Gamers around the world have been waiting patiently for the overly-anticipated video game Destiny, developed by Bungie, the developers behind the hit Xbox franchise Halo, for over a year. But does it live up to the hype that has surrounded it for all this time?

All in all, Destiny is a solid experience, with intense gameplay and stunning environments. Sadly, expectations fall short, as the clunky multiplayer and the seldom-occurring public events and even the surprisingly short story just don’t live up the hype.

Destiny’s presentation is a very solid experience, especially the first mission that you have to do on the wastelands of Old Russia on Earth. The locations include playing on Earth, the Moon, Venus and Mars. Each location is unique and has a stunning amount of detail on each world, from the abandoned facilities on the Moon, to the jungles of Venus and the deserts of Mars.

Character customization is pretty straightforward. You get to pick from three classes – the Titan, Hunter and Warlock. There are also three races to choose from, which include Human, Awoken (like a Space Elf, if you will) and the Exo (a robot).

When it comes to the gameplay of Destiny, it’s a solid experience through and through. It features class-specific features, like the Voidwalker for the Warlock, the Striker for the Titan and the Gunslinger for the Hunter. Each ability that each character has can be beneficial to the gameplay, especially when either are fighting hordes of enemies, or just one very powerful one.

Even with all of the bells and whistles that the game has, again, it does fall short, especially with its competitive mulitplayer mode called “The Crucible.”

It’s a very clunky and rigid experience, and the unstable functions can make a player frustrated with some of the ridiculous moments that occur, like trading kills, or sometimes not getting that kill.

Also, class-specific abilities, like the ones mentioned, are very over-powered and can ruin ones experience. However, in terms of multiplayer experiences, public events (like in an MMO) occur during story missions on any of the worlds, but, sadly, they are few and far between.

This game deserves an 8 out of 10. It’s given due to its presentation, gameplay and cooperative modes that make the experience enjoyable. One could only hope Bungie continues to work and improve the game for the foreseeable future.