The will likely be spoilers, but should I talk about something super new I'll warn ya. But consider this a pre-emptive warning! You're WARNED!

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Fear the Reapers

You know, Destructoid's review of Arrival, the last bit of Mass Effect 2 DLC, is so on the nose with how I felt about it that I'm taking the lazy way out and simply saying: read what they done wrote.

In short: play it post-game, if possible. It lacks the emotional punch it could have had, but it's still a nice universe-expanding set of events, and it's got me all jazzed for Mass Effect 3 (like i wasn't already). It's nowhere near as good as Lair of the Shadow Broker, but then, what is? LotSB is pretty much the best piece of DLC ever. Unless you count Red Dead Redemption's Undead Nightmare, but whether you count that or not is your beeswax.

Anyway: worth the 560 MS points? I think so, but then you know how I roll with Mass Effect: I roll NERD.


I don't really know what that means, sorry.

5 comments:

Sean Belcher said...

Ah, I've been debating on whether to get this. When I'm done with my current DAII run I was going to hit up MEII again and really dig into it. Maybe I'll add this in there if it really does bridge into MEIII that much.

Stacie Ponder said...

It leaves you hanging and COULD set up the beginning of ME3 very well...but it does feel like a side mission, probably since it's available at any point after you complete Horizon. My advice is to make it the last thing you do in your playthrough- post-Collectors, everything.

I liked it, but I'm probably biased. :D

gord said...

I'm aware of the detractors with this DLC, and DLC in general (company holding out for more money, etc.) but I purchased every release for this game whether it was large (Shadowbroker or Overlord) or small (weapons packs and armour).

I think we're in the same boat Stacie when it comes to loving the game/world and wanting to soak up all that there is.

Stacie Ponder said...

It must be depressing to be the social networking rep for videogame companies. You post "This content is out today!" and you're barraged with 1,000 "YOU SUCK!"s.

DLC is optional. Yeah, there are varying degrees of quality, but if you don't want to dump extra cash into a game, don't do it. I generally don't do appearance packs, but I buy story-based DLC for games I love. Fable III? Nah, I skip it. Mass Effect? Day one purchase if possible. It expands the universe and the story, and I LIKE the universe and story. :)

I'm gonna do a post about DLC in general one of these days. I can't believe how much people bitch about it! Guess that's the nature of the internet.

Sean Belcher said...

I think it's kind of cool to get little story bits between major game releases, and I don't mind paying for them if they add to the game experience.
I have a PS3, so MEII came with the Shadow Broker campaign already loaded. However, I would have gladly paid some change for that - it *was* pretty damn great. I tend to look at what other folks I trust say about the content before I buy it, but if it seems like it'll be fun, why not? I don't regret getting The Stone Prisoner to pick up Shale, or even the Return to Ostagar, as slight as it was - it gave some emotional closure to the Ostagar fight and that made it a good buy for me.
I am glad I didn't pick up the Witch Hunt dealio, however. That still sounds like it would have made me scowl.