Just wanted to let everyone know that the 2nd (well technically 3rd) piece of dlc for Mass Effect 3 is out today. I plan on picking it up sometime soon. Probably this weekend after all my damn college exams. I really enjoyed leviathan and cannot wait to jump back in again. Aria is a really cool character and Omega is obviously a very key location in the Mass Effect universe so I have high hopes for this piece of content.

Anyway I just wanted to see who was getting it and what you thought of it? Please keep it spoiler free for people who haven't played it!

I was going to download it today, when I thought it was 800 MS points. Found out it's 1200 MS points, I guess I'll wait a bit.

For anyone who has played it I just want to know how long it is and if it's any good.

I passed on Leviathan, but getting the chance to meet a female Turian does sound pretty interesting, and I imagine she's a temporary party member? In any case I'm also very curious to see how it is, but I'd rather someone else chance it instead... On the contrary to everything surrounding Mass Effect 2, I'm not quite as comfortable anymore in impulse buying anything with Mass Effect 3 in the title.

For anyone who has played it I just want to know how long it is and if it's any good.

Brad said on ILM that he was told it was around 4 hours long.

yeah i plan on picking it up. i read the comics of everything that happened before this dlc with aria and the cerberus captain or something. it's nice to see they are sticking to the comic. i'm looking forward to seeing how this turns out

I have it downloading right now. I'm not going to play it until later, I'm excited to go back to Omega.

From talking to some people it sounds like this is a pretty long piece of content, the main story quest takes around 3-4 hours and the side quest add about 90 mins or so.

From talking to some people it sounds like this is a pretty long piece of content, the main story quest takes around 3-4 hours and the side quest add about 90 mins or so.

I'll play it when I get home tonight for sure.

@Sackmanjones said:

@SmasheControllers said:

From talking to some people it sounds like this is a pretty long piece of content, the main story quest takes around 3-4 hours and the side quest add about 90 mins or so.

Well that sounds fantastic. It sounds like its the semi-open world that it was in Mass Effect 2.

There's a central hub were you get side missions from the other Talon members. Both Nyreen and Aria are great squad-members just too bad they don't stay with you after the DLC, but you do get there powers as bonus powers for Shepard.

I have heard that it is combat heavy and not very interesting. Oh well. Another Mass Effect DLC I won't play.

I started it a few minutes ago.

Uhm. How do you start it? I've talked to Aria, but it doesn't trigger.

From the trailer, it looked like your real party members don't get to come along in this one. Is this correct and does it mean we will see no more voicework from Garrus and the team?

You want my thoughts on the new ME3 DLC?

FUCK YOU BIOWARE YOU AREN'T GETTING A CENT FROM ME EVER AGAIN! I HOPE YOU BURN! BURN TO THE GROUND! AND THEN POST THE ASHES TO ME SO I CAN PISS ON THEM!

@TeflonBilly said:

You want my thoughts on the new ME3 DLC?

FUCK YOU BIOWARE YOU AREN'T GETTING A CENT FROM ME EVER AGAIN! I HOPE YOU BURN! BURN TO THE GROUND! AND THEN POST THE ASHES TO ME SO I CAN PISS ON THEM!

I can guarantee you that this being said unironically somewhere

45 minutes in and so far O'm digging it.

@StarvingGamer said:

45 minutes in and so far O'm digging it.

is it... meganificent?

@StarvingGamer said:

45 minutes in and so far O'm digging it.

is it... meganificent?

@Sackmanjones said:

@Animasta said:

@StarvingGamer said:

45 minutes in and so far O'm digging it.

is it... meganificent?

Wish I never created this thread now.

See! You're going to sit down and think about what you did!

Just installed it and played it for an hour and it's not so bad. The female turian is an interesting character and I like that Aria is finally being fleshed out some more.

Just completed it and it took me around 4 hours so what people are saying about the length of it is pretty accurate. I liked it but the environments are pretty underwhelming because most of the time you're fighting in dimly lit spaces and corridors so it doesn't make for an interesting play through visually. That aside though, the story is fine and the female Turian is a cool character. Aria is also in top form.

Overall though while I liked it I do feel underwhelmed by it and comparing the two, I'd say I enjoyed the Leviathan DLC over this one.

It's serviceable, but not particularly great. The new enemies are interesting, and the aesthetic is in line with what you'd expect from a place like Omega. The voice acting isn't really up to par with the stuff in the core game, and there are some glaring animation bugs in the cutscenes. You can probably expect to burn through it in about 2.5 hours, even if you take your time and talk to everybody as much as possible. They might have created a lot of environmental assets for this DLC, but it all looks so similar that you don't really notice the effort. By the end, it doesn't feel like it was worth $15, but at the end of the day you either know that you're going to buy it, or you know that you aren't. This thing will sell on the merit of tying off the last loose thread in the series rather than anything else.

Oh, and you'll only run into two Omega-related side characters, one of which you've never had the option to talk to. Both are little more than cameos. I don't think anybody was really expecting to see Helena Blake, the Patriarch, Fist, or other similar characters make a return, but now I can confirm that they don't show up again.

It's really great takes Omega from ME2 and makes it a way bigger city, which is great because I love that planet had a real Blade Runner vibe to it.

You want my thoughts on the new ME3 DLC?

FUCK YOU BIOWARE YOU AREN'T GETTING A CENT FROM ME EVER AGAIN! I HOPE YOU BURN! BURN TO THE GROUND! AND THEN POST THE ASHES TO ME SO I CAN PISS ON THEM!

@kermoosh said:

yeah i plan on picking it up. i read the comics of everything that happened before this dlc with aria and the cerberus captain or something. it's nice to see they are sticking to the comic. i'm looking forward to seeing how this turns out

How are the comics? I usually try to stay far away from game related comics, but I love Mass Effect (especially ME3) so i'm a little hesitant.

@Trainer_Red said:

@kermoosh said:

yeah i plan on picking it up. i read the comics of everything that happened before this dlc with aria and the cerberus captain or something. it's nice to see they are sticking to the comic. i'm looking forward to seeing how this turns out

How are the comics? I usually try to stay far away from game related comics, but I love Mass Effect (especially ME3) so i'm a little hesitant.

this is the only game i've ever bought the comics for, so i know the position you're in.

there's pretty much 3 series that i've read and they all provide backstory for something. for example:

the first series focuses on the illusive man on first contact, the 2nd follows liara after sheapard dies in me2 (the time between his death) and provides backstory for the shadowbroker dlc, and the 3rd follows the events before this omega dlc.

if you're a fan of the mass effect story, lore, or just want some more info on characters and events, i'd definately give this a try. you get can them digitally at a discount at darkhorse comics

As much as I want to get into this right away it'll likely have to wait until I go through another playthrough of this game when I have less to play. I really enjoyed the game but most of the DLC for it other than the extended cut stuff requires you to have a earlier save. Glad to hear it seems worth it by most accounts thus far.

@kermoosh said:

@Trainer_Red said:

@kermoosh said:

yeah i plan on picking it up. i read the comics of everything that happened before this dlc with aria and the cerberus captain or something. it's nice to see they are sticking to the comic. i'm looking forward to seeing how this turns out

How are the comics? I usually try to stay far away from game related comics, but I love Mass Effect (especially ME3) so i'm a little hesitant.

this is the only game i've ever bought the comics for, so i know the position you're in.

there's pretty much 3 series that i've read and they all provide backstory for something. for example:

the first series focuses on the illusive man on first contact, the 2nd follows liara after sheapard dies in me2 (the time between his death) and provides backstory for the shadowbroker dlc, and the 3rd follows the events before this omega dlc.

if you're a fan of the mass effect story, lore, or just want some more info on characters and events, i'd definately give this a try. you get can them digitally at a discount at darkhorse comics

Thanks. I think i'll definitely check this out. I'm going to try to get them in print, but if not i'll check out the site. Thanks again.

If you are a hardcore mass effect fan like I am it's 8-9 out of 10 depending on how much you like the story.

If you played the game once, this is not a DLC that should bring you back.

Is this the last of the dlc or you think bioware will be shoveling more out till another mass effect game comes out?

@I_Stay_Puft said:

Is this the last of the dlc or you think bioware will be shoveling more out till another mass effect game comes out?

There's apparently atleast one more?

@Shaanyboi said:

@I_Stay_Puft said:

Is this the last of the dlc or you think bioware will be shoveling more out till another mass effect game comes out?

There's apparently atleast one more?

Where did you hear that? I thought that Bioware said that this was it unless what you're talking about are more multiplayer maps which isn't anything considerable.

@Colourful_Hippie said:

@Shaanyboi said:

@I_Stay_Puft said:

Is this the last of the dlc or you think bioware will be shoveling more out till another mass effect game comes out?

There's apparently atleast one more?

Where did you hear that? I thought that Bioware said that this was it unless what you're talking about are more multiplayer maps which isn't anything considerable.

Where I heard it? I can't possibly remember to tell you. But it seems like the 'accepted' rumor hanging around the interwebs.

Waited for the recent 400 MSP sale on Leviathan, which turned out to be a good thing as I found it to be a bit unsatisfying. Think I'll do the same with this.

Would you say this DLC is strong enough to lure somebody who is completely disinterested in re-visiting ME3 back into the game?

@Lydian_Sel said:

Would you say this DLC is strong enough to lure somebody who is completely disinterested in re-visiting ME3 back into the game?

I would probably say no. If you're disinterested I'd probably wait until they've wrapped up all of the DLC they're going to do for the game and then revisit it down the line if you're still curious by then.

Shepard becomes Aria's lackey which for me just felt weird.
For 2 and a half games my Shepard didn't take crap from anyone and now he's following Aria? Disappointing. Then again I greatly dislike Aria and I have yet to finish the DLC.

@zombiesatemycereal: That sounds interesting. I was always curious about her species.

It's not bad. Aria's VA continues to be hit or miss. Flare kicks ass but the cooldown is too long for it to be very useful on Shepard. Since it's really just meant to finish up the story of Mass Effect: Invasion it doesn't tie in with the rest of the story as well as Leviathan does. It could have just as easily been a separate story accessed from the main menu where you play as Aria, not involving Shepard at all.

Probably my biggest gripe is that not only can't you go back to Omega after you finish it, the Omega Nebula doesn't even show up on your galaxy map. Also, I kept expecting the reveal that General Petrovsky's chess game is against Traynor. Oh well, Into my headcanon you go!

Did GB ever do a QL of leviathan? wouldn't mind seeing a double feature at this point.

Another competent if not outstanding piece of ME3 DLC from BioWare, I get the sense that the ME3 DLC isn't getting half the development time that Overload and Lair of the Shadow Broker got.

LEVIATHAN

*Sheppard Voice

So far so good. Aria is a one woman biotic wrecking crew. I missed my "Jack" character in my party and I love the ability to dish out some serious crowd control hurt with Flare.

I gotta see if I can transfer it over to other characters. Best. Power. Ever.

I just finished it and I thought it was pretty mediocre, to put it bluntly. There were only about 3 missions in total and it took me about 2 hours to beat the entire thing. Aria's voice work was really weird. It was too quiet or something, like she was whispering the whole time. Sometimes I couldn't hear what she was saying. I thought it was pretty buggy too. I had instances where a character's animation would spaz-out (like they were spinning in circles) and at one point one of my gun models disappeared, like Shepard was shooting an invisible gun. Did anyone have problems with the audio, too? Everything seemed like it didn't have enough ambient sound effects, and the music didn't seem to kick into high gear at the right times. Sound effects like explosions and doors opening never triggered, sort of like the cutscenes in the original Mass Effect. The last part of the DLC specifically was literally silent for me (besides the dialog).
 
Basically the entire thing felt really janky.  I absolutely do NOT think it is worth $15. It should be $10 and even then I don't know if I'd recommend it.
 
Aria was pretty cool to have as a squad mate, though. Her power "flare" absolutely destroyed shit. But even then I mainly shoot things so I didn't use it very much. I might use it as my squad power now.

Totally not worth it, i only bought it to maintain my s-rank.

its as short as 2 hours and as long as 4 depending on difficulty, the side quests amount to roughly 1 minute of extra gameplay. its super combat focused with only one meaningful choice at the very end.

They don't really flesh out Aria or Nyreen, and they don't end up as very compelling characters, though female turians look pretty cool. Aria's flare as previously stated rips assholes apart, which is cool i guess.

Also the renegade payoff at the end that bioware was hinting at was a total letdown. I would recommend against buying it unless your an idiot like me.