Mass Effect 2 Arrival DLC Reviews

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Written by BuckGB on April 3rd, 2011

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Throughout, it's hard not to see the ways this could have been made so much better. For all its controversy DLC is perfect for games like this, offering the chance to really capitalise on our organically evolving emotional investment with a sprawling fictional universe and its inhabitants; to provide a poignant bridge between one story and the next, an epilogue for adventures past and a promise of things to come.

Instead we get this perfunctory morsel, where the narrative treads water as the action goes in circles. With his final act looming, Shepard deserved better.

Finally; the scripting and plotline. Neither made any sense! First, Shepard was clumsily denied even a single squadmate. Then, when Shepard gets told about the impending Reaper invasion, he sounds sceptical and demands proof. This is the guy who has been desperately trying to convince anyone who would listen that the Reapers are coming, and now he says (I'll need to see more proof). Huh?

I wish we could load every copy of this DLC and fire it down a mass relay into the galactic core. That's pretty much the only use for it. If only digital content worked that way.

Still, some of the incidental story threads will go down well with those interested in the Mass Effect universe. Arrival's closing sequences suggest a bubbling pot of interspecies conflict, some potential ramifications in Mass Effect 3, and a hint towards what's on the horizon via brief but entertaining dialogue with one particular non-human character.

There are some choice moments across Arrival's duration, but it's just a shame that Mass Effect 2's final piece of DLC is undoubtedly its weakest.

The big question is whether or not this game worth your hard earned $6.99. If you are coming at this DLC in hopes that you will see all manner of new things and pick up new weapons, you will be disappointed. There are no new gadgets this time around and there are only two new environments for you play in. That being said, the new locations are quite well designed and contrast each other nicely. Aratoht is a very dark, run-down hole of a planet that is not the place you would want to take grandma on vacation. (The Project) base contrasts Aratoht with a bright, clean, very sci-fi look and feel. You will also pick up some resources and credits for use in the main game if you are playing this DLC before the final mission. If you, like I was, are considering the DLC to get one more fix of Mass Effect 2 before the holidays, then you will be pleased with what you find. The DLC clearly opens a door for a quest in ME3, and is worth a play-through if you desire to get the most out of the Mass Effect story. If you only played ME2 casually, and are not a huge fan of the series, you can go ahead and skip this outing. Either way, the Reapers are coming, and you better be ready.

BioWare, you had that chance to do something bold. You could have taken that risk and changed everything. Yet you didn't. I forgive you, and I'll be first in line at the midnight launch of Mass Effect 3, but I will always expect more. I know you're capable. As for Arrival, though.

I am disappoint.

Despite somewhat ordinary execution, Arrival should be still be played by anyone wanting to experience the complete Mass Effect story. With approximately a two hour play-through filled with engaging combat and notable environments, the DLC is a reasonable purchase. Further, with a glimpse of the approaching Reaper menace and actions that will carry on to the third entry, Arrival is guaranteed to whet your appetite for more. Shepard's favourite DLC on the Citadel this may not be, but taken as introduction to the final chapter of this generation's most engaging RPG, Mass Effect 2: The Arrival is recommended playing for all discerning Mass Effect fans.

Is arrival worth your hard earned cash? Yes. However, If you are struggling to finish the main story, this is probably not worth your time or money. If you are frothing at the mouth for more content for ME2, you already have this DLC and played it through at least 2 times, so you don't care what I have to say. In the end, this is a solid piece of DLC, with some interesting attempts at gameplay innovation and a decent story. Sadly the lack of 'meaningful choices' or enemy variety does hurt it. It is tough for DLC to follow the excellent offering that was 'Shadow Broker,' and I can't help but feel that this DLC was not as 'epic' as I would have hoped the final DLC leading into ME3 could have been.

With the final debriefing at the end of the chapter, "Arrival" proves itself to be more of a patchwork setup for the future rather than a standalone piece of insight into the series' universe. This late in Mass Effect 2's life-cycle, "Arrival's" creation feels more like a reaction to the development of Mass Effect 3 than a key add-on that had been planned from the start. That's not to say add-ons always need to be pre-planned, just that without anything occurring directly after Arrival until Mass Effect 3 shows up, it feels incomplete.

At 560 Microsoft Points, the add-on is a bit steep with its lack of content and for the casual player, but for the completionist who want to absorb the complete canon of the series and prepare for the next game, it's worth a stab.

With Arrival Bioware are finished with Mass Effect 2 and they have delivered on their promise to support the game with new material until the very end, something you can't really say they succeeded in with the first game. We've previously gotten three very well crafted expansions that each delivered something relevant and exciting to an already awesome experience. Mass Effect 2: Arrival is no exception.

This latest batch of DLC isn't going to win any awards or set the world on fire. It's more concerned with setting up plot twists with long reaching implications than knocking your socks off with amazing scenarios. The real detractors were the length, coming in at under two hours on normal difficulty, and Shepard would often randomly comment during skirmishes as if other squad members were actually there, which killed the immersion. The graphics also looked a little rough around the edges, at odds with the sexified visuals we've come to expect. The bargain basement price and lead in to Mass Effect 3 will be enough to lure fans of the franchise in, just don't expect something the likes of Lair of the Shadow Broker. You'll be sorely disappointed if you do.

Arrival may go down as my least favorite Mass Effect 2 DLC, and that Zaed one was pretty bad. I find it surprising how much praise Lair of the Shadow Broker got and Bioware didn't decide to go on a more character based story. I mean, could you imagine how much better this would of been if say, Ashley or Kaiden replaced the doctor and was indoctrinated? How Shepard would have to make the tough choice to find a way to save them or kill them? That would of been badass. In the end, the only real tie in is that Shepard made the Batarians mad, which hey, that didn't needed to be set up in Mass Effect 3 at all.

We couldn't help feeling disappointed with the Arrival DLC campaign, even given the relatively low price. Stronger moral decisions would have helped, but Arrival's plot is very linear and the player's decision to be a Paragon or Renegade has practically no impact on how things play out. We're not suggesting that the campaign should be stretched out for the sake of making a longer game, but at the very least, there should have been something unique to import over to Mass Effect 3. As things are, the Arrival ends up being a somewhat insignificant addition to the overarching story, with the exception of one last minute plot development which most fans should have probably seen coming from the first game. With all things considered, Arrival represents a fairly weak bridge from game to the next. Hopefully, Mass Effect 3 will pick things up on a stronger note.

This amounts to little more than a stretch of survival horror-style play followed by a non-stop, one-man assault on a facility containing a Reaper artifact. Oh, it's mostly boring stuff essentially challenge rooms for the seasoned Mass Effect player who prefer combat to storytelling (who?).

There is one mildly interesting twist and a prison escape, while the ending is pretty decent, too, but we're talking about 5% of the whole experience. You can live without it; but another go at Mass Effect 2, experimenting with different options, is very much recommended.

Where (The Arrival) does succeed is its strong ending, which provides an epic encounter and a key lead up into the final chapter. Furthermore, there is a major decision that appears will have big consequences in ME3 as well. However, with these two notable exceptions, the rest of the story leaves much to be desired. Dialogue sections are uncharacteristically sparse and the ones that are present are fairly dry and uninteresting. An attempted (twist) comes off as way too obvious and even borderlines on the unbelievable.

At the end of the day, (The Arrival) is only recommendable to BioWare junkies who absolutely cannot wait forMass Effect 3 and need to feed that thirst with more Mass Effect 2. Otherwise, it falls well short of the towering standards set by its predecessors.

However, as this is the final piece of Mass Effect 2 DLC and because it follows the fantastic -- but higher priced -- Lair of the Shadow Broker, I can't help but feel that BioWare missed an opportunity here to create the ultimate piece of DLC to show the world just how you bridge the gap between two titles in a story-driven trilogy. Don't get me wrong, Arrival sits comfortably between Overlord and Lair of the Shadow Broker in terms of quality and I still want to play Mass Effect 3 badly, but I don't want play it that much more badly after having played Arrival.

In fact, I would've preferred Arrival to be 800 MS points/$10 and be better than Lair of the Shadow Broker. Something that would've reminded me of all the aspects that made me fall in love with the Mass Effect games in the first place, and something that would've gone beyond what anyone would've expected DLC could be capable of. Nitpicking aside, Arrival is still a competent and worthwhile piece of DLC that any Mass Effect fan will enjoy multiple times in preparation to Mass Effect 3.

The true travesty of the whole narrative is that you end up exactly where you started at the start of Arrival. Bioware only offers up the illusion of morality as they cannot change the coming threat of the Reapers and it cheapens the entire ending in a very insulting manner. This is certainly not the way you want to remember Shepard over the coming months while waiting for Mass Effect 3. Players are looking at about 90 minutes of playtime with this DLC pack, heavy on the action and light on the dialogue. It definitely feel overpriced compared to the experience in Lair of the Shadow Broker and can easily be skipped without missing out on events that lead up to ME3. However if you are a Mass Effect 2 junkie, you might find a sliver of entertainment value in Arrival, assuming you love fighting solo and don't give a hoot about the story arc.

So, I'll bet you're wondering if you should spend your seven dollars on The Arrival. Well, even from a self-professed Mass Effect fanboy, I can't recommend this. There's simply too little content to be had here for the price. The stealth section was (meh); the survival section was a pain and the encounters with enemy soldiers were tedious. The payoff is good but it's nothing that can't (and likely will be) be summed up in a few words in a prelude to Mass Effect 3. My advice? Skip this, at least until the inevitable discount.

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