I loveDestiny. I was a player and fan from the get-go during the PlayStation exclusive Alpha all the way up to the launch forForsakenlast year.Destinyis arguably one of this generation’s definitive series, whether you like it or not. It’s fusion of buttery smooth FPS gunplay, MMO-lite design, sholootin’ and a passionate community created a franchise with numerous ups and downs. Some of my fondest gaming memories happened with a fireteam while exploring the solar system Bungie created.
Destinyalso seemed to set the stage for other developers and publishers to create their own versions of these always-online, co-op loot-based shooters. Ubisoft releasedThe Divisonin 2016 and the sequel,The Division 2, is out next week. EA just released their response too, BioWare’s ownAnthem. I skipped out onThe Division, butI’ve been helping our Reviews Editor Logan Moore reviewAnthem.
PlayingAnthemsince it’s launch, BioWare’s latest reminds me of my 356 hours spread acrossDestinyandDestiny 2: both the good and the bad. I may have recently laid down my Guardian duties, but I consider myself just above the average player.Anthemclearly has taken note ofDestinyover the last five years and still has much to learn.
My main take away is the mission structure similarity. Voice partner/assistant says the gist of the mission, a waypoint appears on screen, the player goes to said waypoint, activates some item, shoots some baddies while waiting for a meter to fill, follows another waypoint, shoots more enemies, grabs a thing, kills a final wave of enemies, and then the mission ends. Rinse and repeat. This is eventually what wore me down withDestiny, when you get down to it.
[pullquote]“BioWare’s latest reminds me of my 356 hours spread acrossDestinyandDestiny 2: both the good and the bad."[/pullquote]
Anthem’s strongholds are justDestiny’s strikes. Both games’ freeplay modes are similar, at leastDestiny’s beginning freeplay is. It’s a vast, all too empty world with materials to harvest and random world encounters to partake in, even at ridiculously low levels.
The obvious advantageDestinyhas overAnthemis time.Destinyhas been around for five years with two numbered games and seven expansions. Bungie has developed the franchise by listening to the fans and trying out new things. When stuff doesn’t work, they usually respond in some capacity down the line. Bungie has experimented, revised, invented, and reverted the world and game ofDestinyto where it is today, a place I hear that is the best the core game has ever been. It seems that BioWare did not heed these lessons or—more likely—EA did not give them the time to.
Two quotes froma report by Jason Schreier from Kotakucaptures the way I thinkAnthemfeels at launch. The first simply captures that, at the time of publication (January 2018), the likelihood ofAnthembeing delayed again was slim to none.
“…it appears unlikely to developers that publisher EA will allow BioWare to delay the game any further than March 2019, when the company’s 2019 fiscal year comes to an end.”
This second quote though claims that BioWare was paying attention toDestiny 2’s launch, its community, and Bungie’s response. It makes sense to do so!Destinywas and is arguably the biggest game of its kind on consoles.
“Most recently, sources say,Anthem’s developers have been watching the ongoing anger in theDestiny 2community over the state of that game.”
I think when looking at this report with the state the game launched in, it’s clear BioWare did not have the time to fully flesh out and polishAnthem. This has led to a launch that appears to be underperforming in the market, andcertainly with critics.
[pullquote]“BioWare has an uphill battle with the future ofAnthem."[/pullquote]
Further toAnthem’s detriment,Destiny’sown shortcomings frame my own lens for EA’s take. Take for example the story:Destiny’s story, especially the first game, is a patched together mess. Over time, some expansions got stories right, but usually, you don’t playDestinyfor the stories. The mission dialogue fades to the background behind fireteam chatter and gunshots. It does not take long for that same behavior to happen inAnthem.
Anthemspouts out sci-fi terms BioWare just wants you to accept with no real explanation. After cutscenes, we try to piece together what it is we are actually trying to accomplish between all the campaign padding like fetch quests and meaningless milestones. Sure, the lore can be found in the game by talking to people in the fort or reading logs, but that puts the brunt of the work on the player. If BioWare wanted me to see a specific story, the wouldn’t have buried it behind optional logs of text. It’s not an entirely fair shake toAnthem, but when the gameplay is mindless and the story feels slapped together, it’s hard to give it a chance.
The lines betweenAnthemandDestinyget pretty muddled the more I play BioWare’s version of this genre mash-up.Anthemhas little to differentiate itself from its predecessors, which is a shame. Competition is great for the industry. It pushes developers forward to create new, engaging experiences. It gives players choices (unlikeAnthem) to spend their time with a game that they enjoy the most.
The beautiful possibility about this generation is that a game released now can evolve over time. Sure, the sting of a poor launch can haunt a game for its lifetime, butAnthemcan become better.Destinymost definitely became a better game throughout the years. It also went back to a bad one. Just becauseAnthemlaunched in a marred state doesn’t mean it can’t recover. BioWare has an uphill battle with the future ofAnthem. We will all just have to see if the can take it to new heights or if the game will be grounded.
