Tag Archives: downloadable content

Reviews, Xbox 360

Mass Effect 3: From Ashes – Review

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In From Ashes, Commander Shepherd and crew get a more vivid look at the Protheans.

From Ashes is the first major piece of downloadable content for Mass Effect 3. It was included in the collector’s editions of the game and is available on each platform’s respective digital store. In it, Commander Shepherd receives word that Cerberus, the pro-human ne’er-do-wells, has unearthed Prothean artifacts on Eden Prime. Whatever they’ve found is said to be important and could aid Shepherd in his quest to defeat the Reapers. What he finds is much more important than simple artifacts though, it’s a living Prothean frozen in time.

Mandatorily joining Shepherd is Liara T’Soni, the resident Prothean expert. With her intellect and Shepherd’s insight into the Protheans (thanks to the visions he received in the first game on non-other than Eden Prime), they’re able to piece together how to release the Prothean from his contraption and keep him alive. As the crew searches the dig site, they discover evidence of Cerberus troops attacking civilians, a puzzling move that reveals ulterior motives for the dastardly group and ties into their work in Mass Effect 3 proper.

When the Prothean is revitalized he joins Shepherd to take the fight to the Reapers personally, after all, Javik is extremely distraught upon learning of the events of the past 50,000 years. Back on the Normandy, Javik answers many questions one might have about the Protheans, such as Liara, but what I got a kick out of the most was hearing other people’s reactions to him. When using him as a squad mate, people would occasionally reference his presence and the conversations that ensued were interesting.

As far as combat goes, I used him quite a bit after he joined up, but he’s fallen by the wayside now that I’ve found my “go to” teammates. He uses biotic powers like slam and pull so he’s still of use to my biotic-less soldier Shepherd. Javik also brings along a new assault rifle, one of Prothean origin. It operates differently from just about every other weapon in that it doesn’t require ammo. It had a meter that depleted when used, but if I used the gun properly and didn’t exhaust its charge, it’d fully recharge. Plus it fired a neon laser beam that melted enemies and that’s pretty cool.

When it comes to knowledge about the Protheans, no one can top Liara T'Soni. Well, except for a Prothean.

I’d recommend From Ashes. It doesn’t add to Mass Effect 3’s plot in any substantial way but playing through it will provide players a deeper understanding of the Protheans. The ancient civilization was influential in shaping the universe and they’re often mentioned, but details on them have always been a little murky. Beyond gaining a deeper understanding of Mass Effect’s lore, gaining a new squad mate is a great perk and personally I really like the new assault rifle.

Reviews, Xbox 360

Mass Effect 2: Lair of the Shadow Broker – Review

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Lair of the Shadow Broker's focus lies on Shepherd, Liara, and the mysterious information magnate.

Remember when I was ate up with Mass Effect and I played everything I could, including the DLC for Mass Effect 2 in a few month span? Well, to prepare for the release of Mass Effect 3 I figured it was time to revisit Mass Effect 2 and play through the two remaining pieces of DLC I saved. Luckily for me, I probably left the very best one to begin with.

Lair of the Shadow Broker sees Commander Shepherd receiving valuable information on the whereabouts of the mysterious figure whose influence Shepherd has occasionally felt. He, or perhaps it, is similar to a gang lord that deals in information. He has a supply chain consisting of an innumerable amount of henchmen that is able to span the galaxy and gather information. With this supply chain, he’s able to control information so well that little is known about him; it helps that no one who has seen him has lived to tell the tale.

When Shepherd left Liara T’Soni on Illium in Mass Effect 2, he left her as she continued her search for the shadow broker’s whereabouts. Liara has been tracking the information overlord with a vengeance, believing him to be the cause of a partner’s death. When Shepherd receives the information on the shadow broker, he naturally thinks of Liara. Thinking the information is too good to be obtained by just anyone, Liara believes the source of the info is her previously thought dead partner, giving her even more reason to ally with Shepherd again.

Before leaving the financial capital of the universe, Shepherd and his squad deal with the can of worms that hunting an information magnate opens up. An assassination attempt on Liara keeps her and Shepherd separated, but it’s not long before his squad, and Tela Vasir, an asari Spectre meet back up with Liara in an enemy-filled skyscraper. That Spectre double-crosses them, leading to a chase scene between the towering skyscrapers of Illium. This chase scene was very fun and reminiscent of similar futuristic chase scenes from popular science fiction movies. Liara and Shepherd eventually catch Tela, but not before waging battles against more henchmen and passing through a high-end brothel. Tela was a very strong adversary and I had a hard time with this boss fight – I was playing on the second hardest difficulty level however. Afterwards Shepherd gave the most fantastic line of dialogue (paragon choice) when Tela took a hostage. He subsequently chastised Tela with underwhelming reasoning that, when applied to Shepherd himself, doesn’t hold water.

Tela Vasir, representing for them Spectres all across the universe.

With Shepherd, his squad, and Liara all together again, their search for the shadow broker begins in earnest and leads them to a planet with extremely harsh weather patterns. The shadow broker resides in an enormous starship that remains hidden in an ongoing storm. Landing on the starship, they have to deal with the shadow broker’s henchmen before gaining access to the interior, at which point they have a few more quick bouts with yet more henchmen before finally meeting the shadow broker.

The shadow broker hails from a pre-spaceflight race of aliens that are ferociously deadly, quick learners, yet they’re unable to cooperate with other races, let alone each other. Hence, the shadow broker represents the first (and possibly only) time players will get to see this race of alien. The ensuing battle was representative of a lot of video game boss fights; figure out the boss’ pattern, exploit the boss’ weaknesses, repeat two more times. Not that that’s bad, I really liked this boss fight; it was balanced much better compared to the battle against Tela, and it gave Shepherd a chance to flex his melee skills.

Lair of the Shadow Broker concludes with a fantastic role reprisal that should have major consequences for the upcoming Mass Effect 3. Thanks to the shadow broker’s diligent record keeping, there is plenty of fun information to sift through on Shepherd’s squad and other important characters in the game after the conclusion. And there is an epilogue of sorts with Liara and Shepherd having a heart-to-heart conversation of their strengths and weaknesses and the lack of clarity relating to what the future has in store for every living being.

The shadow broker's ship remains undetected when flying in a evergoing electrical storm.

Lair of the Shadow Broker was a lengthy addition to Mass Effect 2 with a conclusion whose effects should be felt throughout the remainder of the series. The DLC is well worth the price and should be required playing for anyone with a copy of Mass Effect 2.

Reviews, Xbox 360

Mass Effect 2: Project Overlord – Review

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In an attempt to control the geth and avoid a war, a human has been melded with a virtual intelligence, with poor results. The VI has gone haywire in this spooky piece of DLC for Mass Effect 2.

Project Overlord is basically the second major piece of downloadable content for Mass Effect 2. The first being Kasumi – Stolen Memory, which I played earlier in the year, but forgot to post until yesterday.

In Project Overlord, Shepard and his squad are (like always) getting to the bottom of what happened on some random planet. The namesake of the DLC was a project attempting to control the robot geth. The researchers on the planet of Aite tried to do so by integrating a human with a virtual intelligence. They were successful, but now (like always) the VI has gone haywire.

Project Overlord was interesting because it attempted at setting a moody atmosphere for the on-foot portions. I thought BioWare was fairly successful in this regard. The VI appears constantly throughout the corridors I traversed, often times appearing to lead me in specific directions. The VI’s face would appear on windows screaming unintelligible things at me. And as I got closer to the VI, I unraveled more of how the project actually happened.

Project Overlord was a great addition to Mass Effect 2. It brought in some spooky atmosphere that no other mission set can lay claim to in the game. The latter part of the DLC had me venture through a visually pleasing on-foot portion, again, unlike any other mission in the game. Project Overlord brought many of the gameplay systems of Mass Effect 2 into an interesting couple of hours, and at seven bucks, it’s not that bad of a deal.

Reviews, Xbox 360

Mass Effect 2: Kasumi – Stolen Memory – Review

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Kasumi Goto, not the most famous thief, but the best, is seeking Shepard's help to retrieve some of her past.

Kasumi Goto is an interesting character. She’s a thief, not the most famous, but the best, as she says it, and like the rest of Shepard’s squad in Mass Effect 2, she is interesting and a little different from everyone else. As Kasumi’s Stolen Memory unfolds I learned about her past and why we needed each other’s help; Shepard could obviously use all the help he can get and she needed use of his talents.

Kasumi’s Stolen Memory is basically her loyalty mission. It’s a fun mission and for the most part different from what I’d experienced in Mass Effect 2. Gunplay didn’t play a large part until the latter half, at which point it became a rather tedious shootout. The beginning had me undercover at a party and looking for clues to help her break into the vault of a dubious man, who had something very dear to her. Of course, they get discovered and it’s a series of shootouts to freedom. The ending was a little difficult, but it was a welcome change, up until then, it was monotonous filling guards with lead, or whatever Mass Effect guns use for ammo, until they keeled over.

Besides Kasumi, there is a small amount of loot and a new submachine gun. Kasumi was talkative back on the Normandy, but as was the case with Zaeed, she lacks a conversation wheel so she just spouts info when prompted. She has a unique ability that is both effective and fun to use, but I can’t see her being more useful than anyone of the current squad.

Kasumi’s Stolen Memory was a short play through, but an interesting one, and I not only got a new character from it, but a decent amount of loot. I think seven dollars was a little too much to charge, but I still enjoyed what I played.