Friday, April 1, 2011

Mass Effect 2 - The Arrival DLC

I don't usually play games right when they come out but since I liked Mass Effect 2 so much and this was their last DLC I thought I would.  My short notes are that this is good quality piece of content, on par with any of the loyalty missions of the first game.  


From my perspective, the only drawbacks are ones that come from having been so impressed by the core game and especially the final few hours of that game, that whenever the extra content fails to deliver a decision with heavy consequences or some truly memorable gameplay I feel a bit disappointed.


The Arrival contains some excellent set up and there's lot of material here to make some great storytelling.  By the half way point I wasn't sure I could trust anything that I had been told by the characters and I was ready to make a Sophie's Choice style decision that would carry through into the next game.  Unfortunately, this potential wasn't really capitalized upon, and it unfolds as a largely linear fighting experience in the second half with most decisions made for you.


However, as just a linear story and fighting there is some new innovations here that keep it fresh and present some new takes on storytelling - using an typical combat death to actually lead into a new part of the adventure, and some fun stealth and 1st person control stuff at different times which are creative and new to this series.  I'm always happy when we get fresh ideas in DLC and you get a little of that here.


So, in the final analysis - I'm pleased with this DLC but there's no reason not to wait till the inevitable price cut before the third game launches.


As a side note, I'm ready for Mass Effect 3 to give up on some of the hand holding and open up the world a bit more.  Instead of telling me there's a PDA over here with some credits - please just let us explore the environments and find these things out for ourselves.  Or maybe I've just been playing too much Witcher... (told you I don't usually play new releases).


J

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