The Destiny 2 Trailer : A Fanboy Squeaks!

So, Destiny 2 is a thing. A thing that is coming on September 8th, and yes, since you ask I have booked the day off work! I’m going to look here at what I can cull from the trailer, any clues as to what it all means, and hopefully refrain from running around, clutching myself while going “Squuuueeeee!”

The new trailer is a largely character driven affair, featuring Zavala talking to group of Guardians, and Ikora and Cayde motivating another crowd. So, first of all, the Tower, and the City it protected, has fallen. The Cabal have appeared in droves, and razed the place to the ground. They are a new group, known as the Red Legion, led by “Gary? Glenn? Something with a G in it” as Cayde says, while attempting to rally the troops to form up and fight with him. In a nod to the first games grind, it’s not until Cayde promises the gathered Guardians lots of loot that they start to cheer for him. Zavala, on the other hand, focuses on revving his Guardians up with talk of helping the people, and in a first for Destiny, children are shown clambering from the wreckage of what were once presumably their homes. It’s heart rending stuff, brief cinematics show the Tower crumbling, people helping each other out the wreckage, a Guardian standing again ready to fight when she is freed from under a massive chunk of masonry.

At the beginning of the video, the Traveler appears to be in flames in the sky above the City, as the Cabal have brought about the end of Humanity’s last outpost. Zavala and Cayde have fought bravely but were unable to turn the tide, and now try to make the resistance real, and avenge the injustice of the attack. Cayde is also pictured fighting some kind of animal, maybe a Cabal attack dog? That’s another departure right there, as apart from the Hive thralls, the enemies in Destiny have not really featured animals before.

So, we know the new enemies are going to be the Cabal, but it looks like they have upped their game. The Cabal Phalanxes have had their shields updated it would appear, although the totally overpowered Warlock melee still seems to be in evidence, as Ikora takes one out using it! The wall behind her then explodes as another new type of enemy, a giant Cabal wielding two swords, barges in and starts to join in the attack.

The thing that I like about this trailer, and the hope that it gives me for Destiny 2 in general, is it’s all about story. I think it’s fair to say that the early days of Destiny were somewhat slim pickings, story wise, and the perception that Destiny doesn’t actually have a story is proving hard to shake off. However, strikes to hurt the Cabal, weaken their grip? A new raid to cast them out of the city once and for all? A showdown with Gary or Glenn? These things and more are going to be awesome, assuming Bungie puts in the time and effort that a release of this size deserves.

In other news that the trailer reveals, there is going to be beta access for pre-orders, so form an orderly queue behind me please! And in addition to being released on Xbox One and PS4, the game is going to be coming to the PC for the first time. There’s no news yet on whether this will be one of the Play Anywhere titles, like Gears 4 or Forza Horizon 3, but if it is, the player base for Destiny would go through the roof.

Also, just to put the cherry on the top of this cake of hype, there is the world first gameplay reveal stream set for 18th May, 2017. Or just over a month from now. Suddenly it is all looking real… Details have also leaked about the bundles that will be available to buy. Will you go for the game and expansion pass bundle, or the Destiny 2-Digital Deluxe version, which features premium digital content (you know that one of these premium things is going to be a sweet dance), or, if you fall into the “money no object” camp, there is the Collectors edition, featuring all the other stuff, a Cabal themed collectors box, and a fully wearable Destiny 2 Frontier Bag. An actual bag! And it’s almost guaranteed that people won’t take the mickey out of you if you actually do go ahead and wear it, and this is coming from someone who was sad enough to buy the Destiny t-shirt for completing the second book, complete with my gamer tag on the sleeve.

So, to sum up, and to use Bungies own words:

“In Destiny 2, the last safe city on Earth has fallen and lays in ruins, occupied by a powerful new enemy and his elite army, the Red Legion. Every player creates their own character called a Guardian, humanity’s chosen protectors. As a Guardian in Destiny 2, players must master new abilities and weapons to reunite the city’s forces, stand together and fight back to reclaim their home.”

So, roll on May 18th, and roll on September the 8th. I for one will be taking my place on the wall, fighting the Cabal back. Who’s with me!?

Did I mention the loot?