REVIEW – The hunt is on for the wolves, and finally the latest expansion pack has been released for Destiny. This expansion pack marks the middle road of the road in terms of expansions (if the leaked concept for the timeline is correct). Does it have enough content to keep us around for another few months? Have the developers listened to the fans and improved upon the game? Find out …. here of course!

The story for House of Wolves is an interesting one, and longer than The Dark Below which was the previous expansion pack. The story is basically that after the Reef Wars, which took place between the Awoken and the Fallen where the Fallen lost, one of their Kells (which is basically a clan in the world of Destiny) received mercy from the Queen of the Reef. The expansion pack deals with the House of Wolves Kell rebellion, and how they rebelled against the Awoken. Pretty neat and gory if you ask me.

The guardians are called upon, and they are allowed to enter The Reef. Once we arrive we are greeted by a new social hub the Vestian Outpost. Here we are provided with our new quest giver, a new cryptarch, and a bunch of new faction vendors that we can buy stuff from if we level up the ranks.

Feels like an 80’s remake

Except that even though there is a new outpost (a very stylish one), new missions, a new strike, PVE and PVP content. It feels, rehashed, like one of those 80s movies that gets a modern remake: it has all the looks but none of the actual content. Which is weird since this is a brand new expansion pack with brand new missions and modes, that unfortunately take place in the same old mission areas or near them.

Yes when I thought in the cinematic they meant: “Open the reef” I thought we were going to battle among ruins in space, or in a snowy location. Instead we have 3 missions and 3 quests scattered on Venus, Earth and the Moon. Plus the new strike takes place on the Moon.

So in the end, you just get to go to the gates of the Reef.

No more Dinklebot

Speaking of missions, the developers created the new missions just like with the Dark Below, as in no more waiting around for doors to open. In fact it felt really great to be on the offensive against the enemy. Breaking down their Kells and ranks one by one, mission by mission.

The voice acting has been improved upon, and I really enjoyed Variks providing translation for the Fallen chatter during the missions, such a shame he wasn’t utilized more. Petra Venj is the other main character who provides exposition, and background to The Reef Wars, plus on the Kells, but I was quite annoyed who she was not an allied NPC during the story missions. Yet in some introductory intros before the missions she was talking as if she was coming with us for a battle.

Such a shame, would have been nice for a change, instead of all talk we get to see some brand new comrades on the battlefield.

The Jailhouse and the Thief

With the lack of a new raid for the expansion pack, we are provided with a brand new fun arena for those who only love PVE and loath PVP. The Prison of Elders, which is a horde mode that at the end features a high end boss, with the promise of legendary or exotic gear. There is the basic Prison of Elders with matchmaking, and three higher tier ones that does not feature this option (for some baffling reason).

I found this mode to be fun since it provides critical objectives that need to be completed. So not only is the point of this mode to kill all and every living thing, but to actually to be tactical in completing the secondary objectives. Plus the rewards are really worth it, as some of the gear is easier to acquire than in a raid or strike if you have a good team.

The new strike to be short at first seemed short, and then suddenly it turns out that the boss encounter is constant chase. Constantly putting new and tougher enemies between us and him, before we can finally put a bullet in to his skull.
It is a lengthy run but it is no Raid, yet still a lot of fun to complete, if you can survive it.

What’s however was a good idea, is the big change in the leveling system. No longer you re tied to an specific set of gear to level cap. One of the biggest problems of the light leveling system created for the game has been resolved.

Concerning the PVP: stay away from it, if you have high blood pressure. PvP is plagued with latency issues and one-hit kill weapons. The experience is even more infuriating than the ridiculous random loot system. Every effort Bungie has done for balancing has only made matters worse.

More of the same?

Trying to even score this expansion is a bit of a headache, as I have invested a lot of time in to the base game already. Is it good content? Yes, but to be frank a lot of it feels cut in a weird way. Every piece feels like it should have been already there in the base game. In the end if you already bought Destiny go along for the ride, and enjoy the new missions and content. If you haven’t, well, you might actually wait for this year September 2015 for that “Comet” Tier expansion.

-Dante-

Editor: Activision

Developer: Bungie

Genres: action, FPS, MMO, multiplayer

Publication: May 19, 2015