Despite the fact that there is little information surrounding the production and release date of "Destiny 2," game developers Bungie and Activision have teamed up for the expansion pack, "Destiny: House of Wolves."
According to Derrik J. Lang of the Associated Press, "House of Wolves" is expected to be released on May 19. The expansion pack hopes to address gamers' frustrations with the lack of content and unpredictable nature of "Destiny."
"The short answer is everything," multiplayer design lead Lars Bakken said when asked about the changes. "We put out the game we thought 'Destiny' would be, and then it took on a life of its own once it was in the wild. We probably touched every system in the game."
Bakken added that "many enhancements" were made to "Destiny" to the point he couldn't "keep them straight in my head at this point." Lang elaborated on what made this "sci-fi shooter" different from other games in this genre.
"Unlike similar sci-fi shooters, such as 'Gears of War' and 'Killzone,' most of the gorgeously detailed worlds found in 'Destiny' are persistent realms that can only be accessed online by players, who portray one of the gun-toting, super-powered Guardians that must defend the last city on Earth from oblivion," Lang wrote. "Simply put, it's 'World of Warcraft' meets 'Halo.'"
According to Lang, "Destiny" received mixed reviews from critics when it was first released back in September 2014. However, industry tracker NPD Group reported that it was the third best-selling retail game in the United States last year, behind "Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare" and "Madden NFL 15."
"Bungie should know a thing or two about sci-fi shooters," Lang wrote. "They created the original trilogy of 'Halo' games. However, even they weren't prepared for how complicated 'Destiny' had become or just how much time players would invest in it."
Bakken told Lang that gamers can expect to play the new three-versus-three multiplayer mode known as "Trials of Osiris," which will be available in the expansion pack. That mode was originally going to be part of the original "Destiny" release.
"When we were getting close to launch, we knew we weren't going to have something that was compelling," Bakken said. "I had a conversation with some of the other leads, and we came to the conclusion that it just wasn't ready yet. The data was still there, but what 'Trials of Osiris' has become is very different than what it would have been."
Michael McWhertor of Polygon explained how the Trials of Osiris would work in the expansion pack. Derek Carroll of Bungie described that mode as "the most intense mode we've made."
"Matches in Trials of Osiris are time-limited, just two minutes, and in the event that games go into overtime, a central capture point becomes available," McWhertor wrote. "Whoever captures that point wins."
McWhertor reported that a new character named Brother Vance will be the emissary for Trials of Osiris. Gamers can participate in this matchup only after purchasing a "Passage of Osiris," which sort of functions like a scorecard that tracks performance.
"The more wins you earn in Trials of Osiris - up to nine on one Passage - the better the rewards," McWhertor wrote. "Players who lose three rounds in Trials of Osiris events will have to start over with a new Passage, though players can purchase Passage Coins that will either forgive their first loss or count their first win as two wins."
However, Carroll indicated that players will have to find their own teammates for this mode, given that matchmaking will not be available.
"We'll find you enemies, but we're not gonna find you friends," Carroll said.
The ESRB has assigned "Destiny: House of Wolves" a T for Teen rating. Polygon reported that it will be available for PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One on May 19; the Associated Press indicated that the expansion pack will retail for $19.99.
