Destiny 2: Shadowkeep's greatest strength is what's kept Destiny so popular all these years: the gameplay. The blend of shooting and looting remains as addictive and satisfying as ever, even if we're still firing at the same enemies we've been fighting since 2014. Bungie has done a solid job altering and perfecting the formula over the years and Shadowkeep represents the next big step in its refinement, Armor 2.0.

Few maps are as iconic in terms of its middle arena as Altar of Flame. In 6v6 it's a pretty nice, linear map where the lines between the two teams are easy to identify, with three different push points available depending on how close or long-range players want to

Located on the Moon, the Anomaly is best for 3v3 encounters. It has a mid-area with tight corners, but also a circular view of the space and the openings all around the actual Anomaly itself. Here, both sniping and shotgunning work, as odd as that may so

Endless Vale has a nice variety of pressure points for both sides, with three, round mini arenas in the middle. Shotgunners might struggle here as well, as mid-range and sniping reign supreme, at least for the middle and cliff-side poi

The middle point in Control is infamously difficult to capture and hold due to the natural cover it provides. It requires team effort to run in and drive away the enemy team, and with tanky, bunkering playstyles so easy to execute in the Crucible, it can get frustrating. That said, there are plenty of nice sightlines and good cover spots dotted around the map, making it perfect even for newcomers to P

That mentality extends to the way Bungie is handling post-launch content. Season of the Undying sees waves of Vex arriving via a storm to take over the Moon. Watching them arrive is breathtaking, and the firefights that ensue are hectic and enjoyable. Then there's the new Vex Offensive activity, which allows players to travel back to the Black Garden to take on the Vex. It's a surprisingly robust seasonal activity and it'll be interesting to see what lasting impact the Vex have on the Moon once the Season is over.

A comprehensive ranking of Crucible maps is highly subjective and depends on what a player's playstyle is. Moreover, maps will perform differently depending on whether the game mode is 6v6 Control, 3v3 like Trials, or even something like Mayhem. For the sake of simplicity, only 6v6 Control and 3v3 Trials are considered for this ranking. Players who don't find their favorite map here need not worry—this isn't a definitive best of the best, but simply one perspective among many on the most enjoyable m

Probably the biggest albatross hanging over the entire expansion, however, is the lack of anything new. Despite some additional areas to explore and a fresh coat of paint, this is a map players already paid $60 to explore back in 2014. Nightmares are just reskinned versions of enemies we've already fought and they don't behave any differently. Two of the three new Crucible maps are remasters of old maps. The new Nightmare activities are against bosses that players have already fought hundreds of times. The new Strikes and Raid are excellent additions, but you don't even need to own Shadowkeep to play the Strikes. For $34.99, players should expect more and Bungie should have provided plenty of new content rather than rehashing older material.

What shines are the two new locations players visit throughout the journey. The Tangled Shore presents as a lawless chunk of rocks held together by anchors. The area presents plenty of variety with Skorn, Fallen and Cabal vying for dominance. As a playground to wander about and complete bounties, the Tangled Shore provides more exciting encounters than the majority of Destiny 2 Raid farming 2’s worlds. More impressive is the Dreaming City, the ultimate end-game location built for Guardians looking for a real challenge. Filled with powerful enemies, bounties and activities, the Dreaming City aims to prepare players for the upcoming raid, The Last Wish.

With Armor 2.0, Bungie is fully embracing the RPG potential of its franchise. New weapon and armor mods allow players to mess around with different elements and stats to build a character that fits their play style. Players can not only tweak little things like Resilience but also stats like how fast your abilities recharge. It's an exciting system that hardcore players will love tinkering with. It's also available for every player, regardless of whether or not you purchased Shadowkeep.

Collect Light and Dark Motes to charge your weapon. Each Knight Echo will drop three motes. Five motes of the same type will charge them, and they depend on where you’re standing when you kill the Echo. These motes will only last for 30 seconds after collection until there is a full charge. Use the charge on the matching pillars by pressing the triggers on top of them. When you’re done, climb up into a small ar

After nearly nine months of haranguing from disappointed fans and harsh criticism from the gaming media in general, Bungie has finally presented us with something that is wholly exciting. Destiny 2’s "Forsaken" expansion looks great, better than great even. One could even say that it looks like it contains everything Destiny fans were expecting Destiny 2 to offer from the very beginning. Perhaps even more. Truly, it looks as if Bungie has finally heard the community’s feedback and acted upon it. That, however, only seems to be the case in regard to the content of Forsaken. Unfortunately, everything surrounding it is still classic Destiny-era Bungie. Destiny may be changing soon, but Bungie most certainly isn’t.