One of the more interesting AAA titles to come out this year was Destiny, Bungie's first big game after relinquishing control of the Halo franchise to Microsoft in favour of developing a new IP. A lot of hype surrounded the release of Destiny, the online sci-fi first-person shooter that hinged on a deep character creation system and people paying them money on the regular. The Destiny model is somewhere in between a classic online PC FPS and an MMORPG. The basic game is designed as sort of a starting point. You can probably have plenty of fun playing through the basic missions and stuff with pals, but eventually you'll get bored. Right around then is when you and, consequently, all your friends will have to start shelling out for the expansion packs. And that's where Bungie will continue making their millions. It's like a larger-scale version of DLC, or in-app purchases you get in mobile games. It is, essentially, the World Of Warcraft model being applied to console gaming. Considering how well it's worked out for Bungie with Destiny, expect other developers to start trying a similar thing in the New Year. Maybe Titanfall might get back in the game after all...
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
