Mass Effect 2 Arrival DLC Reviews
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Arrival takes about one hour to finish on Veteran, and will probably last you a little over 1.5 hours on Insanity with an effective Shepard build. For the hardcore fan, that means you'll spend around 2.5 to 4 hours on it across multiple playthroughs.Examiner, 4/5.
However, Arrival is not quite as good as Lair of the Shadow Broker. It lacks that piece of DLC's emotional engagement, and nothing in Arrival comes close to the sense of discovery you got while unveiling the true identity of such an iconic character. Also, Dr. Kenson looks like a cross-eyed version of Dr. Chakwas with Kelly Chamber's hair. I mean, look at her!
Still, that doesn't mean it is by any means bad or even mediocre. As Mass Effect 2 DLC goes, Arrival is about as good as Overlord which I'd rate as an 8/10 with respect to the ground combat, and better in terms of the storyline's impact on the wider Mass Effect universe. Since the gameplay is mostly the same thing you've seen before, the final verdict relies heavily on how much you care about the Mass Effect universe. As a fan of the franchise, I have zero regrets having spent points on Arrival. It's well paced, and having an enjoyable new reason to revisit Shepard's exploits in deep space is worth the price of admission alone.
As always, the franchise's high production values shine through. Water trickles down Shepards armor as he sneaks around the prison complex to find Kenson, an ancient Reaper artifact crackles with malevolent energy, and giant engines great a storm of particle effects on a fast-moving asteroid.Joystiq doesn't give out scores for DLC, but clearly isn't impressed.
The story is engrossing, filled with treachery from all sides and the every present threat of the Reaper invasion. As soon as Shepard arrives at Kenson's base, a countdown confronts him, displaying the time until the Reapers hit the system and spread throughout the galaxy. It places their emergence at a mere two days away. Arrival brings the Reapers front and center, which is something much of Mass Effect 2 failed to do with it's emphasis on the Collector threat. In that sense, Arrival serves as a fitting epilogue to Mass Effect 2...and a enjoyable prologue for Mass Effect 3.
In the whole 2 3 hour thing, the only really relevant takeaway is how it ends, which, predictably, appears to be the flashpoint that will kick off Mass Effect 3. If immediately knowing what that is is worth $7 to you, then be my guest -- but you'd likely be just as well served by a YouTube summary or FAQ recap.
I know I'm coming down hard here, but if I'm talking to people who love Mass Effect 2 like I do, I feel like I need to be abundantly clear to keep you from making a purchase that you may very well regret. Whether you feel like you'll be behind without "Arrival," you're a new PS3-playing convert itching to complete your Mass Effect 2 collection, or you've just enjoyed all the DLC until now, know that you'd be better off waiting until you can get "Arrival" at a discounted price, if at all.
