Mass Effect 3 is AWESOME! - Episode 11
A Space Leviathan shares it’s secrets with us and we’re one step closer to saving the universe.
Posted By Robert G. about 5 months, 3 weeks ago
Mass Effect 3: Omega Review, 9.5 out of 10 based on 4 ratings ![]()
“How things begin isn’t nearly as important as how they end.”
When I first heard this uttered by the purple-tinted Asari crime boss Aria T’Loak in the beginning moments of Mass Effect 3‘s newest downloadable content, Omega, I couldn’t help but erupt in nervous laughter. It felt like a line reeking of intentional defiance, subtly digging at the controversy that perpetuates the aura of Mass Effect 3 since its March release. And yet, it may also be prophetic of the inner meanings of what Mass Effect 3 tried to do, but failed at ultimately.
| PROS | Great moral dilemma, Combat, Mass Effect quality |
| CONS | Price may not be right, Divorced from the main plot, off performances and glitches |
| WTF?! | I won’t spoil this one… |
It is very likely that the same can be said about Omega, being a microcosm of what may or may not have went wrong with Mass Effect 3. But scratching the surface of this action-heavy DLC you will find the beating heart of what makes BioWares space opera popular: a character study that actually has meaning to it.
Hinted at in the main game, Aria has finally decided to reclaim her throne of the asteroid Omega from the pro-human organization Cerberus. Enlisting Commander Shepard’s help, she leads a daring assault into the heart of Omega, where you and her fight your way to the Cerberus leader, General Oleg Petrovsky, in a desperate struggle to overthrow his rule.
Of course, Aria is not the only new face to join Shepard as a temporary squad mate. The first female Turian in the game series, Nyreen Kandros, also joins your cause. It is through both Aria and Nyreen where the heart of Omega can be seen, as apparitions on Shepard’s shoulder. Nyreen acts as your moral angel, while Aria portrays the chaotic devil, pulling you in different directions regarding the fate of Omega. The two play off of each other very well and give the conflict on Omega a personal touch while simultaneously highlighting how important your own choices may be.
Overall, the story is fairly straightforward, but like Aria’s prophetic words, how it ends depends on how Shepard behaves as a character. Each dialogue option and interrupt adds to the choices made in ways unforeseen, and much like the conclusion to Mass Effect 3, the outcomes are similar to each other, yet different in their context. Your only permanent reward added from the DLC is a few War Assets, weapons, mods, and powers that you can access for the main game. But since Omega is meant to stand alone in the same vein as Overlord and Bring Down the Sky, it is mostly divorced from the core storyline. Many will see that as a detriment to any sort of enjoyment out of the game.
That is the elephant in the room in the end. With the journey over, is it possible to have fun with DLC that is so far removed from the final confrontation? BioWare does try to compensate that feeling by making Omega a more action-oriented affair to play through. The four main missions allow for intense fire-fights and survival scenarios, and the two new enemies faced, the Cerberus Rampart Mechs and deadly Adjutant stalkers, offer a chance to implement new tactics into the mix of your typical gaming experience. It is sadly not enough to compensate that feeling, nor does it help the case of those judging the DLC solely on new content.
Truthfully, the biggest gripe many seem to have is the $15 price tag connected to a 4-5 hour side mission. While the content is solid enough to justify that price, compared to previous DLC for the series it is a hard pill to financially swallow. At the very least its not at the Skyrim levels of uncomfortable for being $20 a piece, but it does feel like BioWare is trying to justify to the fan base the price, and is unlikely going to succeed in convincing anyone that their price is fair right now.
It also is a bit alarming that Omega comes riddled with Bethesda-styled glitches. Graphically, the game is fine. The grimy under-city of Omega, as its long corridors and cramped mine shafts make sense to have this sort of dark tone to it that, while not aesthetically colorful or pleasing, is grounded in enough realism to make it hypnotically appealing. But numerous glitches are present, including pop-in issues, twitching characters, and buggy cutscenes. This is normally irrelevant to me personally, but many people will likely call these out as major polishing issues that BioWare needs to address.
Interestingly enough, the sound is fairly subpar in this installment as well, compared to Mass Effect standards. Carrie Anne Moss, whose portrayal of Aria is one of stern yet stoic control, actually works against her this time around because of several moments in the story where more passion should be seen in her vocal range. The rest of the cast does admirably in their roles, especially the voice of Nyreen who gives a very determined, yet vulnerable performance as a “do the right thing” sort of character. Truth be told, that is the only aspect of the sound design worth noting. The music was average compared to the amazing score of Mass Effect 3, and the sound effects are pretty much the same.
In truth, it is really difficult to justify Omega to anyone at this point. The DLC is a solid experience filled with action and deep consequences, but no full rewards or sense of them being important in the end is revealed. But if you are in the market for something personal–something akin to a loyalty mission from Mass Effect 2–or you just want to have fun with Mass Effect 3 for a few more hours, that might be enough to rationalize any decision to purchase Omega. I know I liked it, but that doesn’t guarantee you will. Omega is the type of DLC that should thrive for role-playing games, but will likely be brushed aside for having little to do with anything as a tangible reward.
This downloadable content was purchased by the reviewer and played for around 4.5 hours on the Xbox 360. It is also available for the PC and PS3 for $15, and is estimated to be around four hours long.
All around gamer, teacher, historian and writer, making his home at Blistered Thumbs.
A Space Leviathan shares it’s secrets with us and we’re one step closer to saving the universe.
Today on ME3 we’re after the mythical Space Leviathan.
Male paragon soldiers. All of you.
Hold on to your butts! We’re taking back Omega!
It may not change your opinions on Mass Effect 3, but Citadel’s job is to give the series a fun sendoff, a coda for fans to enjoy. This final piece of Mass Effect 3 doesn’t disappoint.
Birdman reviews the last piece of Mass Effect 3′s single-player DLC as we say goodbye in grand fashion with friends past and present.
Here at the end of all things….
The final pair of DLC’s are coming.
The fate of the world, nay, of the universe rests in one duck’s hands. Mass Effect 3 is AWESOME!
Omega is the type of DLC that should thrive for role-playing games, but will likely be brushed aside for having little to do with anything as a tangible reward.
Posted By Austin Yorski about 2 months ago
Male paragon soldiers. All of you.
Posted By Shaun K. about 2 months, 3 weeks ago
Here at the end of all things….
Posted By Robert G. about 3 months ago
The final pair of DLC’s are coming.
Posted By Shaun K. about 5 months, 4 weeks ago
The battle for Omega is about to begin.
Posted By Robert G. about 6 months, 2 weeks ago
The latest details regarding Mass Effect 3 DLC will have some new surprises to contend with, including Aria herself.
Posted By Robert G. about 7 months, 1 week ago
It’s almost time to take back Omega….
Posted By Robert G. about 7 months, 3 weeks ago
A huge update for the multiplayer game is inbound, one that will change the shape of it for a while.
Posted By Robert G. about 8 months ago
Despite the shakeup at BioWare, GM Aaryn Flynn is promising good things in the future. Hopefully they can deliver.
Posted By James C. about 9 months ago
WHY DO YOU PURSUE ME?!
Posted By Robert G. about 9 months, 1 week ago
BioWare has officially announced the release date for their first single-player DLC for Mass Effect 3.
Posted By Robert G. about 2 months, 2 weeks ago
Mass Effect 3: Omega Review, 9.5 out of 10 based on 4 ratings ![]()
A year ago, when Mass Effect 3 was first released, I made a note in my review on how the game gave us very little room to breathe:
“But it doesn’t help that Mass Effect 3 is very hard to swallow because of the emotional roller coaster you to go on. Death and destruction are rampant, tensions run high throughout, and overall, the experience leaves little room for catharsis, leaving players emotionally drained after it’s all said and done. The highs are elating, the lows are devastating, and the game pulls no punches on its way to the finale to end all finales.”
I stand by this quote to this day, as replaying Mass Effect 3 several times now over the past year has shown that the final chapter in BioWare’s space opera is missing one final ingredient to get it right. One piece of the puzzle to unlock a sense of catharsis and to create a quasi-denouement moment that fans have been clamoring for ever since.
Well, Citadel does just that.
| PROS | Pure fan-service, The final party |
| CONS | Pure fan-service, Weak plotline |
| WTF?! | Blasto… yes, you meet him. |
A running theme with the single-player downloadable content for Mass Effect 3 has been the simple question of “What is the point?” Why bother paying $10-$15 for a piece of DLC when the ending is known to you, and even at that, may not even be the ending you are looking for? Is it worth the money, the content, the time? To these questions, the answer is staring you in the face: Just enjoy it.
Let go and realize, for a moment, that BioWare does care, does want to see you off one last time. Citadel as a DLC is basically pure fan-service by BioWare, and is unapologetic about it as well. Citadel reminded me that I should sit back and relax, let go for a moment and enjoy the show. Citadel boasts nearly six hours of content, conspiracy, cheesy one-liners, in-jokes, and one of the most touching yet memorable party scenes in a video game. All of it is glitz and glamour, comfort food for the mind to just munch on without much thought to it. Yet, when it’s all over, the questions you ask yourself won’t be whether or not the storyline makes sense, or if the morals and choices are deep or resonating. No, the questions you will ask is, “Why does it have to end?”
The adventure begins as you are given a condo by Admiral Anderson on the Citadel to relax in after forced shore leave. Considering the Reapers are basically destroying the galaxy, forced shore leave is a bit far-fetched to swallow. Admittedly, the plot in Citadel, which follows Shepard pursuing a mysterious opponent trying to kill the good Commander for reasons unknown, is rife with sci-fi clichés and contrived to the point of near ridiculousness. That may be the point. Not that the storyline of Citadel is bad–it’s well told despite being 80’s cheese–but that it holds a sort of smarmy charm that would have die hard fans light up like Christmas for each reference given.
Considering that all the writers on the Mass Effect team had a hand in penning the script for Citadel, it is not surprising that the strength is character interaction over plot. It was nice to see the characters cut loose and engage in revelry for a bit, the biggest scene of course being the climatic party you throw for pretty much every surviving squad mate available to you. It is a moment of enjoyment, watching everyone in character interact with each other in a fun way, rather than being all business as the main game pretty much is. Herein lies the strength of Citadel as a DLC: It doesn’t take itself that seriously. It is not about a major plot-line or even connected to the reaper threat in any way. It is about Shepard and the Normandy crew, fighting together against a new enemy one last time.
Adding to the DLC are few war assets and weapons, but once again that is not really the point. What you gain though is access to an arcade and casino, and your penthouse of course, which can be upgraded by buying or winning new furniture. The combat Arena offers you a chance to add old squad-mates once again, and presents new challenges that will test Shepard once more. Truthfully, it is these extra moments that make the DLC memorable, since they are with your entire squad, including old friends from Mass Effect 2. Throw in romance scenes that many have vocally asked for with missing squad mates, and it all connects into several character driven vignettes for fans to enjoy. All of this, of course, coalesces at a final climax of the Normandy crew celebrating a party together in Shepard‘s new apartment. It is a meeting of friends and comrades, an interactive sequence of moments of camaraderie, designed to make you both laugh and cry. It serves as the last hurrah, as these characters come together one final time, a picture marking the moment as a great memento to the series,
It is also the shot in the arm that Mass Effect 3 needed. As a DLC it once again reminds many of us fans why we enjoyed this series in the first place. It was never about the seriousness of the narrative nor the epic scale. It has nothing to do with philosophical musings of an ending that many see as an affront to their experience, nor a developer team sticking to their guns despite what many see as an act of betrayal. The cynics and sycophants, as I have said before, made their choices long ago, and Citadel will not change their minds in the least about how they feel. However, it will remind them that Mass Effect 3, along with every other game in the trilogy, is one great joyride to participate in, with fascinating characters, worlds, and choices thrown in the mix to create an experience few games can fully achieve.
So here, we finally do come to the end, once and for all. Citadel is a good DLC, a DLC for the fans, by fans. It doesn’t apologize for being that, and nor should it, as Citadel offers fans the chance to find that moment of catharsis at long last, to sit back and enjoy themselves one more time before the final assault. It may not change your opinions of Mass Effect 3, but Citadel’s job is to give the series a fun, final sendoff, a coda for fans to enjoy. In that, this final piece of Mass Effect 3 doesn’t disappoint.
This DLC was purchased by the reviewer on the Xbox 360 for the price of 1200 MSP ($15.00), and is also available on the PC and PS3. It was played for six hours total before returning to the main game.
Quite funny, sending it’s self up in all the right places and very self aware. Leviathan was probably the most fun of the DLC, but this one makes me feel the best. Enjoyable all the way through. I’d hoped for something different but it was a great way to end it.
I’ve had a strange experience with the Mass Effect series. It’s been a mixed bag of ups and downs the whole way through. I didn’t like some of the game mechanics, but I was able to use a combination of modding tools and manual file editing to customize the gameplay to my liking (For both 2 and 3). So I loved the gameplay, but only because I was able to do something to the game that the developers did not intend.
I loved the story, but hated the ending. To me, video games are escapes from reality. When I play a game, I’m not playing as Commander Shepherd or the Dragonborn, I’m playing as me, imagining myself in that role and immersing myself in the plot. In this way, the story becomes a much more satisfying experience than, say, reading a book. There, you experience the story from a third person perspective, and therefore maybe you don’t care so much whether the story has a happy ending or not, because the ending isn’t happening to *you*. But when you are pretending it’s you, suddenly the absence of a happy ending feels like a much larger void.
The other reason I didn’t care for the ending(s) is that it seemed a betrayal by BW. Not only was there really no happy ending to be found, but the endings weren’t all that different, as BW had promised would be the case. And worst of all, the endings really didn’t make any sense; logically, or within the game’s lore, or both.
But aside from that, the rest of the story was so good.. As much as the ending enrages me, I find myself loading up the game now and then, mostly to play the multiplayer. Despite the bad, I don’t have the deep loathing for it that I have for Crysis 2.
And so it’s difficult for me to decide whether I want to spend the money on the DLCs. On one hand, I’m sure I’ll enjoy playing ME3 again, with new story to explore and toys to play with. On the other, I’ll have the disappointment of the ending in the back of my mind, nagging at me. Do I want to continue supporting a company that did X so well, but with Y caused so much disappointment and frustration? Which side of the scale is heavier?
It would be an easier choice if the game was on Steam, because they frequently run sales, which would make the purchase a lot easier to justify. But from what I’ve seen BW doesn’t run sales on their downloadable content.
So, it’s a tough decision on several levels, and it doesn’t help when I come here, read this review, and the author is basically telling me to ‘just turn my brain off and enjoy it’ so I’m not bothered by its evidently mediocre storytelling.
Sorry, I just can’t let go. I am a lover scorned, haha. I’m afraid I’ll be passing this one up, and honestly, I’m probably just done with this series as a whole. But hey if some people get enjoyment of this dlc, that’s pretty awesome. They were able to look past things I could not and get a fun experience out of it. But I am positive that if I tried to play this it would only just end up pissing me off.
I just finished it, and while the humor can be hit-and-miss (we finally get to see the damn toothbrush), this package is overall enjoyable. While “Omega” seemed like a chore to go through (all that work and yet Aria still hangs out at Purgatory?), “Citadel” was like a cold beer during football.
Finished the main mission (meaning the bad guy’s dead) so far and boy have I been enjoying every minute of this DLC. All the character dialogue I’ve heard has had me smiling to laughing out loud, especially the character banter. I will agree the story is on the weak side, but like you’ve pointed out the characters really make it so you don’t really care. I especially liked it in the archive stage where Shephard and the crew are running and gunning it through like The Expendables (well more like in the second movie, but still…). All in all, I have to say this DLC has proven to be worth every penny.
I loved this dlc I beat it yesterday and I loved it yes the plot may of not been that good but this dlc was just so enjoyable I was smiling and laughing almost the entire time it was fun it was finny except for the final boss with was very frustrating at least for me. Seeing all those old friends and listening to to compete and joke with each other was so fun I laughed so much.
Ha! No more turning off the game right before the end and watching the Star Wars Medal Ceremony for me
Do we finally get to used that Poker table or shall it ever languish in the background of the Normandy? So much chance for a “All Good Things” type ending but RBG and all that. Maybe someone can fan mod to make this be the ending..Or maybe its meant to be considered such.
why worry about a poker table when you can SPOILERS watch Tali freak out about cheese?
A Space Leviathan shares it’s secrets with us and we’re one step closer to saving the universe.
Today on ME3 we’re after the mythical Space Leviathan.
Hold on to your butts! We’re taking back Omega!
It may not change your opinions on Mass Effect 3, but Citadel’s job is to give the series a fun sendoff, a coda for fans to enjoy. This final piece of Mass Effect 3 doesn’t disappoint.
Birdman reviews the last piece of Mass Effect 3′s single-player DLC as we say goodbye in grand fashion with friends past and present.
The fate of the world, nay, of the universe rests in one duck’s hands. Mass Effect 3 is AWESOME!
Leviathan is a short, thrilling romp that takes a few chances in mixing things up, even with a perceivable outcome of being an anti-climax.
The darkness cannot be breached in this SPOILER FREE review of Mass Effect 3′s Leviathan DLC.
There sure is a lot of nerd rage floating around the net about Mass Effect 3. Daniel lets you know his thoughts!
If the effect is disappointment, then yeah it’s pretty massive.
Birdman reviews the last piece of Mass Effect 3′s single-player DLC as we say goodbye in grand fashion with friends past and present.
The darkness cannot be breached in this SPOILER FREE review of Mass Effect 3′s Leviathan DLC.
The following is a philosophical conversation between a Paragon and a Renegade. Each of them have a contrasting point of view, and will try to impose their will on the other by bring up evidence, as well as posing philosophical “what ifs” and “whys” against each other. How you interpret this dialogue is up to you.
What constitutes a good character? Join me in this series that attempts to look at these characters and tries to peel away the layers of depth they have. Join me as we find Characters with Character in our Special Mass Effect Retrospective! This week is Commander Shepard!
Birdman totally abandoned sleep over the weekend to bring you this BT FIRST review of Mass Effect 3. Birdman brings his female Commander Shepard and lets you know how the fight against the Reapers went. This review contains small SPOILERS!
This is one alien who is a lot more than just a pretty face.
Note: The following contains spoilers. You have been warned. If you were to ask any
What constitutes a good character? Join me in this series that attempts to look at these characters and tries to peel away the layers of depth they have. Join me as we find Characters with Character in our Special Mass Effect Retrospective! This week is Miranda Lawson.
What constitutes a good character? Join me in this series that attempts to look at these characters and tries to peel away the layers of depth they have. Join me as we find Characters with Character in our Special Mass Effect Retrospective! This week is Mordin Solus.
Does a grainy scan of a South African videogame magazine constitute proof that we’re getting multiplayer in Mass Effect 3? Not concretely, but then again, Bioware hasn’t exactly used the word “no” when asked about it.
Music Mondays revisits the band that brought us tunes from Scott Pilgrim vs. the World and Bit.Trip Runner.
I felt that this DLC was very good myself. It’s exactly what I wanted out of Mass Effect story DLC: a self-contained side-story with a focus on interesting, enjoyable characters. The smaller and more character-focused stories have always been where Mass Effect was at its best (heck, I’d say that’s true for Bioware games in general), so for me, this DLC being removed from the main story is a boon, not a drawback of any kind.
It’s not as good as Lair of the Shadowbroker – which I’d hold up as the best DLC for any game I’ve ever seen – but I’d say it surpasses the other Mass Effect DLCs.
Oh, and I have to say, General Petrovsky was a great change of pace compared to every other antagonist in the series.
Ah, how I miss the days when I could buy an Expansion Pack for about 20-35 bucks depending on the game and get easily another 20 or more hours out of the experience (*cough*ThroneofBhaal*cough*), often with mostly small but sometimes significant improvements to the main game itself.
I get that new content is more costly to produce nowadays but maybe it’d be just smarter to create one big expansion that everybody will think is worth buying instead of creating multiple smaller pieces that are overpriced.
Or, of course, they could just price them more sensibly.
The only DLC I bought for the Mass Effect series was the Shadow Broker in ME2 and only because I wanted to see what Liara was up to in the timeframe of the game (monogamous Shep 4TW
).
It was a satisfying experience that I don’t really regret, but the 3-5 hours of content for ~17€ left a nasty as hell aftertaste and I couldn’t recommend it to my friends because of that. From the review this DLC seems to be about the same.
She really says “How things begin isn’t nearly as important as how they end.”? Wow, that’s right up there with “Nothing can possibly go wrong” from Westworld. For me half the appeal of the Mass Effect series or any party-based RPG is bringing different squadmates on different missions on subsequent playthroughs to see how they react to what’s happening. Too bad they ripped that fun out of this DLC by making it so removed from the rest of the game, I guess it was too much effort for them to round up all the VAs for Shepards squad.