Mass Effect 3: Citadel

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The Disintegrator
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Mass Effect 3: Citadel

Post by The Disintegrator »

For those who haven't heard, what is supposed to be the final Mass Effect 3 DLC is now out. I wouldn't be surprised if more multiplayer packs come out, but this seems to be it for single player add-on's. As the title suggests, the DLC takes place entirely on the Citadel. It starts off with the Normandy being directed by Admiral Hackett to dock at the Citadel for some quick repairs, and the crew is ordered to take some shore leave.

Now some of you may be thinking that a shore leave DLC is basically the equivalent of a filler episode, and that is true to an extent. Unlike The Lair of the Shadow Broker or Arrival, this DLC isn't crucial to understanding the plot, which I suppose is probably obvious at this point in the series. And unlike Leviathan it doesn't really fill in background information that you find yourself wondering about. But that's not to say it doesn't add to the story, it's just that Citadel is much more of a stand alone plot. And yes, for an episode about shore leave it actually does have an engaging plot that has its fill of action. That said, I don't want to spoil anything, so there's not a lot I can say to back up my claim that it is a worthwhile story. It's not essential, but still worth it in my opinion.

In terms of gameplay, most of it plays like the rest of Mass Effect 3. It starts off a bit differently with some added challenge, but soon enough works its way up to the standard combat that you're used to. At one point there is a pretty sweet non-combat mission that felt a lot like Kasumi's loyalty mission from ME2, so if you enjoyed that mission you'll probably love that part of Citadel. For the most part the battles play out the way they normally do, but with a couple new tricks up the enemies sleeves. Nothing major, but enough to add a bit more challenge to it. Where the game really shines in my opinion is the boss battle at the end. I won't go into any details about it, but it's easily my favorite boss battle from the entire series. It's challenging, it's very unique, and overall feels very satisfying at the end.

But this game really shines the most for fans of the series. I've heard the game described as BioWare's love letter to the series, and I'd say that's accurate. There's a ton of throwbacks and references to the rest of the entire game series that made it really fulfilling for me as a fan. There's a lot of great humor in it, but not so much that it makes the whole thing into a comedy. There's plenty of serious moments, and I felt it all balanced quite nicely. But perhaps most importantly of all is that it reunites all of your old crew (provided they're still alive). I don't want to give too much away, but something to keep in mind is that if they appear in ME3 you have to complete their character arc in order for them to appear in the finale part of it. So if you haven't finished the missions on Rannoch, Tali may appear for part of the DLC, but not for the finale. Meaning that depending on whether or not you're getting characters killed off in ME3 it's best to play this at the very end right before the point of no return.

Those are my thoughts on it. If you're a fan of the series I recommend it. While the gameplay is good and solid, it's the characters and the writing that makes this probably the best DLC for Mass Effect 3.
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Losonti Tokash
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Re: Mass Effect 3: Citadel

Post by Losonti Tokash »

Havok already made a topic on this one, but it's worth mentioning that Bioware already confirmed that reckoning was also the last multiplayer dlc.
The Disintegrator
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Re: Mass Effect 3: Citadel

Post by The Disintegrator »

Damn, totally missed it when I did a quick look for a previous topic. My bad.
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Darksider
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Re: Mass Effect 3: Citadel

Post by Darksider »

Losonti Tokash wrote:Havok already made a topic on this one, but it's worth mentioning that Bioware already confirmed that reckoning was also the last multiplayer dlc.
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Havok
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Re: Mass Effect 3: Citadel

Post by Havok »

I absolutely agree. The only thing we differ on is that I feel like it isn't a love letter and more like a Dear John letter to the fans. :lol:

The way they bag on the fans complaining about the multiplayer credits/packs system is great. Or how they dig on the particular players that kick "randoms" or hate playing with them. The in-jokes about changing the loading screens from ME1 to ME2 and going from elevator conversations to watching an elevator move on a computer monitor. :lol:

As far as the characters go, yeah if you like the banter and relationships, which some of are pretty good, it's a nice send off.
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dragon
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Re: Mass Effect 3: Citadel

Post by dragon »

With as big as the Citadel is you base a whole series of games in there and still have room left over.
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