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Here's my super detailed review of the Omega DLC. I'll put the short, non-spoiler one first, then the spoiler on beneath it.
-----------------------------------------------------
NON SPOILER:
It's way too short to merit a $15 price tag (in my opinion, even 800 MSP might be pushing it). Basically, I'm going to give a short synopsis of my thoughts, then outline what I thought was done well and what I thought wasn't.
I don't want to label it a "bad" DLC, so instead I'll go with underwhelming. Past the price and the length, the other main issue that people may have is that it's almost all action. While I agree, the game isn't a great action game (nor is it supposed to be), it was sort of unavoidable in a storyline consisting of storming a station and taking it by force.
There are new characters that are likeable, and there are new weapons, mods, and powers that can be acquired (Aria's flare attack is God-like, and you can unlock it for yourself upon completion).
I will give BioWare credit in that while there wasn't much story per say, they did what they could given the circumstances. The larger issue to me is that it felt more like a giant, drawn out side mission rather than an important piece of content and/or a main mission. In short, I say wait until it goes on sale, if you can. I'm a huge fan of the series so this kind of stuff always turns into a day one buy for me, but if you don't mind waiting for it to go on sale, then trust me, wait it out and you'll be glad that you did.
-----------------------------------------------------
SPOILER REVIEW:
I'm going to break this up into three parts (the good, the ok, and the bad) and talk a little about each.
The good:
- The most obvious thing is the environments; my God are they gorgeous! It seemed like every little corner was carefully crafted and detailed. Even at the end by the entrance to Afterlife I had to stop and do a double take to scope out the old digs. The skyline here particularly caught my eye; in ME2, it was just mostly red with a few random rocks here and there from the asteroid; in this DLC, you look up and literally see the bottom of the giant asteroid that houses Omega, detailed as anything. Great job by the people at BioWare who designed the maps, environments, all of it.
- Another highlight is the new characters. We knew what to expect from Aria, but Nyreen and General Petrovsky were newcomers to the scene (if you're not into comics that is). Nyreen was basically like a female Garrus, meaning badass and noble. She sort of took on an "Archangel" role herself by uniting the Talon gang to turn from petty crime and smuggling to trying to liberate and aid the citizens of Omega. She was likeable from the start, and solidified that even more along the way. I thought the scene toward the end where she sacrificed herself was sad, tragic, and incredibly done. You could see early that there was something deep with her and the Adjutants, so the fact that she was so selfless in looking fear straight in the eye and conquering it to save the nearby people speaks for itself.
Adjutants are reaper creations that Cerberus is experimenting with. Just like the collectors were once Prothean, the codex states that DNA samples point to the fact that these are from a race that existed several cycles before the Protheans.
Petrovsky, on the other hand, was exactly what you would come to expect from a top Cerberus agent. Shady, sly, cunning, he had it all. Even at the end when he "surrenders" he's doing it with planned out intent to save himself and nothing more. If he was present throughout the entire game, I think he would have been even stronger as a villain.
The so-so:
- While there were a few big choices in the game, they seemed too easy. The first one is dealing with the reactor, where you are tasked with deciding to either overload it and help Aria & Nyreen right away, and killing thousands in the process, or reroute it, which takes just a bit longer as they try and hold down. It really was a no brainer to reroute the power because it only took maybe an extra 15 seconds, and you never actually felt like either Aria or Nyreen was in real danger. Sure, they were under fire, but I never got the feeling like it was something they couldn't handle.
The other major choice lies in either arresting Petrovsky or allowing Aria to kill him in cold blood. Again, a no brainer really because you will most likely side with whatever morality side you side with; in other words, paragon players will most likely arrest him without hesitation, and renegade players will sit back and watch him get what was coming; though, if you renegade it all the way through you got a little bonus smooch from Aria as a thanks.
Even though he offered "valuable intel on the Illusive Man", how many times have we heard that and seen it turn into nothing but a few extra war asset points? Which, by the way, is exactly what this is (it's 30 war assets if you wanted to know). I would label these choices in the 'good' category, but already knowing that war assets essentially mean nothing in the end (especially when you already have enough to unlock all of the endings) it's hard to get excited for it.
- The action. Again, I can't really hate on it because the entire premise of taking back Omega kind of needed to center around action, otherwise, the entire point of the DLC is going to be weak. While the combat has improved from game to game in the Mass Effect franchise, it's not an action game, nor should it ever be. In this instance, it just felt like shooting up a room, walking into a new room to explore, stepping into the room beyond that, exploring the room beyond that, shooting up the room after that, etc, etc, etc, the end.
- The crazy prophet. He's back! And he was right, the end IS nigh! Reapers destroying the galaxy, Cerberus controlling Omega, it's all here. I though it was a nice touch and was hoping that he would have a cameo, but I guess I was hoping for a little more. In ME2, he talked about blights on the galaxy, saying you, and you, and YOOOUUUUUU! I was hoping that when I ran by him he would notice me and give some witty remark, but nothing, he was just preaching is same old crazy banter to a large crowd. Maybe I'm being picky, but hey, for $15 I think I have a right to be.
- Mordin's clinic. At first thought, WIN! However, it's been stripped down and is hardly noticeable. I want to label it good because it's a nice touch, but I also want to label it bad for a certain reason, hence the so-so grade. What I mean by bad is that I wasn't particularly fond of the remark from Shepard (ok, maybe I'm being really picky now but this Mordin we're talking about). When you first enter into the area, Shepard makes a comment about the place looking familiar. Aria then chimes in and says that it's Mordin's old clinic, and then Shepard simply says, "He's dead now." Aria says that's a pity, and they move on. Wait, what? That's it? He's dead now? How about instead you say, "Mordin unselfishly sacrificed himself for the good of the galaxy." A bit more fitting, right? Come on, Shep!
The bad:
- I'll start with the easiest one; the length/price. In no way, shape, or form, should this have ever even come close to $15. The retail version of the game can easily give you 20-30 hours, so to merit $15 (25% of $60) it should provide you with around 5-8. Not even close; try about 3, maybe 4 hours if you walk through areas extra slow to take in the sights. But then again, there's the other side that says if you build it they will come - EA knows that they can over charge for content, and they know that a lot of people will still buy it.
I don't play any other EA titles really other than their sports games (that's unavoidable) but Mass Effect is my game. I've been with the franchise all the way back to the day that I watched pre-release videos and pre-ordered the first Mass Effect title way before EA was in the mix, all the way through today, post EA greedy palms. Even though my brain said no, my heart sold me on this one, despite the rollercoaster ride that Mass Effect 3 has put me through.
- The music, or lack of music as I should say. One of the high points about the Mass Effect franchise is how no matter where you are or what you're doing, there is almost always awesome music that coincides with the moment perfectly. In this DLC, there really wasn't any at all. In fact, the ENTIRE DLC had that same monotone, low beat techno background tune with the occasional shrieking noise that sounded like Geth having sex (is that even possible?). The only part that actually has a different sound is if you overload the reactor. When you see it powering down the life support of some of the other districts, there's a sad melody that plays that sort of resembles the sad sounding song when the crucible fires. If you reroute the power instead, nothing, just the same old music as par the course. It may be something that's overlooked by many, but to me, it was a huge downer.
- The difficulty. Even on insanity, it wasn't even a challenge! Sure, there were a few Atlas' here and there, but for the most part there was more than enough cover between it and you that you could safely dispose of it. One of the parts even as much as gave you a couple of Hydra missile launchers to work with. Then, in the end when Aria is trapped and you have to free her, you don't even need to bother with any of the enemies really. Just run straight to the power switches, shoot the casing, and the Aria unleashes a flare that wipes out (or pretty close to wipes out) everyone in the general area. Rinse and repeat for the other three, then pick off the last few stragglers once she's free. I don't like when games are impossibly hard and throw BS at you constantly, but I do like a challenge, and I hate it when games are overly easy.
- Fetch quests (sigh). Even though there is an achievement that says you've completed all of the side missions in the DLC, I refuse to call them side missions; they're fetch quests. Pardon me, but BIOWARE WHEN WILL YOU GET THE PICTURE THAT NOBODY ON THE PLANET ENJOYS FETCH QUESTS. Click three terminals, find a mechanical part, find Aria's couch, done. No real point, no substance, just point and click aimlessly. (Though I did think the part with the couch was a decent little Easter Egg and got a chuckle when Aria said, "Is that my couch...?" nevertheless, I still hate fetch quests).
- More stringing you along. In the beginning, Aria mentions somehting about "secrets of Omega that only she knows". I was expecting something along the lines of Omega to be the remains of a failed crucible design from a race in an earlier reaper cycle, or something jaw dropping like that. To keep things short and simple, that's the last we heard about it. No other mention, no secrets, nothing. WTF?
- This DLC doesn't really fit in the grand scope of things. Ok yeah, Aria promised you some extra ships and some eezo for helping her out, but is that really going to turn the tide of the war? I mean every little bit helps (assuming that war assets actually meant something), but is it risk going in alone with just Aria? No Normandy, no crew, just Aria? I mean even Nyreen and the Talons were just happenstance. I don't know, to me it didn't really fit with the theme of the game, and maybe would have been better suited for something post ME3; but because at face value Shepard can die in some scenarios and they have yet to confirm or deny IT, post ME3 DLC can't happen, and nor should it because it feels like you are just dragging out the story for no real purpose.
All in all, I can't recommend this DLC to anyone unless you have cash that you are looking to blow or you are into Gears of War in space. If you can, try and wait until it goes on sale. I know, if you're like me and you're a huge fan of the franchise it's hard to turn the other cheek when new content becomes available, but I honestly feel like this is one of those things that by the time you do finish it, you'll either be glad that you waited for a sale or wished that you had waited for a sale.
-----------------------------------------------------
NON SPOILER:
It's way too short to merit a $15 price tag (in my opinion, even 800 MSP might be pushing it). Basically, I'm going to give a short synopsis of my thoughts, then outline what I thought was done well and what I thought wasn't.
I don't want to label it a "bad" DLC, so instead I'll go with underwhelming. Past the price and the length, the other main issue that people may have is that it's almost all action. While I agree, the game isn't a great action game (nor is it supposed to be), it was sort of unavoidable in a storyline consisting of storming a station and taking it by force.
There are new characters that are likeable, and there are new weapons, mods, and powers that can be acquired (Aria's flare attack is God-like, and you can unlock it for yourself upon completion).
I will give BioWare credit in that while there wasn't much story per say, they did what they could given the circumstances. The larger issue to me is that it felt more like a giant, drawn out side mission rather than an important piece of content and/or a main mission. In short, I say wait until it goes on sale, if you can. I'm a huge fan of the series so this kind of stuff always turns into a day one buy for me, but if you don't mind waiting for it to go on sale, then trust me, wait it out and you'll be glad that you did.
-----------------------------------------------------
SPOILER REVIEW:
I'm going to break this up into three parts (the good, the ok, and the bad) and talk a little about each.
The good:
- The most obvious thing is the environments; my God are they gorgeous! It seemed like every little corner was carefully crafted and detailed. Even at the end by the entrance to Afterlife I had to stop and do a double take to scope out the old digs. The skyline here particularly caught my eye; in ME2, it was just mostly red with a few random rocks here and there from the asteroid; in this DLC, you look up and literally see the bottom of the giant asteroid that houses Omega, detailed as anything. Great job by the people at BioWare who designed the maps, environments, all of it.
- Another highlight is the new characters. We knew what to expect from Aria, but Nyreen and General Petrovsky were newcomers to the scene (if you're not into comics that is). Nyreen was basically like a female Garrus, meaning badass and noble. She sort of took on an "Archangel" role herself by uniting the Talon gang to turn from petty crime and smuggling to trying to liberate and aid the citizens of Omega. She was likeable from the start, and solidified that even more along the way. I thought the scene toward the end where she sacrificed herself was sad, tragic, and incredibly done. You could see early that there was something deep with her and the Adjutants, so the fact that she was so selfless in looking fear straight in the eye and conquering it to save the nearby people speaks for itself.
Adjutants are reaper creations that Cerberus is experimenting with. Just like the collectors were once Prothean, the codex states that DNA samples point to the fact that these are from a race that existed several cycles before the Protheans.
Petrovsky, on the other hand, was exactly what you would come to expect from a top Cerberus agent. Shady, sly, cunning, he had it all. Even at the end when he "surrenders" he's doing it with planned out intent to save himself and nothing more. If he was present throughout the entire game, I think he would have been even stronger as a villain.
The so-so:
- While there were a few big choices in the game, they seemed too easy. The first one is dealing with the reactor, where you are tasked with deciding to either overload it and help Aria & Nyreen right away, and killing thousands in the process, or reroute it, which takes just a bit longer as they try and hold down. It really was a no brainer to reroute the power because it only took maybe an extra 15 seconds, and you never actually felt like either Aria or Nyreen was in real danger. Sure, they were under fire, but I never got the feeling like it was something they couldn't handle.
The other major choice lies in either arresting Petrovsky or allowing Aria to kill him in cold blood. Again, a no brainer really because you will most likely side with whatever morality side you side with; in other words, paragon players will most likely arrest him without hesitation, and renegade players will sit back and watch him get what was coming; though, if you renegade it all the way through you got a little bonus smooch from Aria as a thanks.
Even though he offered "valuable intel on the Illusive Man", how many times have we heard that and seen it turn into nothing but a few extra war asset points? Which, by the way, is exactly what this is (it's 30 war assets if you wanted to know). I would label these choices in the 'good' category, but already knowing that war assets essentially mean nothing in the end (especially when you already have enough to unlock all of the endings) it's hard to get excited for it.
- The action. Again, I can't really hate on it because the entire premise of taking back Omega kind of needed to center around action, otherwise, the entire point of the DLC is going to be weak. While the combat has improved from game to game in the Mass Effect franchise, it's not an action game, nor should it ever be. In this instance, it just felt like shooting up a room, walking into a new room to explore, stepping into the room beyond that, exploring the room beyond that, shooting up the room after that, etc, etc, etc, the end.
- The crazy prophet. He's back! And he was right, the end IS nigh! Reapers destroying the galaxy, Cerberus controlling Omega, it's all here. I though it was a nice touch and was hoping that he would have a cameo, but I guess I was hoping for a little more. In ME2, he talked about blights on the galaxy, saying you, and you, and YOOOUUUUUU! I was hoping that when I ran by him he would notice me and give some witty remark, but nothing, he was just preaching is same old crazy banter to a large crowd. Maybe I'm being picky, but hey, for $15 I think I have a right to be.
- Mordin's clinic. At first thought, WIN! However, it's been stripped down and is hardly noticeable. I want to label it good because it's a nice touch, but I also want to label it bad for a certain reason, hence the so-so grade. What I mean by bad is that I wasn't particularly fond of the remark from Shepard (ok, maybe I'm being really picky now but this Mordin we're talking about). When you first enter into the area, Shepard makes a comment about the place looking familiar. Aria then chimes in and says that it's Mordin's old clinic, and then Shepard simply says, "He's dead now." Aria says that's a pity, and they move on. Wait, what? That's it? He's dead now? How about instead you say, "Mordin unselfishly sacrificed himself for the good of the galaxy." A bit more fitting, right? Come on, Shep!
The bad:
- I'll start with the easiest one; the length/price. In no way, shape, or form, should this have ever even come close to $15. The retail version of the game can easily give you 20-30 hours, so to merit $15 (25% of $60) it should provide you with around 5-8. Not even close; try about 3, maybe 4 hours if you walk through areas extra slow to take in the sights. But then again, there's the other side that says if you build it they will come - EA knows that they can over charge for content, and they know that a lot of people will still buy it.
I don't play any other EA titles really other than their sports games (that's unavoidable) but Mass Effect is my game. I've been with the franchise all the way back to the day that I watched pre-release videos and pre-ordered the first Mass Effect title way before EA was in the mix, all the way through today, post EA greedy palms. Even though my brain said no, my heart sold me on this one, despite the rollercoaster ride that Mass Effect 3 has put me through.
- The music, or lack of music as I should say. One of the high points about the Mass Effect franchise is how no matter where you are or what you're doing, there is almost always awesome music that coincides with the moment perfectly. In this DLC, there really wasn't any at all. In fact, the ENTIRE DLC had that same monotone, low beat techno background tune with the occasional shrieking noise that sounded like Geth having sex (is that even possible?). The only part that actually has a different sound is if you overload the reactor. When you see it powering down the life support of some of the other districts, there's a sad melody that plays that sort of resembles the sad sounding song when the crucible fires. If you reroute the power instead, nothing, just the same old music as par the course. It may be something that's overlooked by many, but to me, it was a huge downer.
- The difficulty. Even on insanity, it wasn't even a challenge! Sure, there were a few Atlas' here and there, but for the most part there was more than enough cover between it and you that you could safely dispose of it. One of the parts even as much as gave you a couple of Hydra missile launchers to work with. Then, in the end when Aria is trapped and you have to free her, you don't even need to bother with any of the enemies really. Just run straight to the power switches, shoot the casing, and the Aria unleashes a flare that wipes out (or pretty close to wipes out) everyone in the general area. Rinse and repeat for the other three, then pick off the last few stragglers once she's free. I don't like when games are impossibly hard and throw BS at you constantly, but I do like a challenge, and I hate it when games are overly easy.
- Fetch quests (sigh). Even though there is an achievement that says you've completed all of the side missions in the DLC, I refuse to call them side missions; they're fetch quests. Pardon me, but BIOWARE WHEN WILL YOU GET THE PICTURE THAT NOBODY ON THE PLANET ENJOYS FETCH QUESTS. Click three terminals, find a mechanical part, find Aria's couch, done. No real point, no substance, just point and click aimlessly. (Though I did think the part with the couch was a decent little Easter Egg and got a chuckle when Aria said, "Is that my couch...?" nevertheless, I still hate fetch quests).
- More stringing you along. In the beginning, Aria mentions somehting about "secrets of Omega that only she knows". I was expecting something along the lines of Omega to be the remains of a failed crucible design from a race in an earlier reaper cycle, or something jaw dropping like that. To keep things short and simple, that's the last we heard about it. No other mention, no secrets, nothing. WTF?
- This DLC doesn't really fit in the grand scope of things. Ok yeah, Aria promised you some extra ships and some eezo for helping her out, but is that really going to turn the tide of the war? I mean every little bit helps (assuming that war assets actually meant something), but is it risk going in alone with just Aria? No Normandy, no crew, just Aria? I mean even Nyreen and the Talons were just happenstance. I don't know, to me it didn't really fit with the theme of the game, and maybe would have been better suited for something post ME3; but because at face value Shepard can die in some scenarios and they have yet to confirm or deny IT, post ME3 DLC can't happen, and nor should it because it feels like you are just dragging out the story for no real purpose.
All in all, I can't recommend this DLC to anyone unless you have cash that you are looking to blow or you are into Gears of War in space. If you can, try and wait until it goes on sale. I know, if you're like me and you're a huge fan of the franchise it's hard to turn the other cheek when new content becomes available, but I honestly feel like this is one of those things that by the time you do finish it, you'll either be glad that you waited for a sale or wished that you had waited for a sale.
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