You've written a well-thought out and cohesive review of the alpha, but I completely disagree. Playing with your wife is an issue that results from the fact that split screen requires the console to render the game twice which will not happen. Cross-generation/cross-platform play is not possible due to Microsoft and Sony, so what do you expect Bungie to do? The exploration I can somewhat see but I'm sure was stripped down somewhat to hide the story. Even then, I didn't care, I was having a blast exploring new areas and fighting enemies. To me, it was no grind because I had fun with it. The missions after a while are boring, but we haven't seen more so I reserve judgement on that until the full game. The Strike was amazing and required strategy and thought. Had you communicated with your team it would have been easier. I paired with randoms five times on legendary and only used the mic once. Surviving waves wasn't easy, but with strategy was completely doable. I was paired with a lower level player doing the strike for the first time and I showed him two spots where he wouldn't be rushed and could take care of stronger enemies. He said the only other FPS he had played was Killzone SF, but he did fine. The tank was fun every time because if you missed the dodge you would die. I enjoyed myself thoroughly during it and the boss fight. The last point I'll address because I'm tiring of writing this is that the PvP is skill based and it sounds like you are lacking. I now consistently get a 1.5-2.0 switching up guns every couple games to level up my guns. Headshots are important, moving in three dimensions is important, ammo management is important, supers are important, vehicles can be stopped (turrets exist for a reason, you can hit the driver not the vehicle), and there are many ways to approach combat. It is balanced if you know what there is to manage. In short, as others may say "git gud."