Rise of Iron - Review - Destiny
The raid boss raises his arms in a final lethal attack. Rockets and snipers pelt him from every direction, his health lowering below one percent. He finishes his last attack and all six of us brave guardians die immediately. Momentary disappointment sets in. But waits, what's that? A final rocket soars slowly towards him, fired at the literal last second. It connects, it detonates and the boss explodes in a shower of sparks and flesh. An ear-shattering cheer erupts from every headset. Yet again, Bungie proves that they are masters at crafting thrilling endgame content. I just wish they had paid that much attention to the actual story of Rise of Iron.
Underwhelming Story
When the Taken King expansion dropped over a year ago, Bungie proved they could tell a compelling story within the world and lore of Destiny. So, when it was announced that their newest large expansion would delve into the history of the Iron Lords, many longtime guardians were pumped to finally get a look behind the curtain. With the incoming threat of SIVA, a biomechanical substance that has not only morphed the Fallen but also the very landscape of the Cosmodrome, you have a genuinely interesting premise. Unfortunately, the story abruptly ends just when things start to get interesting, taking only about 2-3 hours to complete. While the final mission has an incredible crescendo, culminating in an epic boss fight, the rest of the them don't share any of the ingenuity demonstrated in the Taken King. That's not to say that they're boring, they're just more of the same. When I picked up the final quest, I asked myself, "Is that it?" There was absolutely room for an additional two missions of content that would have made the spectacular ending feel earned. As another side note, I was thoroughly disappointed at the lack of a mission concerning Rasputin who played a major role in the initial SIVA Crisis. The sheer amount of underutilized potential for Rise of Iron's story is so great, that I can't help but think of it as a missed opportunity.
Side Quests, Archon's Forge and Strikes
While Rise of Iron features a couple of Destiny's notoriously bland side quests grinding the most basic activities, it also has some of the best extracurricular content they've ever produced. First off, the new Wretched Eye Strike is thrilling every time you play it, requiring teamwork and quick reflexes to complete. Even the two revamped strikes, The Devil's Lair and Summoning Pits, are a blast to fight through particularly because of the the stunning, bombastic music reminiscent of Halo's superb score. Additionally, strikes now have a chest containing guaranteed strike specific loot waiting at the end that can only be opened by a rarely dropped Skeleton key adding an extra layer of replayability. Beyond strikes, there are two diverse exotic weapon quests available immediately. The first, the quest for the infamous Gjallarhorn, has you constructing the legendary rocket launcher piece by piece before letting you unleash it in all of it's glory over and over again. The second brings back the classic Khvostov in a freshly minted and infinitely modifiable exotic form before ending on a surprisingly somber note adding character depth to your omnipresent Ghost. Finally, there is an interesting patrol zone called the Plaguelands, a snowy, SIVA-infected stretch of land outside the wall complete with lava flows and public events. With the new patrol zone comes the Archon's Forge, a seriously fun, challenge room event that any guardians can participate in provided they have a SIVA offering. However, in a mystifying design choice, these offerings are rare and you can only store one at a time which essentially equates to there never being enough people in the area to complete the offerings. With there being only one new strike and the fact that I was able to complete all of the side missions within the first two days, it demonstrates another surprising lack of content. Undoubtedly, more missions will open up later, but as a base product, it's rather sparse on its offerings.
New Gear and Multiplayer
With the dawn of Rise of Iron, all of the vendors changed out their weapons and armor for a fresh new batch, a new record book has been unlocked with a plethora of valuable prizes, and the Supremacy mode dropped in the Crucible along with 3 new maps (4 for PS4). Not only are there around 14 new exotics to hunt for with a myriad of interesting perks but there is also the 8 new artifacts that change the way the game is played from turning enemies on each other to removing a sprint cooldown entirely. Thanks to community outcry, the vendors now allow you to select whether you want weapons or armor out of packages, giving you a higher chance to actually get what you want sooner. All of the new gear looks great with the Iron Lord armor setting a high bar in fashion, especially when you're able to use the new ornament system which modifies the way that certain armor and exotic weapons look. However, it is extremely disappointing that you're only able to get one package a week by actually playing the game. If you want more than one, random ornament a week, you have to purchase it with a microtransaction system. Feels very Activision-y and not in a good way. The new mode Supremacy is basically Kill Confirmed from the Call of Duty games and it works well in Destiny even if it feels a bit reiterative.The new maps are nice but they do little to mix up the two basic types of encounters you'll find in 6v6 multiplayer: using a shotgun and fending off a shotgunner.
Saved by the Raid
Wow, thank god for the raid. Honestly, for hardcore fans, raids are one of the primary reasons to keep coming back to Destiny and Bungie did not disappoint with Wrath of the Machine. Kicking it off in style with a fun and fast paced introduction, the raid takes you through three major encounters that are challenging, mechanics-oriented and palm-sweatingly tense with clear communication standing as an absolute necessity. Each section is split up by a variety of short, sweet puzzle sections with their own plethora of secrets to uncover. Slowly unearthing each disguised mechanic or objective conjures a sense of accomplishment with each small piece of information. As a reward for tackling such an expansive raid, you're rewarded unique armor and weapons that not only look like a Tron-lover's wet dream but also grant you relevant bonus perks for you're next outing in Wrath of the Machine. Overcoming a fresh raid completely blind with 5 of your friends is one of the best gaming experiences out there and is the single best reason to buy Rise of Iron.
By the Fans, for the Fans
It's hard to recommend Rise of Iron to the casual player of Destiny. The story is too short with a good but underutilized premise. The new multiplayer mode and maps do little to change up the formula. The strikes and side missions are fun but based firmly in the past with nostalgia playing a major role in how much you'll enjoy each one. The raid is fantastic but you need 5 other friends at a high enough light level to run it without resorting to the forums. However, for all of those who dive deep into endgame content, Rise of Iron is a must buy. The strongest part of Destiny has always been what happens after the story is over: the new friends that you make raiding, the tribulations of fighting through Trials of Osiris, punching Wizards to get them the turn on their allies in a strike, the stories that you make among yourselves. If you're a fan of Destiny, Rise of Iron will be a great way to keep the fire alive. If you're not, then Rise of Iron is unlikely to change you're mind.
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