Mass Alex: Mass Effect 2 - Part 20

@alex: A lot of those star clusters that aren't 100% but also not showing any missions can still contain missions through scanning anomalies.

I've really soured on Shadow Broker over the years. It's still really good story telling and action, but it wrongly gets put on this pedestal as leaps and bounds above the other DLCs across the trilogy. It's good, and certainly the best up to that point, but honestly a lot of the criticism that gets leveled at a DLC like Omega apply to LotSB as well. It's mostly combat, it's following another character's story arc aside from Shepard, there's no moral choices to make (which LotSB really only has shoot or don't shoot the hostage while Omega has at least three or four big moments) and it doesn't have that much of an impact on the main story of the game.

That last point gets even worse in ME3, as it's so important that Liara becomes the Shadow Broker that if you didn't play the DLC it still happens, she just does it with a team of mercenaries (which is another ding against how little Shepard mattered to the story of it). And yet it has no impact on the story of the game. Pretty much any time the Shadow Broker's information network would have been useful, another character either gives the info or figures it out. There's even a part on Sur'kesh where Wrex says it sure would have been great if the Shadow Broker had told him what was going on, and Liara just shrugs and says maybe the Shadow Broker was busy. Such a waste of a story.

I'm so glad that there was an option to get back together with Liara and that Alex took it.

Agreed, I'm assuming you're talking about that final scene with Anderson and Shepard sitting on the citadel in a final moment of peace before, ya know, the starchild bullshit. Rest in power Keith David that scene always teared me up and would've been the perfect ending. It's been a long damn time since I've revisited ME3, looking forward to doing so in the near future. I really enjoyed the Citadel DLC and what it added, and I've never played through the Leviathan DLC which is apparently good too?

Also, Shadow Broker was IMO the best DLC ever released until Witcher 3 Heart of Stone came out - which was the best DLC ever until Blood and Wine came out! Goddamn, 50+ hours of content for $25 that's better quality than 99% of most full-priced, AAA-type games. Can't see how that DLC package ever gets beat. Anyway, continue to love this series - been great experiencing these games through Alex's perspective. Cheers!

You should choose a new power since you have most of them unlocked by now and you never use that flash grenade which is bad anyway.

That was a really touching scene with Liara, I missed that when I played the game.

Leviathan is excellent. I can't wait for Vinny and Alex to get to it. There's some... stuff... in there, that... you know... it's really something!

@bananaofdoom said:

Yeah, just do a wrap up getting all systems to 100% and you will stumble upon the rest of the side missions. Don't need to scan all the planets, but I'm sure you'll be tempted to =)

You can do them later if you still feel like it (as long as you survive the final mission ;)

I never strayed from Liara, because I'm not a monster, so I wonder if Alex did actually get back together with her? Her picture on his desk was still turned over...

I was wondering if Alex didn't know about the melee.

I guess it would make for a pretty lame video but I would've loved to see Alex's live-to-tape reactions to the dossiers.

Here is the paragon interrupt that @alex missed near the end of the mission - https://youtu.be/cRD5jGnuoSo?t=640

Man, I forgot how sassy Shepard is during this DLC. So many quips during the chase sequence! Really seems to support the thing Vinny mentioned about this whole thing having a different vibe/writing style.

Yo imma let you finish playing Lair of the Shadow broker but Minerva's Den is the best DLC of all time!

In retrospect, this DLC is 100% where the series tanked into cheesy writing found in ME3 and Andromeda. This was the beginning of the end.

awwww i love Liara, my beautiful blue girlfriend who is also the Shadow Broker

I think part of what makes Lair of the Shadow Broker so good is that the music is completely awesome and epic. That and the whole thing is dripping with quips and charm, which only ME3's Citadel DLC can really come close to matching. They clearly decided they wanted a pulpy DLC that didn't take itself seriously.

"Remember the old days when you could just slap omni-gel on everything?"

Am I the only one that was dying for Alex to nuke that Broker? Especially after Vinny just reminding Alex of the nuke gun like 2 minutes prior.

Liara was my first... but I had always had eyes for Tali. Little miss gypsy is my lady.

Late to the party here, but this is important so I'll say it.

Indentured servitude is not the same as chattel slavery. Both may be called slavery, but they are in no way equivalent. When an American hears "slavery", they associate it with chattel slavery, but the distinction matters. If you don't maintain that distinction, you are agreeing with the altright assholes who argue that whites were also enslaved in the American South.

That Asari at the beginning of the episode CANNOT be compared to an American slave trader.

I love the noir vibe this DLC has. The entire series has such great DLC.