Saturday, March 9, 2013

Mass Effect 3 Citadel Review

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Unfortunately Origin doesn't have a built-in screenshot function, so I don't have any pretty pictures to show you.
This DLC was definitely aimed at Mass Effect veterans, those of us who have played through since the first game and have a history with each character. Bioware specifically wrote it to be one final hoorah with your favorite crewmates. Just watch the trailer, you'll see what I mean.


There are two main parts to this DLC; the first is the mission where somebody is trying to kill you and you have to get the crew together to take them down. Since my Shepard is already at level cap, it wasn't really a challenge. The real appeal was getting to hear my crew members bantering the whole time. Even when there was a major plot twist and I was expecting them to get serious, they just took it in stride and even made fun of the new situation. I love my crew. Some crew members got more time in the spotlight than others, but everyone had at least a few good lines. Even crew members who aren't part of your combat squads (Cortez, Traynor, and of course Joker) got a few good moments.

The second part is just hanging out in your new apartment. You get to throw a party and invite whoever you want to. I of course invited everybody, and we had a wild good time. Tali is hilarious when she gets wasted. I loved every minute of that party.
Even after the party is over there is a new area of the citadel for you to check out. There is a casino, an arcade, and a combat simulator that you can use; you can also meet up with a few of your crew members and hang out with them. Garrus is terrible at hitting on chicks.

I enjoyed it more than any of the other DLCs in the franchise, and I would definitely recommend it to anybody who is a Mass Effect fan. $15 is a very reasonable price for the great time you'll have.

In case you were wondering if you should get any of the other DLCs in the series, here is a quick recap:
Mass Effect: there are no DLCs for the original game.

Mass Effect 2: if you are on PC you have to go to social.bioware.com to buy the DLCs

  • Obviously you should get all of the free ones, especially Zaeed and Kasumi. They are cool characters.
  • If you are willing to pay anything for any of the DLCs, the Shadow Broker is the first one you should get. It was awesome; you're tracking down the Shadow Broker and you get to hang out with Liara again. $10.
  • Arrival was pretty cool too, and it's scope is huge. It also has ramifications at the beginning of Mass Effect 3. $7.
  • Overlord was alright; it had an interesting moral quandary but it's not an essential buy. $7.
  • The rest are alternate costume packs for your crew or weapon packs. If you're into that kind of thing you can get them. I didn't.
Mass Effect 3: you can buy the DLCs through Origin, which is a much better solution than Bioware's website
  • Again, get the free ones.
  • Get Citadel. Just do it. $15. You can afford that.
  • Leviathan was really interesting, and it gave us some insight to the origins of the Reapers. I liked it. $10.
  • Omega was a fun romp through everyone's favorite seedy space station. You get to work side-by-side with Aria, but you can't take any of your crew members with you. I had a good time with it, but again it isn't essential. At $15 you might want to skip it, depending on how much you enjoy talking to Aria.
  • From Ashes adds a Prothean crew member to your squad. It was one of those day-one DLCs that everyone was pissed about, and I didn't get it. $10.
  • There are a bunch of multiplayer weapon packs and stuff. If that kind of thing matters to you, go ahead and buy some.