Destiny - Strike Gameplay: The Devil's Lair

The Devil's in the Details

Bungie's Destiny is in a very interesting spot. Being a studio that's known for a single franchise, the Halo franchise no less, the pressure for this game to be successful is enormous. Thankfully we're starting to get trailers like this one, so we can start forming our own opinions. Let's look at the burning question from this gameplay feature:

Is this just going to be a Halo with a new look?

I want to say no to this question so badly. But after watching all seven minutes of the gameplay, some similarities are unmistakable. The player movement and shooting mechanics look extremely similar. The third person zoom-outs gave me flashbacks of dropping bubble shields in Halo 3 multiplayer. Some enemies even dodge bullets like they just finished the Covenant's "How to Side Step Everything Guide for Elites" training manual. Even this strike mission had that all-too-familiar feeling of going into Firefight Mode, readying yourself for wave after wave of enemies.

Even though the games might look similar, that could simply be the style of the developer. Destiny will separate itself (or fall into obscurity with all of the other shooters) through content and execution. If Bungie can stir up something compelling and original, the gameplay will be an enjoyable compliment. Plus you have to admit those 3rd person special attacks looked freaking awesome. 

Enjoy these seven minutes. This is only a small sliver of what the Destiny experience is supposed to be. There will be more to see, but will that silence the doubters... or give them a megaphone? 

Destiny

PS4, PS3, Xbox One, Xbox 360

Release: Sept 5, 2014

Publisher: Activision

Developer: Bungie

Call of Duty: Ghosts - Devastation DLC Trailer

"Alright everyone, back to A"

We all get what this trailer is: more COD for us to throw our money at. New maps, guns, and the next chapter of its freshest (and arguably strongest) game mode grace the Devastation DLC Pack from the latest Infinity Ward giant. But while this may seem like a new coat of paint over an old clunker of a car, look deeper and you'll find one of the coolest jobs that I have ever come across.

I was lucky enough to work for the studio that created this trailer for a brief stint. At the time, we had a build for some Black Ops 2 DLC that was set to release around early July of last year. This meant that our gameplay capture artists had to learn the maps, find places to set up shots (with recommendations from the client), and execute them with the help of the assistants (my job) on the controllers.

The capture guys would then take the footage and fly around with a free-flowing camera to catch every possible angle of it. Throw in some slick editing, and viola! You have a non-stop trailer that throws as much action as possible at you, and hopefully convinces you to purchase the content.

That's right, every single shot you see in this trailer is carefully planned out, timed, and practiced until perfection. That includes all of the stuff with the Extinction mode, they most likely had a build that would allow them to control every aspect of the game. I can't imagine how many times they had to do that airstrike shot, I'm willing to wager it was a lot of times.

Of course, sometimes the direction was just to run around and kill everyone you saw, but they were artists: it was all part of their process. These guys played the games until their eyes bled, but damn did the trailers look good.

"Alright everyone, enable GOD mode. Time to shoot some zombies."

Best words I'd hear all day.

Call of Duty: Ghosts
PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, PC, WiiU
Out Now
Publisher: Activision
Developer: Infinity Ward