Destiny: Rise of Iron

Rise of Iron isn't quite the game changer that the Taken King was last year, but it continues to build on the work-in-progress experience that Destiny has become. Looking at it peice by piece it's very easy to discount certain aspects of Destiny, but as a whole there isn't a better or more robust game that ties together single player, cooperative, and competitive multiplayer gameplay the way that Bungie has.

With The Taken King, Bungie revolutionized the very core of Destiny. The last expansion, Rise of Iron, is more of the same in most departments. Although there’s a good amount of content in the way of a cinematic campaign, a plethora of quests afterwards, and some SIVA strikes along with a couple of additions on the PvP side. But most importantly, Rise of Iron proves that Destiny is on the up and stabilizing after a rough start with the base game. A strong narrative that doesn’t completely pan out, some real fun with the new PvP mode, and the same addicting gameplay and systems make Rise of iro...

At the end of the day, Destiny: Rise of Iron is more of the same. If you are new to the series, there has never been a better time to jump on board, especially at the $60 premium for the base game with all expansions. Fans of the series will fall prey to the Destiny itch that has kept them hooked for hours on end. However, those who have felt burned or quickly lost interest after The Taken King can easily wait for Destiny 2 – there isn't much new to draw you in.

Destiny: Rise of Iron is a decent enough expansion that fans will likely enjoy, but it feels lacking in wake of The Taken King. Time for Destiny 2, we think.

Back near the end of last year, Destiny was in dire need of a revamp. The release had stagnated to a point where many players had simply stopped coming back to Bungie's sci-fi creation, with the game's first two expansions – The Dark Below and House of Wolves – doing little to reinvigorate the title or fix its ongoing issues. Thankfully, the Washington-based studio was able to shine a light through the darkness in the form of The Taken King, which really did manage to breathe new life into the stale shooter. The third expansion added a great new setting, a stronger campaign, and implemented co...

Destiny Rise of Iron brings new challenges and unique customization, but it lacks depth.

Another element I got to spend a lot of time with is PVP, known as the “Crucible.” Now, Rise of Iron doesn’t really add a whole lot in this department outside of some new maps and another mode (basically Kill Confirmed in Call of Duty), but I’m starting to come around to the idea of PVPing regularly. That’s not merely because of the introduction of private matches in a bid to become the next eSport. There’s just so many great maps to choose from, and I feel like Bungie has started to get its bearings on deciding what Destiny PVP actually means. This is the type of incremental change I don’t mi...

The stuff that is genuinely new is very good, but there’s so little of it that the sense of déjà vu, in a game that is already so repetitious, becomes overwhelming.

Love it or hate it, Rise of Iron offers more Destiny with almost no real changes or fixes to the problems that have plagued the release since launch.

After significant in-roads over the past year, Destiny feels like its regressed with Rise of Iron. This would have been a great time for exceptional story missions and replayable content that wasn't completely frustrating. For its price, Rise of Iron should have offered a lot more and taken more risks.

Rise of Iron is nothing but a stop-gap between Destiny as it is and the inevitable sequel that will hopefully overhaul the whole thing and turn it into something fun instead of something stale and facile. It’s a way for Bungie and Activision to raise some capital with a minimum of effort invested, and the bare minimum is absolutely what they’ve delivered. Don’t get me wrong, I’m addicted to Destiny again in a whole new way and if it’s your kind of thing, well, here’s a little bit more, but I’m no longer making any apologies for it. It’s a slot machine with some incredibly satisfying gunplay at...

Destiny: Rise of Iron doesn’t seem too concerned with setting itself apart. The uninspired campaign and thoughtless implementation of Archon’s Forge make it feel like Bungie’s just filling time until Destiny 2. But thanks to the Wrath of the Machine raid, Rise of Iron is more than a passable footnote. It’s something greater — if you have the patience to get there.