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Bioware reveals Mass Effect DLC
Author: Joe MartinPublished: 7th February 2008
You can always trust a Batarian to ruin a perfectly good photo in Mass Effect...
The pack will add about an hour and a half of new content to Mass Effect, a game which we included in our Top 10 of 2007.
The pack will introduce a new uncharted world to the Mass Effect universe, one which is home to a new race called the Batarians. The new missions will center around stopping an extremist group of Batarian terrorists who have hijacked a mobile asteroid station in the Asgard solar system. The asteroid has been set on a collision course with the nearby colony of Terra Nova and it's up to players to put an end to all the foolishness.
Bioware has also confirmed in the press release that the game will add in about 50 gamerscore points for all you point-junkies.
What did you think to Mass Effect? Is downloadable content a good way to expand a games replayability, or just a big ol' rip off? Let us know what you think in the forums.
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Comments (12)Stats: 0.114 seconds
I don't know. At 5 bucks for 90 minutes, that's pretty expensive compared to the main game; 50 bucks for 900 minutes or 15 hours when the main game has a good 40, give or take, amount of base content. In some ways, I'd rather get a big meaty expansion (and pay more), cheaper but a lot more DLC, or some sort of episodic in-between (pay a little more but get a continual if standalone story that lasts a nice amount of time).
If you compare it against what's currently on XBL, it's very reasonably priced.
The Batarians featured heavily in the prequel book which followed Anderson and Saren working together that he tells you about if you delve into his backstory enough, looking forward to being able to meet them "in the flesh", was surprised they weren't in the game at all apart from a codex entry.
400 points isn't bad at all IMO and it looks like it isn't some rush job but at the same time, doesn't look like they were holding it back horse armour style. It was probably one of those things they wanted to put in the game but couldn't find time to finish it up to scratch for the gold release.
I've got so many games I need to finish, still have to finish Mass Effect on the harder difficulties. I've not really played it much since my week long binge when it was first released. As well as a load of other games still left unfinished.
Rather than have three games that are extended by sequels when the developers realise how popular they are (such as the Halo trilogy), BioWare have already made the decision that Mass Effect will be a trilogy, to be released over the next couple of years. The plan also includes a few DLC chapters to be released in between games to help expand the story and keep interest going. The main story arc is all worked out in advance and each game will be a seamless progression of the last rather than a bolt-on addition as with other sequels.
It's an interesting move and I, for one, will be keeping watch to see how successful the plan is.
sorry, just venting my frustration...
I'm well aware of all that that. However, when I mentioned expansion I meant in the traditional sense of games - expanding the existing story (if there is anything interesting to expand upon) - not a sequel. The trip to Ilos was pretty quick; if there was suppose to be something more to it, then a mini-adventure involving that. Captain Anderson probably didn't just sit on his hands the whole game - if he had anything interesting to do, that would be something as well; alternatively, an video game treatment of the prequel novel. Part of the strength of Mass Effect is it's story and relationships; exploring those, even if they aren't necessarily 'action packed', would be better than general loosely connected Save The World scenarios. Which isn't to say the DLC won't in some way, just that the menace will hopefully be more complex than simply bad aliens with big rock. Side stories or other such things to help flesh out and fill out personalities would work just as well; exploring some of the character's pasts for instance or something to allow the player to explore Shepard's (something perhaps meaningless to the story but possibly something to help the player invest more into Shepard).
Alternatively, episodic content that -wasn't- standalone to help bridge the gap between games much like a serial drama. Rather than merely standalone adventures plugged in as filler with marginal interconnect to the main story, a sequence of small adventures that tell the build up to the second. How Shepard prepares, the starting responses to the finale of the first game, etc. Stuff that may also be mentioned in Mass Effect 2 but that aren't worthwhile enough to occupy a signifigant amount of time or interest there. With the way they've encouraged alternative and long term play through via the Achievements, it would also be an opportunity to to use save files and achievements to help carry over information to the second game and retain the player's particular history and reward players who explored such content.
The DLC may do this; we'll see. I'm just hoping that the 90 minutes is meaningful rather than meaningless or cut short and unsatisfying rather than better suited as a longer adventure or the DLC ending up as little more than an expanded side quest with some loose tie in, a moral/ethical choice, and a spot of combat.
And while reasonably priced comparatively, that doesn't necessarily mean it's reasonable priced. That's like saying that a 100 dollar fork is reasonably priced to a 120 dollar fork. Yeah, it is, but that doesn't mean it's not still an expensive fork (or it would have to be a really good fork). Note that I'm not adverse to paying it or even paying more - if charging a higher price point would allow BioWare to make a better return on DLC and thus allow for greater production budget or more ambitious DLC than the current (for all games) add-on booster packs, I would be more than happy with that as well.