Lair of the Shadow Broker

If there had to be just one word to describe the latest Mass Effect 2 DLC the one I would choose would have to be: Awesome! If you own Mass Effect 2 and have not played it yet you should go do so rather than reading this. I'm not going to say who the Shadow Broker is but there will be other minor spoilers. It's only 2-3 hours worth of game play but it should not be missed.


The story starts fairly simply with The Illusive Man sending you an email with some information of interest to Liara. You take it to Liara and she asks you to meet at her apartment and that's where things begin, once you get there she's gone and the police are there. My first thought at this point was not actually worry for Liara but surprise that she had such a nice apartment! She's done well for herself during the two years Shepard was 'dead'. You meet another Spectre and find a lead, the adventure then takes off from there.


The environments are all simply stunning, both on Illium and the Shadow Broker's world. The Azure Hotel looked suitably luxurious and we learnt a new Asari word! The car chase through the streets of Illium was brilliant and unexpected. I thought it was going to just be a cutscene but then the loading tip was explaining how to control the car, my reaction: Woah cool! It was fairly simply, akin to a mini game really but it was loads of fun. The visual highlight had to be the Shadow Broker's ship. Fighting your way in on the hull surrounded by a lightning storm following the sunset around the planet, a brilliant image. As I already said, I won't spoil the Shadow Broker's identity, but I will say it was not what I expected at all.


Even after the main story is over there is more to explore. Of course the main part of that is the chance to finally rekindle the romance from ME1 and for those Shepards that didn't explore that particular option there is a mass of intel and information as the Shadow Broker ship becomes a new hub. Reading some of your companions private emails is particularly fascinating, especially Miranda's.

The dialogue between Shepard and Liara throughout the story was great and laugh out loud funny at more than one point. In some of the early blurb Bioware have said that ME3 will be darker yet funnier. If this is a sign of things to come then it's a very good sign indeed. I guess there will still be at least a couple more DLC stories before Mass Effect 3 is released. I need more!

I know some people think that DLC is a money grubbing tactic and that these things should have been included with the main game in the first place or made larger and released as a full expansion pack. I disagree with that. These things take time to create and with the huge budgets the big games have nowadays you have to release them at the right time to make a profit. I was happy with the main game on it's own and I believe I got value for my money (more for the special edition!). I was happy to pay £4 for another 2-3 hours worth of game, I've paid far more for shorter and less entertaining things and I am therefore happy to help fund the next one!