DO you remember the kids at school that used to play role-playing dice games or battle board games like Warhammer?

Well, slowly but surely, the creators of Destiny are turning us all into them with this deep fantasy game disguised as a first-person shooter.

The game’s developer Bungie previously created Halo, a gung-ho sci-fi epic where you mostly played as super soldier Master Chief in one-man army style gameplay.

At first glance, Destiny feels like the same kind of experience.

Much like the spartans of Halo, Destiny’s guardians, humanity’s last defenders, wear power armour that regenerates.

So the idea is to engage in gunfights and then take cover while your shield powers up.

Many of the battles are atmospheric and gripping as they build in intensity and feature a pounding soundtrack.

Some enemies arrive by dropship like in Halo’s Firefight mode and the game’s hover bikes like the Pike and Sparrow will remind you of Halo’s iconic Ghost.

There is a lot of finesse to the gameplay and if you are a fan of Bungie’s work the controls will feel intuitive.

Destiny’s visuals of an apocalyptic future are similar to Halo too with a scorched earth aesthetic.

But then you realise how much more there is to the game.

Destiny is always played online and you effectively inhabit the same game space with players from all over the world.

Whether you are playing solo or teaming up with others (you can invite anyone to join your ‘fire team’) you will see them on your galactic travels and you will probably end up helping each other out in battles.

It makes Destiny’s universe feel vibrant and alive.

Destiny may be a first person shooter but it also a role playing game so your customised character’s abilities are enhanced as you ‘level up’.

In that respect the game is similar to the likes of Borderlands as you upgrade your weapons, armour and special abilities in line with your playing style and what class you have chosen (hunter, titan or warlock).

The abilities also become more fun as you go along with the likes of jet packs and gloriously named power ups like ‘fist of havok’.

Although missions take place in this expansive world, some are quite casual taking just 20 minutes or so to complete.

Others like ‘strikes’ and ‘raids’ are like World of Warcraft, requiring you to team up with others and could see you battling for hours.

On strike missions you can use Bungie’s matchmaking to find players to join you which is a great feature if you are playing on your own and want to see the game at its full potential.

If it had been available on all missions Destiny would have been even better.

The only downside to Destiny is that the boss battles are a bit lacklustre and defeating them is tantamount to just shooting them over and over again.

But this blend of gunplay and roleplay is a blast.