It took me 4 years to finish Mass Effect. Don't ask why (you'll probably ask why now).

So when I got to Mass Effect 2 at the beginning of 2012, all the DLC that would ever be released was out. I bought what story related packs I could, and I enjoyed it all.

Now I've heard the Bombcast and a lot of normal people feel like the DLC for Mass Effect 3 seems a bit wasted, since the story is finished. Add the rumor of Bioware having one more story related DLC in the works, and I'm wondering (here's where you come in):

Should I just wait until that last piece of story DLC comes out so I can have the "full" Mass Effect 3 experience? Or should I hurry up and S rank 2 so I can finally move on in order to listen to the GOTY podcasts?

I'd play it now. Leviathan adds some really awesome fiction and Omega is fun. The DLC isn't gonna come out before the GotY stuff on here and I guarantee they're gonna spoil the crap out of everything. Might as well have it finished before then. I'm about two thirds through it and despite the internet explosion, I think it's pretty great.

@LikeaSsur:

The DLC might be good or might be bad but the game is the game. The ending will continue to be the same. The story will be the same. None of the DLC will change how you feel about ME 3 when you play it.

I was debating on it too, as ME2 was one of my fav games ever. But all the discussion and negative comments completely turned me off.

I would rather ME2 be my last memory instead of what ME3 seems to bring to the table.

My advice (and what I'm doing) is to buy FarCry3

You can absolutely play it now. The one DLC that is pretty essential is From Ashes, and that's already out.

You should play it because it's a really good game. If I knew when the next DLC would be out maybe my answer would be different but as it stands no one knows yet.

...why?

I would play it now. You owe it to yourself to experience the incredibly divisive ending spoiler-free so you can form your own opinion. It's sure to be heavily discussed, possibly on the next podcast even since Brad should be wrapping it up this weekend. I would also play it with From Ashes and Leviathan installed as they serve to fill-in key bits of lore. I enjoyed Omega thoroughly as well, but it's a side story and almost completely irrelevant to the overall plot. It can be skipped unless you really like Aria or want to see a female Turian.

And if you enjoy the game enough, you can always revisit it when the next DLC drops.

@galloughs said:

...why?

BECAUSE I WAS GOING THROUGH A ROUGH PATCH, OKAY?!

No, but seriously, I wanted to S rank it before moving onto 2, but I had next to know "Ally" achievements, so I had to effectively "beat" the game....a lot.

Alright, duders, you've given me enough info. I'll beat Mass Effect 2 and just hold up on any and all podcasts until I beat 3. One more thing, since you're all here: Should I download the Extended Cut right off the bat, or should I see the original endings first to see why everyone was up in arms?

@LikeaSsur: i would download the extended cut. it adds some extra clips that you're gonna want to see.

the vanilla ending is a bit disappointing and you wouldn't want that to spoil the experience

Speaking of the DLC packs-did Mass Effect 2 every come out with a "game of the year" edition will all the DLC? I'm thinking "no" but can't be sure. I'm in the same boat as the original poster and am wondering if I should just wait for a disk with all the DLC (if one will ever come out).

I'd say finish ME2, but hold off on ME3 until the final planned storyline DLC is out (which is currently being worked on by the writers). If you're going to play the game, you might as well play it in its entirety. As regards the extended cut, personally I've not played it myself so far (I'm holding out for that final DLC myself before replaying ME3) but from what I've heard it makes the ending less egregious than the original. If you're curious to know what all the fuss was about then it might be worth holding off installing the extended DLC initially. As far as I understand it only impacts the final third of the game, so it's shouldn't be not a massive endeavour to backtrack and play through the extended version afterwards to see the difference.