I knew Destiny had its hooks on me when I needed to buy a new helmet.

The new space epic from Halo developer Bungie, Destiny just wrapped up an open beta before its upcoming September launch. It feels like Halo in a lot of ways, with action that's fast but tight, anchored by great weapons and challenging bosses. But Destiny is much more than just another sci-fi first-person shooter — it blends that irresistible action with an online, RPG-like structure similar to World of Warcraft. It's basically two of the most popular games from the past decade fused into one experience that’s nearly impossible to put down.


You're still shooting lots and lots of aliens. But if you're like me — and your robot space witch has an almost complete set of super cool armor — you'll be going out on missions not because you want to save the world, but because you're grinding for more cash to finish the set. And I really need that helmet.