16 Oct, 2010
In the continued absence of a second sequel, Mass Effect is a Knights of the Old Republic fan’s proverbial wet dream.
Seamlessly blending BioWare’s signature good-or-evil dialogue system and mission-based RPG gameplay with Gears of War-style cover-and-shoot set-pieces puts Mass Effect at the top of its game. If someone were to hold an Alliance-grade assault rifle to my head and force me to pick my ‘Game of 2010′, a decision not to be sniffed at after the quality year we’ve had, Mass Effect 2 is it.
Mass Effect 2 has been regularly updated with monthly content since its release in January, introducing new characters, missions, weapons and armour. This month’s release, Lair of the Shadow Broker, is the biggest content package yet, adding several brand new locations to fight your way through, around 3 hours of breathtaking story missions, finally revealing the identity of the elusive Shadow Broker and reuniting Commander Shepard with asari girl genius turned information broker Liara T’Soni.
Two years have passed since Shepard rescued Liara from geth captivity while working on an archaeolgical dig on planet Therum. She’s a big girl now, unrecognisable from her days as a timid scientist. Now trading information on the asari homeworld Illium, Liara fries krogan testicles on a daily basis. It’s a massive shift but this new fierce Liara is a much more likeable character than her Mass Effect 1 incarnation.
Lair of the Shadow Broker begins like the other downloadable missions, with a message delivered to your personal terminal, this time from Cerberus leader the Illusive Man. It details the possible whereabouts of the mysterious Shadow Broker, with instructions to contact T’Soni in connection with her ongoing investigation. A meeting at Liara’s apartment turns sour when Shepard is greeted by Illium police investigating an assassination attempt. It’s here we meet asari Spectre Tela Vasir who assists Shepard in locating Liara’s hidden back-up disc, showing a recorded conversation between Liara and her contact at the Dracon Trade Center.
However, before Shepard can even sign in at reception, bombs rigged on three floors of the skyscraper go off. In the aftermath of the explosion Shepard must navigate the burning corridors littered with bodies to find Liara and her contact. Clearly, the Shadow Broker means business.
Lair of the Shadow Broker takes our commander on a thrilling sky-car chase sequence, before embarking on a whistle-stop tour of an Illium hotel for… ladies of the night, shall we say… climaxing – for want of a better phrase – within the Shadow Broker’s foreboding floating warship high above planet Hagalaz where Liara’s friend Feron is being held prisoner. It’s as exciting as it sounds and the narrative is more than enough to match the top-notch action on offer. The dialogue between old friends Shepard and T’Soni is often enough to make you laugh out loud.
At 800 Microsoft Points, Lair of the Shadow Broker is a lot of bang for your buck and, in the wake of news that Mass Effect 2 is due for release on PlayStation 3 in early 2011 – with extras if you please – will be more than enough to satiate disgruntled 360 users. It doesn’t offer anything new, nor does it radically change the course of the game but along with many other elements of Mass Effect 2, it will have a bearing on the events of Mass Effect 3 when it’s released next year. In the meantime, Lair of the Shadow Broker is a beautifully-crafted piece of content, short but sweet and well worth the asking price.
Great write up, Andy. :)
Finished this only last week. I did enjoy it – I found it fast-paced and the combat great – but I still find Project Overlord much darker and generally more enjoyable.
Have just finished ME2. Feel strangely empty. :(
I’m on my second proper playthrough but I’m still yet to play Project Overlord! Will do it once I’ve recruited the rest of my squad I think, I want my Tali!
And don’t worry, it might just be me but ME2 is one of these games that I can pick up a few months later and play like it’s the first time, it’s just that enjoyable and can be played a hundred different ways.