Destiny: Rise of Iron
Overview -
'Rise of Iron' is the fourth paid expansion for 'Destiny', after 'The Dark Below', 'House of Wolves', and 'The Taken King'. It is the first expansion not available for last-gen systems.
Video Review
Bungie has crafted a pretty enemy in the Splicers. They are simply Fallen with a few new bells and whistles, but still manage to distinguish themselves from their unspliced brethren in both appearance and abilities. Exploding shanks are kind of cheap and lame, but the vandals are dangerous as shooting their heads tends to spawn homing grenades. SIVA is represented by red techno-organic cables running through the environment, and give the otherwise plain Cosmodrome an infected, violated feel. Iron armor looks pretty rad, not as cool as Trials of Osiris but definitely stands out from other sets.
Audio Review
'Rise of Iron' has a standout audio performance. The music is the best kind of superhero action movie fare and the finest that 'Destiny' has offered in its now two full years of operation. Voice acting from Saladin and the other new characters is superb, although the dialogue is still laughably cheesy.
Final Thoughts
'Destiny: Rise of Iron' is not a standout expansion but nor is it disappointing the way that 'The Dark Below' and 'House of Wolves' were. The production values remain high with the superb score, attractive Temple of Iron, new Crucible maps and so forth. On the other hand, the PvE content has mileage issues. It is still worth playing and even worth coming back to 'Destiny' for, if only for a short while.
