Destiny: The Announcements Guide

Bungie reveal the first true hints of what's to come in the next decade of gaming...
Well, we wanted the first fresh details on what exactly the much-anticipated Activision and Bungie project Destiny was, and today the publishers and developers didn't disappoint in this respect. We've got the first storyline, gameplay, platform and release snippets of key information from a big Stateside reveal conference after plenty of critics had their first chance to see a glimpse of the game in action in a secret studio.

There's a big video documentary below to sum it all up in rather simple form, but for now, here's our definitive guide to Destiny as it stands right now- be prepared, because the secrets of the next ten years (the licensing deal for this new franchise with Activision covers such a period) lie within...

• WHAT IS IT? At its heart, Destiny is a massively-multiplayer-online-first-person-shooter (MMOFPS) that's set to revolutionise what it means for gamers to live within a story-driven universe that's shifted and developed by their own actions. The game will require a constant internet connection as players weave their own tales and interweave them with their fellow players (think a Game Of Thrones-style series of individual storylines that link with core threads), hinting that the Xbox 720's rumoured constant internet mode may not be a false allegation. There'll be no fee to play, though!
• WHAT'S THE STORYLINE? The human race on a futuristic Earth was brought to the edge of destruction in a midst of an intergalactic crisis. Thankfully, the mysterious Traveler interjected, appearing in the form of a large moon structure that shields the final remaining city of humanity. However, dark forces are conspiring to wipe out our last remnants, and so thousands of varied human units must venture into the deep unknown of space in order to discover the secret of our very survival!
• WHAT PLANETS ARE AVAILABLE? You can head out to any planet in our Solar System- from Mercury right out to Pluto itself- each with new, iconic science-fiction landmarks that promise to shape our understanding of the plot considerably and change the way we play sci-fi video games.
• CAN I PLAY SOLO? Yep, there'll be a single-player option, and that won't be offered as a taboo or negative element. The reason for total online integration is simply that it'll always allow players the option to interject in an ongoing intergalactic battle, aiding fellow human units, at the end of which those players can choose to team up and further a core campaign or indeed go their separate ways and live out their own stories. It's a completely innovative, strong Thrones-riffing idea, and if Bungie pull it off as they did Halo, we'll have a revolution on our hands...
• WHAT PLATFORMS CAN I BUY THIS ON? Destiny is currently announced for release on both Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. That said, Bungie did also go on to say that the first instalment and indeed the expansion packs and fully-fledged sequels that follow in the ten years ahead will be available on "future next-generation technology", presumably meaning that we'll see more from Bungie along with Activision either at Microsoft's impending Xbox 720 reveal event in late February/early March or indeed with Microsoft at E3 2013.

Destiny will ship on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and next-generation consoles in 2014.