Studio behind hit 'Halo' gives peak at new video game

The studio behind beloved "Halo" video game franchise on Monday gave a glimpse at play in what it hopes will be its next blockbuster -- Destiny. An "Official Destiny Strike: The Devil's Lair" video featuring about seven minutes of in-game action had logged more than 150,000 views at YouTube by late Monday. The footage fueled anticipation by gamers eager to lay hands on the first title in a major new franchise created by Bungie Studios and published by Activision. "Destiny" will be released on September 9 for play on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One consoles as well as their predecessors the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. The game's creator's are touting it as "the next evolution in interactive entertainment and an epic adventure." Science fiction action game "Destiny" puts players in the role of guardians of the last city on Earth, with enemies to battle; special powers to wield, and planets to explore. Console processing power and Internet capabilities have been taken advantage of to create "an unprecedented combination" of play options from spontaneous co-operative online skirmishes to immersive solo action. Microsoft bought US-based Bungie in 2000 and the studio came out with "Halo" games that scored as a blockbuster franchise exclusively playable on Xbox. Bungie split from Microsoft about seven years ago and went on to align itself with Activision Blizzard, the publisher behind "Call of Duty" and other hit franchises.