Thirty years ago, in Chicago, Illinois, Alex Seropian and Jason Jones would start a company that, although started with mostly Macintosh games, would go on to develop two of the largest sci-fi first-person shooters in the world: Halo and Destiny. One would become the fledgling Xbox’s must-buy franchise, spawning a legacy of over a dozen video games, an expansive world of books, comic books, and even TV shows, and has become one of the most synonymous video games in the early 21st century gaming zeitgeist. The other, Destiny, would grow a player base of millions across all platforms, bringing the MMO-lite genre to consoles for the first time and marrying the first-person shooter with the MMORPG. Thirty years later, the 30th Anniversary Pack for Destiny 2 releases, to pay homage to Bungie’s development legacy. Packed with content, both cosmetic and gameplay-related, is it worth the price?
Stay away, Microsoft lawyers
The easiest way to split this review up will be by the free and paid paths that a player can choose. That’s right, it’s not just the sellouts that throw money at Bungie 24/7 that get to enjoy the 30th anniversary. What do you get if you choose not to buy the 30th anniversary pack? Well, the new 6 player activity, Dares of Eternity, for one. This is easily my favorite 6 player activity that Bungie has added and for good reason. The wacky commentary by Xur and our new intergalactic horse friend, the variety of enemies, and the potential for over-the-top power fantasy trips thanks to unlimited heavy ammo makes Dares of Eternity just a lot of fun.
The loot from Dares of Eternity is also free, and wow is the loot great. An arsenal of Halo weapons that look just different enough that the Microsoft lawyers look away, free for all players? That’s amazing! A new Tex Mechanica lever action shotgun and grenade launcher round out the legendary arsenal available as loot to all players. These weapons are fun and have unique perks that pay homage to their roots. The energy swords can have a perk that increases their lunge range, and the Battle Rifle (sorry, the BxR-55 Battler) can get a perk that references the classic BXB combo from Halo 2. I’ve gotten a few good rolls on these weapons but just the sheer variety of new and interesting perk combinations, combined with just excellent weapon stats make these weapons a must get for any player, free or paid.
The free path doesn’t end there! Rounding out Destiny’s legally different Halo arsenal is the exotic M6G Magnum (sorry, Forerunner!) sidearm. This hard hitting sidearm not only looks like, but performs just like the classic Halo magnum, even having a catalyst that lets you spawn in frag grenades! It’s clear that Bungie has gone all out to pay homage to and bring some long-time fan requested weapons to Destiny. If all of the new games coming out this holiday season or the Christmas sales on all of the game stores seem too tempting, don’t worry about missing out on some awesome weapons from Bungie. They’re all there, just waiting for you to get them.
The Real Loot Cave
So, if the free path is so nice and the weapons are so good, why even bother paying for the pack? Well, if you want to miss out on a new and amazing dungeon, returning Destiny 1 legends like Gjallarhorn and Eyasluna, and a ton of cosmetic armor pieces, sure, feel free to skip. Grasp of Avarice, the new dungeon, has to be experienced to be believed. I don’t want to spoil any of it, since I found that going in for the first-time blind makes for a better experience, but needless to say, it is a great dungeon. Bungie’s strong suits when it comes to PVE content for Destiny has always been the raids and dungeons and Grasp of Avarice is no slouch. It’s definitely not as difficult as something like Prophecy, but I think the soundtrack, the hidden audio logs, and the atmosphere of Grasp will make you fall in love with it.
Paying for the 30th Anniversary pack also gets you a bunch of cosmetics, namely, 3 sets of armor, a ship, a sparrow, 4 emotes, and a title “Vidmaster” to acquire. And yes, I said “acquire.” Only the Streetwear set (the set in the image above) is unlocked immediately. The rest of the cosmetics are acquired either through random drops in Grasp of Avarice or by leveling up the Xur vendor by playing Dares of Eternity. This might seem counterintuitive; I paid for the content, why don’t I just get all of it right away? I do think, however, that this is the better path. We’ve still got at least 2 months before Witch Queen comes out and there doesn’t seem to be much else on the horizon. By allowing us to chase rolls of the Thorn armor or gradually unlock the Marathon-inspired ornaments by playing Dares of Eternity (while also getting awesome loot), it means there’s still a lot to do and play in Destiny.
A Celebration, Indeed
The 30th Anniversary pack for Destiny 2 gives you a lot, and not just for players who paid for it. All of the content is great, from the gameshow styled Dares of Eternity to the excellent Grasp of Avarice dungeon. The weapons are all fun and exciting, featuring favorites like the Halo Battle Rifle and the infamous Gjallarhorn rocket launcher. There’s a lot more in this update than even I was expecting, and I felt the typical Destiny 2 mid-season apathy wash away as I spent hours chasing a purple energy sword and the perfect roll on my Battle Rifle (sorry, BxR-55 Battler, go away Microsoft lawyers).
The content is easily a 10/10. If this was a whole season in of itself, I wouldn’t be too disappointed. However, because of the amount of content that is available for free and depending on how much you value the *mostly* cosmetic items in the paid pack, there’s the question of whether it’s really worth shelling out the money or not. I’m also a bit worried because for a dungeon and a bunch of cosmetics, the asking price of $25 does seem a bit high and I hope that the future dungeons Bungie plans on selling us are at a reasonable price. If you’re looking for a reason to jump back on Destiny and have some money to spend, this is an easy purchase. For those of you who have been on a break and may be looking to see if it’s worth coming back, I’d recommend trying out the free offering and if you find it’s worth your money and time, come, join us as we celebrate 30 years of amazing and legendary video games from Bungie.
9/10
Check Out the Destiny 2: Bungie 30th Anniversary Trailer:
For more information, please visit: https://www.bungie.net/7/en/Direct/Anniversary?ciid=50638
Related: DESTINY 2: Season of the Lost Review
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My name is Matt Tran and I have been playing video games since I could remember holding a controller. I've always been a hardcore gamer growing up, from the hectic MW2 and Halo 3 lobbies, my many journeys through several Halo clans and my current exploits with my Destiny 2 clan. I love shooters and RPGs and overanalyzing every component of every game I've played, from weapon stats to ideal perks. When I have time to play other games, I currently play Genshin Impact and Star Wars Squadrons.
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