Mass Effect 2: Lair of the Shadowbroker – MMOMFG DLC Review

Lair of the Shadowbroker a.k.a Liara DLC

I won’t patronize or bore you with a recap of Mass Effect 2 up to this point. This is the DLC many fans have been waiting for and perhaps the only burning question you may have is, is it worth 800 Microsoft  (or BioWare) Points? First, I hate to be rude, but you deserve a five-fingered-palmer to the face for asking such a question. The answer, obviously, is a huge, resounding Yes please!

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What’s Good

Double-barrel storyline - Rarely am I overly impressed with the storyline in a DLC. Often times it feels like tacked on content with no discernible value to the overall game. What BioWare has done with their Mass Effect DLCs however, is effectively make it feel more like a build up to ME 3, and that couldn’t be more true than in the latest Lair of the Shadowbroker. Without spoiler alerting anyone, the story here is solid, rock solid, and further, it works on multiple levels. By that I mean the story that unfolds in such a way that it could easily stand on its own. Build up, background, adrenaline pumping beats, excellent and driven dialogue, character development, amazing scenery and level layout (shootouts on a lighting magnet ship is always a fun bout), this DLC has it all. On top of that, though, the DLC builds on a story and relationship that we all know, foreshadows things to come in ME 3, and provides an ending that all but guarantees a crucial role for Liara when the third chapter graces us with its presence.

Baby Blue’s got mad skillz - Yea skills, but with a z, so you know it’s serious. Liara is presented as a more confident, hardened, and proactive figure in her DLC  debut, and brother does she have a set of biotic abilities to match. We all know and love Warp, but the focus, and my new favorite biotic powers, come by way of Singularity and Stasis. Singularity essentially acts as a mini black hole, sucking enemies within a radius to a single area, sending them floating in the air (depending on if you have taken down their shields). It understand that this ability is available to Adepts, but being a Soldier for life, this ability comes as quite a revelation for someone like myself. Also, making its return is Stasis, which I’m sure most are familiar with. The point is, Liara kicks quite a bit of ass.

Achievement fuel - Plain and simple…this DLC has it. You may not get a shiny new toy to play around with, but you do get 5 brand new Achievements to help beef up that Gamerscore and in the process aid in impressing your Asari Queen.

Get that 411 – Again without going into spoiler alert mode, upon completing the Shadowbroker DLC you gain access to some very…privileged information; dossiers on your team, for example, amongst other informational type terminals. Dossiers may sound like lame-sauce, but the amount of detail put into them is more than you could imagine, and more than you probably need, but is impressive irregardless. You can even invest your hard earned credits in various ventures that can earn you some real return.

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What’s Bad

Skycar not so fly happy – My only real complaint for this DLC, other than wanting more, is trivial at best. I say trivial because the Skycar chase scene is positively effective in creating a memorable, and adrenaline packed moment. The controls and handling, however are extremely lacking. It was fun, it was fast paced, but the shotty controls took me out of the moment in the latter portions of the chase.

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If I had the money, nay the power, to provide one DLC to ME fans. This would undoubtedly be the one. Playing on Hardcore, fleshing out every conversation and investigating the information terminals, the Lair of the Shadowbroker provided me with roughly 3 hours of Liara filled, heart-pumping, Shadowbroker ass kicking fun. Having not played Mass Effect in a couple of months, I was amazed in the ability of this DLC to transport me back into the moment and precise chaos of the Mass Effect Universe. If you have puttered around in your decision to get this, you are a mad man, or woman, as this is definitely a must have for followers of the series. If nothing else is to be gained, at least you get one more chance to “Reminisce” with your blue tanned beauty, and you can never put a price tag on some much needed “Reminiscing”.

* Lair of the Shadowbroker DLC was downloaded and played for review on the Xbox 360

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