Destiny First Impressions

What was your first impression playing Destiny? I was impressed that the Beta was so vast and detailed and there were mini-missions in the exploration mode and just generally so much to do. Some things I thought were really great: - The lack of load screens moving between areas within one map - The seamless transition in and out of a public events - The presence of challenging and interesting enemies who actually duck for cover and try and avoid standing directly in your line of fire. When I first saw Destiny I figured enemies would be hierarchal like the Covenant from Halo where there were a bunch of super weak grunts, a few elites, and even fewer Hunters. While that concept is still embodied in the ranks of the Fallen and other races, each enemy posses a unique and interesting challenge, even the lower ranking Dreg are not replacements of grunts. - The shear gigantic variety of weapons, armor, emblems, and flourishes is just mind blowing. Everyone has something different. - The personal vehicle you can summon to move across the map quickly was really smart for Bungie to include. I can't imagine walking some of those distances and its good to get back into the action quickly. - Probably one of the most impressive aspects of the game and something I think is genre defining is the seamless transition of players in an out of your "world" as you move around the map creating the social aspect of the game. The technical achievement to make that possible must have been quite a triumph for Bungie. - I haven't tried the Crucible out yet so I'll reserve judgement on that but so far I am very impressed. My only criticism: - I remember back in the day when Bungie posted a long news post about their great new water physics that they'd added (I think it was for Halo 3) and I was blown away when I actually saw it how realistic it was. I assume Destiny's water is just a placeholder since we have to download it from online because I don't think the current water in Destiny is as nice looking as what I remember back then. It just doesn't seem to fit in with the beautifully crafted landscapes Bungie has given us. Anyways, it's a minor criticism and one I think Bungie will remedy anyways when the game ships.