arts // no. 8

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De tiny’ sequel - huge ae
forward for Bungie

> “Destiny 2’ video game review

Greg Waldock
Staff Writer

 

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estiny 2 is everything the original

Destiny needed to be at launch.
The first Destiny was bold and
beautiful, but was nearly unplayable
due to bugs, a bizarre company policy
on communication, and less content
than a bag of chips. Its sequel builds
on its successes and avoids the failures
that nearly killed the franchise,
resulting in a thrilling game that,
despite a lack of content, manages
to be full of personality and fun.
Bungie has been nothing if not incredibly

daring with the Destiny series, even if it
doesn’t always pay off. The original was
an incredible game with a rich, weird
lore, a lot of high-concept science fiction
ideas, and a very interesting approach to
fusing MMO mechanics with a fast-paced
combat system. The sequel continues
most of this, keeping the good of the

first but with the addition of the past
three years of experience for Bungie. It’s
cleaner and more refined, and much less
of a well-polished skeleton than the first.
Unfortunately, Destiny 2 still doesn’t have
a lot of content once the campaign is over.
Destiny 1 was unbelievably barebones at
launch. The plot was short and largely
nonsensical, and the postgame content
was unrewarding and repetitive. It grew
exponentially better with each new piece
of downloadable content (DLC), creating

 

a diverse game with a ton of activities.
Destiny 2 feels like Destiny 1 did at launch,
rather than a continuation of the amazing
stories that happened over the past three
years. It’s still barebones. It’s still obviously
in need of hotfixes and add-ons and DLC
to feel like a full game. It’s much less of

a buggy unbalanced mess, but it’s very
obviously incomplete. It’s disappointing
to have to pay another $40 to $60 and

wait several years for all the DLC.

This time around, though, things are
looking more optimistic for the franchise.
It’s no longer split between two very
different console generations—which

was a colossal impairment to Destiny

1. It’s already looking better organized,
with more community communication
and free events. The plot is coherent and
damn fun, and the main antagonist is

theotherpress.ca

Screenshot from ‘Destiny 2’ Via instant-gaming.com

a fascinating guy to fight against. The
weapon designs are sleeker, the abilities
are flashier, and the banter between
Cayde-6, Zavala, and Ikora is back and
better than ever. The art direction is
ridiculously good and Bungie took full use
of the new console generation, making
heavily forested environments that mesh
nicely with the artificial sci-fi designs.

If you enjoyed Destiny 1 after the
horrendous launch and many hiccups,
you'll immediately fall in love with
Destiny 2. It’s a continuation of everything
you loved in the first and promises to

be another incredible journey when the
rest of the DLC is released. Destiny 2
shows how far Bungie has come since
their Halo days and demonstrates

their drive to keep innovating and
refining their strange little series.

‘Literature Alive’ presents Carleigh Barker

> Former Douglas student gives reading of debut novel

Jillian McMullen
Staff Writer

 

iterature Alive, run by the Creative

Writing Department, welcomed back
former Douglas student and Other Press
contributor Carleigh Baker on September
20 to read from her debut novel Bad
Endings. The novel is a collection of
short stories published earlier this year,
which is currently a finalist for the
2017 City of Vancouver Book Award.

Baker, an Indigenous writer, spoke
candidly about the inspiration for her
work. She said it began seven years ago
around Sixth Street and St. George here
in New West, just as her then-marriage
began to fall apart. This prompted her to
ask herself what she would do if she could
do anything. Her answer was to write,
so she enrolled herself in the writing
program at Douglas. “I needed something
I would have no excuse to skip, even if I
slept in,” she jokingly explained. She is
currently working on her MFA at UBC.
Adding that most of the stories

in Bad Endings began during her
time at Douglas, Baker read from the
introductory story of the collection,
titled “War of Attrition,” inspired

by her time handing out Metro
newspapers at 22nd Street Station.

The story explores her rivalry with
another paper distributor at the station—a
Ukrainian mail-order bride disguised
as a Russian mail-order bride—and
the beginning of the friendship born
out of it. “I really like dark humour
and female friendships,” said Baker.

She then read from another
story, admitting it was based heavily
on someone who works for the City
of Vancouver. She ended the evening
taking questions from students and
offering career advice based on her
experience in the publishing industry.

“A lot is based on who you
know,’ said the writer.

Literature Alive events are held
periodically throughout the year. These
readings are free and open to the public,
so keep an eye out around campus for
posters announcing the next event.

  

Photo by Jullian McMullen