Recently, a CG cinematic (or possibly a CG trailer) for the new Destiny Expansion was leaked online through the NeoGAF forum. Due to legal issues, I will not post the video here. However, it is the 21st century. If you have an internet connection, the video is not difficult to find. The video does have some crucial plot points and reveals for The Dark Below DLC, especially for the new character Eris. So, I will examine what is depicted in the new video.
The video is a complete pre-rendered CG cinematic. I assume it was made for advertising purposes, rather than an in-game video or cut scene. The animation looks comparable to the footage in the opening CG cutscene for the Destiny game. The animation and designs are tight, crisp and beautifully rendered. The opening footage shows a look at the Hellmouth, the dark and ominous pit that is situated on Earth’s moon. The camera descends deeper. Bungie has already announced that the Raid for The Dark Below will take place deep in the bowels of the Hellmouth. The camera goes deeper to showcase Crota, the God of the malevolent alien race, the Hive.
The design for Crota is somewhat of a letdown–if the character depicted in the trailer is actually Crota. He basically looks like a super-size version of the Hive Knights and the Swarm Princes. Destiny does this quite a bit. The large-scale bosses have designs that are identical to the smaller worker drone type enemies. The designs are similar, except for some minor differences, and the bosses are bigger. In the first Raid for Destiny, the Vault of Glass, the final boss is Atheon. At least Atheon has a design that is unique to just about all the other Vex enemies in the game.
The new video is narrated by Eris. Eris is a new Tower Ally character. Bungie revealed that she has been spying on the Hive in the Hellmouth for years, and comes back to the Tower to reveal her results. Crote and the Hive are on the move and readying an invasion of Earth. However, the voice-over from Eris reveals some new and interesting facts about the character. Eris says, “Six of us went down into the pit. Only one crawled out. I am Eris, the last.” Basically, it sounds like Eris and her comrades were Guardians on a covert mission. She is the sole survivor of her group. Eris sounds angry and vengeful when she refers to Crota. “He took everything from me,” she grouses. At least it seems like Eris actually has a backstory and feels emotion, which is more than I can say for most of the other Ally characters in the Tower. The Tower characters have not offered much in the way of dynamic and interesting characterizations for the game. I hope the Bungie developers and writers take full advantage of Eris’ tragic backstory.
The Dark Below expansion pack will be available on December 9.
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