I'M a busy dad whose time is split between work and family.

But I'm also a bit of a nerd so when I do get the chance to switch my Xbox on and retreat briefly from the real world, I throw on my power armour to become a 'guardian', charged with protecting the universe in Bungie's hit game, Destiny.

The sci-fi first person shooter and role-playing game sees you take on various missions to battle alien raiders of one form or another and you 'level up' as you gain experience.

So with my free time at a premium it was by some miracle that my playable character was a 'level 17 titan' when I came to play Destiny's expansion pack, The Dark Below.

Or so I thought because when I was looking for missions to play I was locked out of the new content. Quite simply my character was not good enough.

You need to be level 20 to even play The Dark Below and about level 24 upwards to have a real chance. It's a funny way to welcome back returning players who have forked out £20 for the privilege.

Then when you eventually get to the point where you are ready for the epic, final confrontation with the god-like Crota you need to be about level 30 and have five other players you can rope together.

To put it into context, I poured hours into Destiny when it first came out and completed all the original missions so I expected to be able to continue my quest as new download content became available.

A mix of high and lower level missions would have been much more desirable.

Instead I had to grind through old missions time and time again, completing bounties to level up or pick up better weapons and armour.

Some players find it rewarding to build a character like that as they get a sense of prestige from their hard work and persistence.

But I found it punishing and time wasting when the missions I really wanted to play were just slightly out of my reach.

It alienates all but the most dedicated which seems strange when 13 million people have so far played the game.

The Dark Below contains three story missions, a new strike, three new multiplayer maps and a raid, alongside new weapons and armour.

Not a huge amount for £20 especially after all that work to get there in the first place.

Essentially The Dark Below offers more of the same polished gameplay but you may feel like both your time and money have been wasted.

It is a shame when at its core, Destiny is such a dynamic game where hundreds inhabit the same world and can fight side by side in a spontaneous environment.

DAVID MORGAN