Review: Mass Effect 2: Arrival
Arrival, the final DLC for Mass Effect 2, was recently released and it is pretty darn nifty. It took me about an hour to play through and along with snagging a few credits during the game play, there were 3 new research projects:
- Heavy Weapon Ammo Increase
- Medi-Gel Capacity Increase
- Heavy Skin Weave (aka more health for Shepard)
There was also some Element Zero, Palladium, and Iridium to be found during the mission; the handful of planets in the system also had some resources to offer as well, though nothing terribly exciting if you have already completed the game.
All in all, I’d say it was worth the 560 MS Points (~$7) I paid for it.
In comparison to the DLC that has come before… I’d say Lair of the Shadow Broker is my favorite, but to be fair it did cost more and it offered the option for my character to reunite with Liara T’Soni. Overlord, which I covered previously, was also enjoyable as it let you too around in… a brand new CAR!!! (aka Mako 2.0).
Kasumi — Stolen Memory is by far my least favorite. The mission was just… boring. The new character wasn’t that great and her ability wasn’t something my character had any desire to use. At least with Zaeed Massani’s mission (which was free with Cerberus Network access), I got to blow stuff up (and get a new Heavy Weapon: the Flamethrower).
I’d rank them (in decreasing enjoyability): Lair of the Shadow Broker, Overlord, Arrival, Zaeed Massani, and finally Kasumi.
As I mentioned in the previous review, the DLC is cheaper than a movie ticket in my (and most people’s) area. If it was a little bit longer it would be an absolute slam dunk, but even at its current length, it is worth it.