Wednesday 6 March 2013

Mass Effect 3: Citadel DLC Review


 So here it is, the last ever content in the Mass Effect 3 DLC. Due to it being the last one Bioware went all out with this DLC by bringing back old faces from ME1 and ME2 as well as a new place for Shepard to hang out but this is just a small part of what comes with this massive 4GB DLC! Let's see if the Mass Effect trilogy can go out on one last good note.

At the start of the DLC Shepard gets a message from Anderson saying Shepard has been given Anderson's apartment that is located at the Citadel. Once you are there have a look around your new place. You then get an invite from Joker inviting Shepard for Sushi but there is a problem with this. Joker never sent this message, and this is when the story of the DLC starts to kick in as Shepard must fight a new threat.

Compared to the other Mass Effect 3 DLC's this one feels like it has more rewards for the players. Omega had potential to be one of the best Mass Effect DLC's of all time but shortcuts and lack of content killed any thoughts of it being up there with the best Mass Effect DLC's. The Citadel DLC is the opposite of Omega as the DLC is free from the shortcuts so that means you can take any of your squad on missions while the Omega DLC had to use a pretty lame excuse for the fact that EA/Bioware didn't want to pay for more voice overs in the DLC. So I was happy to see that the DLC let you pick who ever you wanted this time round.

Other new features players can look forward to is being able to go to the casino and play games for credits. These casino games include roulette for example. You can expect to gain brand new weapons during the playthrough of the DLC as well. You have been given a nice new home so why don't you improve it? Because you can in this DLC as you are given the option to change some of the things around your new home. For example you can get remodel your house and also add new furniture. You can also use the combat simulator were you can go up against enemies of your choosing while trying to rack up as much points as you can. You might like to hear that you can use old squad-mates from the trilogy to help you. There are also some new side quests to complete.

The actual main story for the DLC is good but some fans might be thinking "Really?" at some of the major plot points in the DLC. I don't want to spoil anything in the DLC so I hope you can assume which parts I am referring too. The DLC's main story has a surprising comedic edge to it rather than the DLC being super serious. At one point Shepard and the crew make reference to Shepard's "I should go" line that he says almost every time a conversation ends in all 3 Mass Effects with the scene being a sign of (funny) things to come. I guarantee if you are a long time Mass Effect fan you will probably have some fun playing the DLC just because of some of these one liners and moments in the DLC.

You will find yourself finishing the main story at around 2 hours but don't worry that is just the "1st half" of this DLC. After the shooting and combat is over it's time to party! Literally! As you can invite certain past squad-mates from the trilogy for a party at your new home. This party is stacked with conversations, and easily took me around an hour to see/hear all the moments from this big party. The party part of the DLC is probably the reason for the large amount of GB as you can have a totally different party compared to a friend as parts of the party depend on certain factors like romances, squad-mate deaths, past choices, renegade/paragon, and who you decided to invite to the party. I already thought the DLC was pretty decent but the party really pushed the DLC up in the final score.

The Final Verdict

The DLC was pretty fun to play, and it also brings a ton of new content with it like the combat simulator, weapons, side missions, new HUB area with a casino and arcade as well as the great party "mission" that might honestly be the most fun I have had playing Mass Effect. The main story could have ran a little longer and the story itself was a bit meh but it's nothing too bad. I also liked how the DLC had a much more comedic side rather than a serious side as it was a change of pace to normal Mass Effect missions. I am happy to say the Mass Effect trilogy ends on one final high note, and what a ride that trilogy has been.

+Stacked with content compared to Omega DLC
+The party will leave you with a big smile on your face all the way through
+Nice end to the Mass Effect trilogy

-Story could be better
-For the price the main story could be longer

Final Score

8.5/10

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