BANE
           For you.

                         

                          CIA MAN

                          (UNNERVED)
           Was being caught part of your plan?

                          BANE
           Of course. Dr. Pavel refused our
           offer in favor of yours. We had to
           know what he told you about us.

           DR. PAVEL
           Nothing! I said nothing!

                         

                          CIA MAN
           Why not just ask him?

                          BANE
           He would not have told us.

                         

                          CIA MAN
           You have methods.

                          BANE
           Him, I need healthy. You present no
           such problem.
          CIA Man laughs for the Special Forces' benefit. A heavy bass
          tone is rising. The Sergeant looks out the window.

                         

                         

          EXT. SKIES OVER MOUNTAIN RANGE - CONTINUOUS

          The commuter plane is dwarfed by a massive transport plane
          looming over it, dangerously close...

           5.

                         

                         

          INT. MAIN CABIN, COMMUTER PLANE - CONTINUOUS

          The plane lurches. The noise is building.

                          SERGEANT
           Sir?

                         

                          CIA MAN
           Well congratulations, you got
           yourselves caught. What's the next
           step of your master plan?

                         

                          BANE
           Crashing this plane...

                         

          EXT. MOUNTAINS - CONTINUOUS


                         
          The ramp of the transport opens... Four men leap out on
          tethers - dropping towards the commuter plane, two each
          side...

                         

                         

          INT. MAIN CABIN, COMMUTER PLANE - CONTINUOUS

          The Spacial Forces react to the turbulence from the plane
          above. CIA Man looks at Bane.

                          BANE

                          (RISING)
           With no survivors.
          A Special Forces soldier spins around - an Armed Man is
          outside the window. Bang -

                         

                         

          EXT. SKIES OVER MOUNTAIN RANGE - CONTINUOUS

          Two men shoot through the windows, the other two attach
          grapples to the fuselage - give the thumbs up - hoists start
          to pull and the tail of the commuter plane is lifted,
          unnaturally.

                         

          INT. COCKPIT, COMMUTER PLANE - CONTINUOUS

          The Pilots battle the controls as the plane tilts forward.

           6.

                         

                         

          INT. MAIN CABIN, COMMUTER PLANE - CONTINUOUS

          Like lightning, Bane has the CIA Man is his handcuffed arms,
          legs wrapped around a seat back, The entire cabin upends.
          Tumbling chaos - Soldiers falling - Bane cracks CIA Man's
          neck and drops him onto the Sergeant - they tumble down the
          plane, smashing into the cockpit door with a terminal thud.
          Dr. Pavel, strapped in, pushes against the seat in front of
          him - the plane vibrates, trying to tear itself apart.

                         

                         

          EXT. ATLAS MOUNTAINS - CONTINUOUS

          The men climb the tail of the smaller plane as it dangles
          helplessly above the mountains. Its wings shear off.

                         

                         

          INT. MAIN CABIN, COMMUTER PLANE - CONTINUOUS

          Bane breaks his handcuffs as if they were plastic, then
          opens his legs and drops down the cabin, somersaulting
          gracefully and using his arms to stop himself halfway down,
          by Dr. Pavel.

                         

          EXT. SKIES OVER MOUNTAIN RANGE - CONTINUOUS

          The men attach explosives to the tail, then jump away,
          swinging out as the tail explodes.

                         

          INT. MAIN CABIN, COMMUTER PLANE - CONTINUOUS

          An explosion takes off the rear door of the cabin - the
          Armed Men drop through the smoke on cables.
          A body bag is lowered into the cabin. Bane lies it on the
          seat backs next to Dr. Pavel and unzips it to reveal a body
          the same age and build as Dr. Pavel.

                         
          Bane rips Dr. Pavel's sleeve - pulls out a length of
          surgical tubing - pushes a needle into Dr. Pavel's arm -
          runs the tube to the body's arm... Dr. Pavel watches,
          horrified, as Bane starts compressions on the body's chest,
          drawing Dr. Pavel's blood across the tube and into the
          body...

                         
          An Armed Man pulls Hooded Man 1 up through the cabin and
          out. Bane stops Hooded Man 2.

           7.

                         

                         

                          BANE
           Friend. They expect one of us in
           the wreckage.
          The man nods, unhooks himself, takes Bane's arm.

                         

                          HOODED MAN 2
           Have we started the fire?

                          BANE

                          (NODS)
           The fire rises.
          Hooded Man 2 hands Bane his line. Bane clips it around Dr.
          Pavel, takes out a knife and cuts Dr. Pavel's seat belt. Dr.
          Pavel panics, flails. Bane takes his arms. Gentle.

                         

                          BANE
           Calm, Doctor. Now is not time for
           fear...
          Bane slides Dr. Pavel out of his seat. They hang in the
          vertical, windblown cabin. Bane takes out a detonator.

                         

                          BANE
           That comes later.
          Bane presses the detonator - the cabin drops from around
          them, revealing the terrifying drop to the peaks below. Dr.
          Pavel screams as they are hoisted up towards the transport,
          and we -

CIA MAN
           Dr. Pavel, I'm CIA.
          Dr. Pavel nods, nervous. CIA Man hands the Driver a
          briefcase.

                         

                          DRIVER
           He wasn't alone.
          CIA Man, confused, spots the Hooded Men. He turns to Dr.
          Pavel.

                         

                          CIA MAN
           You don't get to bring friends.

           DR. PAVEL

                          (SHAKEN)
           They are not my friends.

                          DRIVER
           Don't worry, no charge for them.

                          CIA MAN
           Why would I want them?

                          DRIVER
           They were trying to grab your
           prize. (Smiles.) They work for the
           mercenary. The masked man.

                         

                          CIA MAN

                          (EXCITED)
           Bane?
          The Driver nods. CIA Man turns to his Special Forces Men.

                         

                          CIA MAN
           Get 'em on board - I'll call it in.

                         

                         

          EXT. SKIES OVER MOUNTAIN RANGE - DAY

          The commuter plane struggles over snow-capped mountains.

                         

          INT. MAIN CABIN, COMMUTER PLANE - CONTINUOUS


                         
          The three Hooded Men kneel by the cargo door, handcuffed.
          CIA Man grabs Hooded Man 1.

                          CIA MAN
           What are you doing in the middle of
           my operation?

           3.

                         
          Hooded Man 1 says nothing. CIA Man pulls out a handgun.
           The flight plan I just filed with
           the Agency lists me, my men, and
           Dr. Pavel here. But only one of
           you.
          CIA Man opens the cargo door. Special Forces hang Hooded Man
          1 out into the howling wind - CIA Man shouts above the wind.

                         

                          CIA MAN

           FIRST ONE TO TALK GETS TO STAY ON
           MY AIRCRAFT! (Cocks weapon.)

           SO...WHO PAID YOU TO GRAB DR.

           PAVEL?!

                         
          Nothing. CIA Man fires out the open door and the Special
          Forces yank Hooded Man 1 back in, clubbing him quiet.

                          CIA MAN

           HE DIDN'T FLY SO GOOD! WHO WANTS TO

           TRY NEXT?!

                         
          The Soldiers grab Hooded Man 2, hang him out the door.

                          CIA MAN

           TELL ME ABOUT BANE! WHY DOES HE

           WEAR THE MASK?!

                         
          The prisoner says nothing. CIA Man presses the gun to the
          man's hood - he cocks the gun...nothing.

                          CIA MAN

           LOT OF LOYALTY FOR A HIRED GUN!

                         

           THIRD PRISONER (O.S.)
           Or he's wondering why someone would
           shoot a man before throwing him out
           of an aeroplane.

                         
          CIA Man turns to the Third Prisoner. Shuts the cargo door.

                          CIA MAN
           Wiseguy, huh? At least you can
           talk. Who are you?

                         

                          THIRD PRISONER
           We are nothing. We are the dirt
           beneath your feet. And no one cared
           who I was until I put on the
           mask...

                         
          CIA Man, wary, approaches the Third Prisoner - pulls off his
          hood, revealing a dark mask with a breathing apparatus. The
          eyes behind it are cold. Still. This is Bane.

           4.

                         

                         

                          BANE
           Who we are does not matter. What
           matters is our plan.

                          CIA MAN

                          (FASCINATED)
           If I pull this off, will you die?

                          BANE
           It would be extremely painful.

                         

                          CIA MAN
           You're a big guy -

                          BANE
           For you.

                         

                          CIA MAN

                          (UNNERVED)
           Was being caught part of your plan?

                          BANE
           Of course. Dr. Pavel refused our
           offer in favor of yours. We had to
           know what he told you about us.

           DR. PAVEL
           Nothing! I said nothing!

                         

                          CIA MAN
           Why not just ask him?

                          BANE
           He would not have told us.

                         

                          CIA MAN
           You have methods.

                          BANE
           Him, I need healthy. You present no
           such problem.
          CIA Man laughs for the Special Forces' benefit. A heavy bass
          tone is rising. The Sergeant looks out the window.

                         

                         

          EXT. SKIES OVER MOUNTAIN RANGE - CONTINUOUS

          The commuter plane is dwarfed by a massive transport plane
          looming over it, dangerously close...

           5.

                         

                         

          INT. MAIN CABIN, COMMUTER PLANE - CONTINUOUS

          The plane lurches. The noise is building.

                          SERGEANT
           Sir?

                         

                          CIA MAN
           Well congratulations, you got
           yourselves caught. What's the next
           step of your master plan?

                         

                          BANE
           Crashing this plane...

                         

          EXT. MOUNTAINS - CONTINUOUS


                         
          The ramp of the transport opens... Four men leap out on
          tethers - dropping towards the commuter plane, two each
          side...

                         

                         

          INT. MAIN CABIN, COMMUTER PLANE - CONTINUOUS

          The Spacial Forces react to the turbulence from the plane
          above. CIA Man looks at Bane.

                          BANE

                          (RISING)
           With no survivors.
          A Special Forces soldier spins around - an Armed Man is
          outside the window. Bang -

                         

                         

          EXT. SKIES OVER MOUNTAIN RANGE - CONTINUOUS

          Two men shoot through the windows, the other two attach
          grapples to the fuselage - give the thumbs up - hoists start
          to pull and the tail of the commuter plane is lifted,
          unnaturally.

                         

          INT. COCKPIT, COMMUTER PLANE - CONTINUOUS

          The Pilots battle the controls as the plane tilts forward.

           6.

                         

                         

          INT. MAIN CABIN, COMMUTER PLANE - CONTINUOUS

          Like lightning, Bane has the CIA Man is his handcuffed arms,
          legs wrapped around a seat back, The entire cabin upends.
          Tumbling chaos - Soldiers falling - Bane cracks CIA Man's
          neck and drops him onto the Sergeant - they tumble down the
          plane, smashing into the cockpit door with a terminal thud.
          Dr. Pavel, strapped in, pushes against the seat in front of
          him - the plane vibrates, trying to tear itself apart.

                         

                         

          EXT. ATLAS MOUNTAINS - CONTINUOUS

          The men climb the tail of the smaller plane as it dangles
          helplessly above the mountains. Its wings shear off.

                         

                         

          INT. MAIN CABIN, COMMUTER PLANE - CONTINUOUS

          Bane breaks his handcuffs as if they were plastic, then
          opens his legs and drops down the cabin, somersaulting
          gracefully and using his arms to stop himself halfway down,
          by Dr. Pavel.

                         

          EXT. SKIES OVER MOUNTAIN RANGE - CONTINUOUS

          The men attach explosives to the tail, then jump away,
          swinging out as the tail explodes.

                         

          INT. MAIN CABIN, COMMUTER PLANE - CONTINUOUS

          An explosion takes off the rear door of the cabin - the
          Armed Men drop through the smoke on cables.
          A body bag is lowered into the cabin. Bane lies it on the
          seat backs next to Dr. Pavel and unzips it to reveal a body
          the same age and build as Dr. Pavel.

                         
          Bane rips Dr. Pavel's sleeve - pulls out a length of
          surgical tubing - pushes a needle into Dr. Pavel's arm -
          runs the tube to the body's arm... Dr. Pavel watches,
          horrified, as Bane starts compressions on the body's chest,
          drawing Dr. Pavel's blood across the tube and into the
          body...

                         
          An Armed Man pulls Hooded Man 1 up through the cabin and
          out. Bane stops Hooded Man 2.

           7.

                         

                         

                          BANE
           Friend. They expect one of us in
           the wreckage.
          The man nods, unhooks himself, takes Bane's arm.

                         

                          HOODED MAN 2
           Have we started the fire?

                          BANE

                          (NODS)
           The fire rises.
          Hooded Man 2 hands Bane his line. Bane clips it around Dr.
          Pavel, takes out a knife and cuts Dr. Pavel's seat belt. Dr.
          Pavel panics, flails. Bane takes his arms. Gentle.

                         

                          BANE
           Calm, Doctor. Now is not time for
           fear...
          Bane slides Dr. Pavel out of his seat. They hang in the
          vertical, windblown cabin. Bane takes out a detonator.

                         

                          BANE
           That comes later.
          Bane presses the detonator - the cabin drops from around
          them, revealing the terrifying drop to the peaks below. Dr.
          Pavel screams as they are hoisted up towards the transport,
          and we -

CIA MAN
           Dr. Pavel, I'm CIA.
          Dr. Pavel nods, nervous. CIA Man hands the Driver a
          briefcase.

                         

                          DRIVER
           He wasn't alone.
          CIA Man, confused, spots the Hooded Men. He turns to Dr.
          Pavel.

                         

                          CIA MAN
           You don't get to bring friends.

           DR. PAVEL

                          (SHAKEN)
           They are not my friends.

                          DRIVER
           Don't worry, no charge for them.

                          CIA MAN
           Why would I want them?

                          DRIVER
           They were trying to grab your
           prize. (Smiles.) They work for the
           mercenary. The masked man.

                         

                          CIA MAN

                          (EXCITED)
           Bane?
          The Driver nods. CIA Man turns to his Special Forces Men.

                         

                          CIA MAN
           Get 'em on board - I'll call it in.

                         

                         

          EXT. SKIES OVER MOUNTAIN RANGE - DAY

          The commuter plane struggles over snow-capped mountains.

                         

          INT. MAIN CABIN, COMMUTER PLANE - CONTINUOUS


                         
          The three Hooded Men kneel by the cargo door, handcuffed.
          CIA Man grabs Hooded Man 1.

                          CIA MAN
           What are you doing in the middle of
           my operation?

           3.

                         
          Hooded Man 1 says nothing. CIA Man pulls out a handgun.
           The flight plan I just filed with
           the Agency lists me, my men, and
           Dr. Pavel here. But only one of
           you.
          CIA Man opens the cargo door. Special Forces hang Hooded Man
          1 out into the howling wind - CIA Man shouts above the wind.

                         

                          CIA MAN

           FIRST ONE TO TALK GETS TO STAY ON
           MY AIRCRAFT! (Cocks weapon.)

           SO...WHO PAID YOU TO GRAB DR.

           PAVEL?!

                         
          Nothing. CIA Man fires out the open door and the Special
          Forces yank Hooded Man 1 back in, clubbing him quiet.

                          CIA MAN

           HE DIDN'T FLY SO GOOD! WHO WANTS TO

           TRY NEXT?!

                         
          The Soldiers grab Hooded Man 2, hang him out the door.

                          CIA MAN

           TELL ME ABOUT BANE! WHY DOES HE

           WEAR THE MASK?!

                         
          The prisoner says nothing. CIA Man presses the gun to the
          man's hood - he cocks the gun...nothing.

                          CIA MAN

           LOT OF LOYALTY FOR A HIRED GUN!

                         

           THIRD PRISONER (O.S.)
           Or he's wondering why someone would
           shoot a man before throwing him out
           of an aeroplane.

                         
          CIA Man turns to the Third Prisoner. Shuts the cargo door.

                          CIA MAN
           Wiseguy, huh? At least you can
           talk. Who are you?

                         

                          THIRD PRISONER
           We are nothing. We are the dirt
           beneath your feet. And no one cared
           who I was until I put on the
           mask...

                         
          CIA Man, wary, approaches the Third Prisoner - pulls off his
          hood, revealing a dark mask with a breathing apparatus. The
          eyes behind it are cold. Still. This is Bane.

           4.

                         

                         

                          BANE
           Who we are does not matter. What
           matters is our plan.

                          CIA MAN

                          (FASCINATED)
           If I pull this off, will you die?

                          BANE
           It would be extremely painful.

                         

                          CIA MAN
           You're a big guy -

                          BANE
           For you.

                         

                          CIA MAN

                          (UNNERVED)
           Was being caught part of your plan?

                          BANE
           Of course. Dr. Pavel refused our
           offer in favor of yours. We had to
           know what he told you about us.

           DR. PAVEL
           Nothing! I said nothing!

                         

                          CIA MAN
           Why not just ask him?

                          BANE
           He would not have told us.

                         

                          CIA MAN
           You have methods.

                          BANE
           Him, I need healthy. You present no
           such problem.
          CIA Man laughs for the Special Forces' benefit. A heavy bass
          tone is rising. The Sergeant looks out the window.

                         

                         

          EXT. SKIES OVER MOUNTAIN RANGE - CONTINUOUS

          The commuter plane is dwarfed by a massive transport plane
          looming over it, dangerously close...

           5.

                         

                         

          INT. MAIN CABIN, COMMUTER PLANE - CONTINUOUS

          The plane lurches. The noise is building.

                          SERGEANT
           Sir?

                         

                          CIA MAN
           Well congratulations, you got
           yourselves caught. What's the next
           step of your master plan?

                         

                          BANE
           Crashing this plane...

                         

          EXT. MOUNTAINS - CONTINUOUS


                         
          The ramp of the transport opens... Four men leap out on
          tethers - dropping towards the commuter plane, two each
          side...

                         

                         

          INT. MAIN CABIN, COMMUTER PLANE - CONTINUOUS

          The Spacial Forces react to the turbulence from the plane
          above. CIA Man looks at Bane.

                          BANE

                          (RISING)
           With no survivors.
          A Special Forces soldier spins around - an Armed Man is
          outside the window. Bang -

                         

                         

          EXT. SKIES OVER MOUNTAIN RANGE - CONTINUOUS

          Two men shoot through the windows, the other two attach
          grapples to the fuselage - give the thumbs up - hoists start
          to pull and the tail of the commuter plane is lifted,
          unnaturally.

                         

          INT. COCKPIT, COMMUTER PLANE - CONTINUOUS

          The Pilots battle the controls as the plane tilts forward.

           6.

                         

                         

          INT. MAIN CABIN, COMMUTER PLANE - CONTINUOUS

          Like lightning, Bane has the CIA Man is his handcuffed arms,
          legs wrapped around a seat back, The entire cabin upends.
          Tumbling chaos - Soldiers falling - Bane cracks CIA Man's
          neck and drops him onto the Sergeant - they tumble down the
          plane, smashing into the cockpit door with a terminal thud.
          Dr. Pavel, strapped in, pushes against the seat in front of
          him - the plane vibrates, trying to tear itself apart.

                         

                         

          EXT. ATLAS MOUNTAINS - CONTINUOUS

          The men climb the tail of the smaller plane as it dangles
          helplessly above the mountains. Its wings shear off.

                         

                         

          INT. MAIN CABIN, COMMUTER PLANE - CONTINUOUS

          Bane breaks his handcuffs as if they were plastic, then
          opens his legs and drops down the cabin, somersaulting
          gracefully and using his arms to stop himself halfway down,
          by Dr. Pavel.

                         

          EXT. SKIES OVER MOUNTAIN RANGE - CONTINUOUS

          The men attach explosives to the tail, then jump away,
          swinging out as the tail explodes.

                         

          INT. MAIN CABIN, COMMUTER PLANE - CONTINUOUS

          An explosion takes off the rear door of the cabin - the
          Armed Men drop through the smoke on cables.
          A body bag is lowered into the cabin. Bane lies it on the
          seat backs next to Dr. Pavel and unzips it to reveal a body
          the same age and build as Dr. Pavel.

                         
          Bane rips Dr. Pavel's sleeve - pulls out a length of
          surgical tubing - pushes a needle into Dr. Pavel's arm -
          runs the tube to the body's arm... Dr. Pavel watches,
          horrified, as Bane starts compressions on the body's chest,
          drawing Dr. Pavel's blood across the tube and into the
          body...

                         
          An Armed Man pulls Hooded Man 1 up through the cabin and
          out. Bane stops Hooded Man 2.

           7.

                         

                         

                          BANE
           Friend. They expect one of us in
           the wreckage.
          The man nods, unhooks himself, takes Bane's arm.

                         

                          HOODED MAN 2
           Have we started the fire?

                          BANE

                          (NODS)
           The fire rises.
          Hooded Man 2 hands Bane his line. Bane clips it around Dr.
          Pavel, takes out a knife and cuts Dr. Pavel's seat belt. Dr.
          Pavel panics, flails. Bane takes his arms. Gentle.

                         

                          BANE
           Calm, Doctor. Now is not time for
           fear...
          Bane slides Dr. Pavel out of his seat. They hang in the
          vertical, windblown cabin. Bane takes out a detonator.

                         

                          BANE
           That comes later.
          Bane presses the detonator - the cabin drops from around
          them, revealing the terrifying drop to the peaks below. Dr.
          Pavel screams as they are hoisted up towards the transport,
          and we -

CIA MAN
           Dr. Pavel, I'm CIA.
          Dr. Pavel nods, nervous. CIA Man hands the Driver a
          briefcase.

                         

                          DRIVER
           He wasn't alone.
          CIA Man, confused, spots the Hooded Men. He turns to Dr.
          Pavel.

                         

                          CIA MAN
           You don't get to bring friends.

           DR. PAVEL

                          (SHAKEN)
           They are not my friends.

                          DRIVER
           Don't worry, no charge for them.

                          CIA MAN
           Why would I want them?

                          DRIVER
           They were trying to grab your
           prize. (Smiles.) They work for the
           mercenary. The masked man.

                         

                          CIA MAN

                          (EXCITED)
           Bane?
          The Driver nods. CIA Man turns to his Special Forces Men.

                         

                          CIA MAN
           Get 'em on board - I'll call it in.

                         

                         

          EXT. SKIES OVER MOUNTAIN RANGE - DAY

          The commuter plane struggles over snow-capped mountains.

                         

          INT. MAIN CABIN, COMMUTER PLANE - CONTINUOUS


                         
          The three Hooded Men kneel by the cargo door, handcuffed.
          CIA Man grabs Hooded Man 1.

                          CIA MAN
           What are you doing in the middle of
           my operation?

           3.

                         
          Hooded Man 1 says nothing. CIA Man pulls out a handgun.
           The flight plan I just filed with
           the Agency lists me, my men, and
           Dr. Pavel here. But only one of
           you.
          CIA Man opens the cargo door. Special Forces hang Hooded Man
          1 out into the howling wind - CIA Man shouts above the wind.

                         

                          CIA MAN

           FIRST ONE TO TALK GETS TO STAY ON
           MY AIRCRAFT! (Cocks weapon.)

           SO...WHO PAID YOU TO GRAB DR.

           PAVEL?!

                         
          Nothing. CIA Man fires out the open door and the Special
          Forces yank Hooded Man 1 back in, clubbing him quiet.

                          CIA MAN

           HE DIDN'T FLY SO GOOD! WHO WANTS TO

           TRY NEXT?!

                         
          The Soldiers grab Hooded Man 2, hang him out the door.

                          CIA MAN

           TELL ME ABOUT BANE! WHY DOES HE

           WEAR THE MASK?!

                         
          The prisoner says nothing. CIA Man presses the gun to the
          man's hood - he cocks the gun...nothing.

                          CIA MAN

           LOT OF LOYALTY FOR A HIRED GUN!

                         

           THIRD PRISONER (O.S.)
           Or he's wondering why someone would
           shoot a man before throwing him out
           of an aeroplane.

                         
          CIA Man turns to the Third Prisoner. Shuts the cargo door.

                          CIA MAN
           Wiseguy, huh? At least you can
           talk. Who are you?

                         

                          THIRD PRISONER
           We are nothing. We are the dirt
           beneath your feet. And no one cared
           who I was until I put on the
           mask...

                         
          CIA Man, wary, approaches the Third Prisoner - pulls off his
          hood, revealing a dark mask with a breathing apparatus. The
          eyes behind it are cold. Still. This is Bane.

           4.

                         

                         

                          BANE
           Who we are does not matter. What
           matters is our plan.

                          CIA MAN

                          (FASCINATED)
           If I pull this off, will you die?

                          BANE
           It would be extremely painful.

                         

                          CIA MAN
           You're a big guy -

                          BANE
           For you.

                         

                          CIA MAN

                          (UNNERVED)
           Was being caught part of your plan?

                          BANE
           Of course. Dr. Pavel refused our
           offer in favor of yours. We had to
           know what he told you about us.

           DR. PAVEL
           Nothing! I said nothing!

                         

                          CIA MAN
           Why not just ask him?

                          BANE
           He would not have told us.

                         

                          CIA MAN
           You have methods.

                          BANE
           Him, I need healthy. You present no
           such problem.
          CIA Man laughs for the Special Forces' benefit. A heavy bass
          tone is rising. The Sergeant looks out the window.

                         

                         

          EXT. SKIES OVER MOUNTAIN RANGE - CONTINUOUS

          The commuter plane is dwarfed by a massive transport plane
          looming over it, dangerously close...

           5.

                         

                         

          INT. MAIN CABIN, COMMUTER PLANE - CONTINUOUS

          The plane lurches. The noise is building.

                          SERGEANT
           Sir?

                         

                          CIA MAN
           Well congratulations, you got
           yourselves caught. What's the next
           step of your master plan?

                         

                          BANE
           Crashing this plane...

                         

          EXT. MOUNTAINS - CONTINUOUS


                         
          The ramp of the transport opens... Four men leap out on
          tethers - dropping towards the commuter plane, two each
          side...

                         

                         

          INT. MAIN CABIN, COMMUTER PLANE - CONTINUOUS

          The Spacial Forces react to the turbulence from the plane
          above. CIA Man looks at Bane.

                          BANE

                          (RISING)
           With no survivors.
          A Special Forces soldier spins around - an Armed Man is
          outside the window. Bang -

                         

                         

          EXT. SKIES OVER MOUNTAIN RANGE - CONTINUOUS

          Two men shoot through the windows, the other two attach
          grapples to the fuselage - give the thumbs up - hoists start
          to pull and the tail of the commuter plane is lifted,
          unnaturally.

                         

          INT. COCKPIT, COMMUTER PLANE - CONTINUOUS

          The Pilots battle the controls as the plane tilts forward.

           6.

                         

                         

          INT. MAIN CABIN, COMMUTER PLANE - CONTINUOUS

          Like lightning, Bane has the CIA Man is his handcuffed arms,
          legs wrapped around a seat back, The entire cabin upends.
          Tumbling chaos - Soldiers falling - Bane cracks CIA Man's
          neck and drops him onto the Sergeant - they tumble down the
          plane, smashing into the cockpit door with a terminal thud.
          Dr. Pavel, strapped in, pushes against the seat in front of
          him - the plane vibrates, trying to tear itself apart.

                         

                         

          EXT. ATLAS MOUNTAINS - CONTINUOUS

          The men climb the tail of the smaller plane as it dangles
          helplessly above the mountains. Its wings shear off.

                         

                         

          INT. MAIN CABIN, COMMUTER PLANE - CONTINUOUS

          Bane breaks his handcuffs as if they were plastic, then
          opens his legs and drops down the cabin, somersaulting
          gracefully and using his arms to stop himself halfway down,
          by Dr. Pavel.

                         

          EXT. SKIES OVER MOUNTAIN RANGE - CONTINUOUS

          The men attach explosives to the tail, then jump away,
          swinging out as the tail explodes.

                         

          INT. MAIN CABIN, COMMUTER PLANE - CONTINUOUS

          An explosion takes off the rear door of the cabin - the
          Armed Men drop through the smoke on cables.
          A body bag is lowered into the cabin. Bane lies it on the
          seat backs next to Dr. Pavel and unzips it to reveal a body
          the same age and build as Dr. Pavel.

                         
          Bane rips Dr. Pavel's sleeve - pulls out a length of
          surgical tubing - pushes a needle into Dr. Pavel's arm -
          runs the tube to the body's arm... Dr. Pavel watches,
          horrified, as Bane starts compressions on the body's chest,
          drawing Dr. Pavel's blood across the tube and into the
          body...

                         
          An Armed Man pulls Hooded Man 1 up through the cabin and
          out. Bane stops Hooded Man 2.

           7.

                         

                         

                          BANE
           Friend. They expect one of us in
           the wreckage.
          The man nods, unhooks himself, takes Bane's arm.

                         

                          HOODED MAN 2
           Have we started the fire?

                          BANE

                          (NODS)
           The fire rises.
          Hooded Man 2 hands Bane his line. Bane clips it around Dr.
          Pavel, takes out a knife and cuts Dr. Pavel's seat belt. Dr.
          Pavel panics, flails. Bane takes his arms. Gentle.

                         

                          BANE
           Calm, Doctor. Now is not time for
           fear...
          Bane slides Dr. Pavel out of his seat. They hang in the
          vertical, windblown cabin. Bane takes out a detonator.

                         

                          BANE
           That comes later.
          Bane presses the detonator - the cabin drops from around
          them, revealing the terrifying drop to the peaks below. Dr.
          Pavel screams as they are hoisted up towards the transport,
          and we -

Fedorekd, the madman. Actually did it.

lc's waifu a shit

Daily reminder that das did nothing wrong.

Destiny was a great game

Destiny was a great game