Whichever way you look at it, Destiny is a big game.

It's big because its world encompasses half of the solar system, because it's had a reported $500m spent on it to make it the most expensive game of all time, because it's from the creators of seminal first-person shooter Halo and because it takes Watch Dogs' crown from earlier in the year to be the gaming event of 2014.

But big doesn’t necessarily equal best. So does Destiny deliver? Or does the first major game in the autumn schedule (or pre-Christmas rush if you want to be cynical) collapse under the weight of expectation?

What's it all about?

Destiny is a first-person shooter which seamlessly blends in elements of the role-playing adventure and massively multiplayer online genres.

Playing as a Guardian, a human or human-like character configured from a choice of races and classes, you must defend the “last safe city on Earth” and take on evil alien threats intent on our extinction. The biggest danger is an unseen force known as the Darkness which apparently doesn’t believe in a thing called love.

Your character is aided, in a sense, by an AI flying bot called a Ghost voiced by Game of Thrones’ Peter Dinklage.

As well as painting a disturbing vision of mankind’s future, Destiny also provides a strong indicator for the future of gaming with other real-life players sharing the game world and having a near-constant presence as you play.

You can play through story missions taking place on Earth, the Moon, Venus and Mars on your own or by forming a ‘fireteam’ of up to three people, who can be friends or strangers you meet in the game.

Your Local Guardian:

There are also open-world patrols in which you complete sub-quests and hunt for loot, plus strike missions where you team up with other players for short adventures culminating in big boss battles. Finally, there are competitive multiplayer arenas when you want to fight against other people.

Along the way you collect or earn bits of kit and weaponry to upgrade your character.

Social interaction isn’t compulsory for much of Destiny but it is frequently and heavily encouraged.

What's to like?

1. Shooting stuff, particularly alien monsters, is a long-time staple of video games because it’s just good fun. The first thing you want from any shooter is for the shooting part to work well and then to be as enjoyable as possible. With its pedigree in this genre, developer Bungie obviously knows what it’s doing and has produced the goods.

Controls are easy to manage and responsive, making moving around, taking aim and letting rip with an assortment of powerful feeling firearms a hassle-free pleasure.

The melee attack is good too, packing more of a pleasingly meaty punch than is often the case.

Combat in Destiny is intense, immersive and incredibly good fun.

Your Local Guardian:

2. Destiny looks incredible. Bungie has created a vivid sci-fi world awash with arresting colours and breathtaking views. The four main locations in the game are diverse and each provides its own selection of memorable sights, from the derelict war-torn wastelands of Earth to the wilder and dangerous jungles of Venus.

There is a lot of attention to detail on backgrounds, landscapes and items, while lighting and special effects are beautifully done.

The game’s fast smooth-running engine keeps everything moving along without any hiccups.

Being polished to the point of almost being able to see your reflection in it, Destiny is a visual treat which plays like a dream – so no complaints about the production quality.

3. A big part of the Destiny experience is the sound. Audio ranging from the quiet ambient sounds to the louder noises of gunfire, explosions and aliens manically screeching is all impressive, but what’s particularly noteworthy is the orchestral soundtrack which does a great job of setting the right dramatic tone through its varied score.

4. Destiny offers nothing like the array of activities found in open-world games such as Grand Theft Auto or Watch Dogs but there is still a lot to do and keep busy with. From exploring the Tower social hub where you’ll find vendors and meet other players, to setting out on quick-fire patrol quests, to teaming up in a trio for a strike mission, there are plenty of distractions outside of the main story.

Your Local Guardian:

What's not to like?

1. There is a lot of repetition and not a lot of variety in the action. Each story mission, for example, involves the same basic format of going from point A to point B to shoot a cluster of enemies, then going from point B to C where you shoot a larger group of enemies, then going to point D where you shoot an even bigger group of enemies and a tough level-end boss.

When playing in a fireteam you can try different approaches but when flying solo there aren’t really any advanced tactical options. Keeping moving and quickly switching from defence to attack, and back again, is generally the way to go. Enemy AI, while not completely dumb, can be predictable and shows none of the advanced next-gen nous which might have been hoped for to keep things as interesting as possible. Bosses tend to be tougher foes that simply take many more bullets to down rather than being smarter.

Levels, story and non-story, can be replayed to speed up character progression but this feels too much like a grind and it never feels like you’re going to see anything different second or third time around.

2. Destiny is a gorgeous looking game which totally nails the qualities required of a top-notch shooter. It also arguably weaves in the social, shared-word elements better than any other game before it. But original it is not.

Inspiration has clearly been taken from a number of other games - Borderlands, Killzone and Mass Effect are the most obvious influences I’ve spotted. The Destiny experience seems to be about repeating past endeavours with the added factor of other players wandering around your game world rather than about tasting anything completely new.

Your Local Guardian:

3. The game’s story is too vague and doesn’t make much sense. Frankly, it’s a duffer.

Set 700 years in the future, humans have enjoyed a golden age of technology and exploration thanks to a spherical moon type thing called the Traveler. It’s all come to an end with an event called the Collapse caused by the Traveler’s enemy known as the Darkness.

Not a lot else is revealed during the game other than little nuggets of sci-fi lore babble here and there. Your character is virtually mute, and there are hardly any other non-player characters to help provide context. This makes it difficult to care about what you’re fighting for.

Some of the strongest games of the past couple of years, such as The Last of Us and Bioshock Infinite, have packed a real emotional charge and made players feel personally invested in their stories but Destiny doesn’t bother with any of that.

4. Other than enjoying the magnificent vistas, there isn’t a huge amount else to discover in the game. Story missions are tightly directed and follow linear paths while the more free-form quests take place in environments that are mostly abandoned, eerily quiet and lifeless, with few things to search for and little to interact with.

5. If Destiny was a person it would be the kind stood in the corner at a party refusing to drink, dance or have any fun. It’s just so serious all the time. I’d love to see it let loose with a burst of humour or some over-the-top silliness but, no, there’s nothing other than a stern, almost disapproving face looking at you from across the room.

Your Local Guardian:

6. The majority of people will probably love all the social interaction in the game, but I’ve added it to the ‘things not to like’ category based on my own experiences.

I’m much more a solo than a social gamer and usually hate being forced into multiplayer situations, either co-op or competitive. I’ve tried to suppress my intolerance so I can give Destiny a fair crack at winning me around, but the game hasn’t returned the favour.

I don’t have real-life friends who have a PS4, who have Destiny and who are likely to be around at the same times as when I’m playing, so I’ve had to rely on the kindness of strangers. But even having my fireteam setting on ‘public’ I’ve not been able to recruit players often, and I’ve only rarely been able to join anyone else’s team.

The times I’ve played alongside other people have been very rewarding, especially strike missions, but they’ve been too fleeting and hard to repeat.

It is possible to mostly play solo but the social elements are there in front of you pretty much all the time so not being able to join in can leave you feeling excluded from the full experience.

This is definitely a game at its best when you have several real-life friends to play along with.

Should I buy it?

Yes - if you’ve been hoping for a slick and stylish shooter which offers fast-paced, entertaining and highly satisfying gunplay – and you’re keen to play with existing friends or online strangers.

No – if you’ve set your expectations too high amid all the hype and have been hoping Destiny would be the best game ever unlike anything you’ve played before.

If you are in the no camp currently, keep an eye on Destiny and don’t dismiss it completely.

What it is for now is a good introduction to a new long-term franchise, an extended prologue more than a complete rounded game.

The thing is, Bungie and publisher Activision are set to release many expansions, and most likely sequels too, in the months and years ahead. The first of the tough and complex raids for higher-skilled players has already been added, so the first release is clearly not intended to be the finished product.

It seems to be the game’s, well, destiny, to become much bigger and hopefully even better in time.

This plan to evolve Destiny bit by bit may well be more symbolic of the way gaming is going than the always-connected social elements.

Destiny doesn’t quite deliver greatness at the first attempt but its future should be bright.

7.5 out of 10

Out now for PS4 and Xbox One, plus PS3 and Xbox 360. PS4 version tested