Part of the "game" of the Leviathan DLC for Mass Effect 3 is simply finding it after it's been downloaded.
This being the only bit of Mass Effect 3 DLC I've played, it's possible the other available content suffers the same problem but what I don't understand is why, after paying money for something, the player is left to hunt down the starting point of the extra content.
While I can appreciate the developers wanted Leviathan to be organically inserted as part of the overall story, this being a game there isn't any good reason why it doesn't present itself right from the start menu. I shouldn't have to search the Internet for directions to get to the content!
I didn't like finding the content, but I did like playing it if only because it's set-up as a detective story. There's some being out there who sometime in the past fought Reapers (and won quite handily it seems) and it's up to Shepherd and crew to locate Leviathan. It ends predictably enough if you've ever heard the word "leviathan" before but it does offer some background on the Reapers and the cycles the universe has been going through. I particularly like how menacing Leviathan seems throughout. This being can reach out and take hold of just about anyone it wants to, sometimes very conveniently and selectively.
The experience is padded by retreading areas and powerful enemies. That is to say, Shepherd gets to one side of the area then directed to retread the environment to make any forward advance. Typically this retread also involves battling the most powerful enemy types in the game. The enemies that normally show up one at a time, now appear as a duo or singularly at some bottleneck, which can turn some battles into a slog of dying and reloading.
At this point, 800 MS Points ($10) for Leviathan seems just about right if you liked Mass Effect 3 and want some of the lore explained at greater depth even if some of the fights are a little frustrating.
- Aaron Simmer
The Good:
- Additional information about the Mass Effect universe
- Lots of new weapon upgrades
- Arranged like a detective story
The Bad:
- Just finding the damn content after it's downloaded!
- Backtracking against some of the most difficult enemies in the game
Score: 8.0 / 10
