Destiny: Rise of Iron Review

Last year The Taken King expansion brought Destiny new heights, giving players an improved experience that far exceeded the original game. Rise of Iron seeks to repeat this monumental occasion but falls short. New missions and the allure of legendary loot continuous drive Guardians to complete objectives but doesn’t offer anything we’ve already done. It was fun seeing how the campaign ends and the new competitive maps were thrilling for a few matches but it didn’t leave the same lasting impact The Taken had. Perhaps it’s time to move away from Destiny, it’s time for a sequel.

Rise of Iron has the player assisting the last of the Iron Lords, Lord Saladin, in his fight against SIVA. This nanobot plague killed the other Iron Lords and seeks to destroy the world. Whereas The Taken King took us on science-fiction themed missions Rise of Iron borrows a lot of aesthetics from fantasy titles such as The Elder Scrolls and Final Fantasy. Like The Taken King the story is great, creating a clear path from start to finish.

For 90 minutes you’ll journey across snow toped mountains and machine filled corridors. You’ll gain access to new missions, areas of interest, and characters as usual. That's the issue, it’s more of the same. It’s more Destiny and a lot of it is repainted odd content from the last two years.

SIVA-infected enemies offer a brand new enemy variant to fight, similar to the Taken, and old boss enemies come back with brand new tactics. The issue is that I’m exploring mostly the same areas once again and fending off foes with a different paint job. The difference between Rise of Iron and The Taken King is that The Taken King had improved on so much, giving players want they’ve been yearning for since the game released. Rise of Iron doesn’t have the same lasting effect because it doesn’t improve, just add more of the same.

Rise of Iron’s PvP content adds a new mode and maps. Supremacy is Destiny’s version of Kill Confirmed. Players must not only kill an enemy but pick up their orb for it to count, if the opposing team collects the orb it doesn't count. All the maps are wonderfully designed, offering various points of infiltration. Bungie is one of the best competitive multiplayer designers today and Rise of Iron’s Crucible maps prove this once again.

The Archon’s Forge is an arena mode that occurs in the public space. Here players can compete either solo or with a team on the new Patrol mission. You can only join the Forge encounter if you get a SIVA offering, which drops randomly from a SIVA enemy, and an only carry one. The issue is if you play alone it’s best to ignore this entirely, solo players have little chance here. You can matchmake if you want in the Forge through a gate. Private matchmaking has also been finally added

Wrath of the Machines is perhaps the best raid in Destiny. The entire challenge is composed of tactics that require dedicated teamwork. The final boss of the raid was one of the best boss battles I’ve experienced throughout Destiny. It’s a shame that still no endgame matchmaking option exist. 

Rise of Iron is a good expansion for those seeking more out of Destiny, but if you’ve grown distance with the game after The Taken King this isn’t enough to bring you back. It’s the same grinding for new gear to gain light and fending off hordes of the same enemies. Wrath of the Machines is a terrific endgame raid but this is for Destiny fans. The Taken King was meant to bring Destiny fans back, Rise of Iron is for those who’ve stayed since then.

Adam Siddiqui, NoobFeed
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