As a developer, I'm going to utter an heresy here: I don't believe sequels need to innovate. I've been on so many game projects where the word from on high is that the sequel must have new features, must incorporate novelty (I had a lot of this at Ubisoft) but I think it can be counterproductive. As evidence I offer…

Agreed.

I'm seeing it very much as 'Destiny 1.5' rather than Destiny 2. Again, this is not a bad thing as I liked the first game enough to want to play more of the same.

No, it's not split-screen, but the online co-op is outta this world. Find a friend (preferably two) and invest in a cheap headset and the result is gaming heaven, in my experience. There is nothing like tackling a new strike with your homies, and the raids are something else—an exercise in timing and fighting in…

I don't want to doubt your experience, but my own is that the shields are pretty fast to trigger recharging and then to recharge back to full. And some kit like the rifle Red Death can speed it even faster.

I am giving D2 a lot of love.

I note that the rather good Danish drama 1864, about the nationalistic madness that drove the Danes into a war with Prussia, has a shocking scene early on in which aristocrats fuck a cow. Just sayin'.