Yesterday (November 27), Bioware released the second single-player DLC pack for their blockbuster Mass Effect 3 game. I'll probably revisit the previous games and DLCs at a later date, but this is the first one to be released after I started this blog.
When Omega was first announced, it promised a return to the Omega station (from Mass Effect 2) and a story centred around Aria T'Loak. Aria (voiced by Carrie-Ann Moss of The Matrix Trilogy fame), the ruthless leader of Omega, was an instant fan favourite. Omega was a great setting, and its resemblance to Mars from the 1990 Total Recall film was awesome. I was really looking forward to this release.
Priced at a hefty 1200 MS points on Xbox Live, this is not a cheap release. Having only 80 points on my account, I had to purchase a 1000 point ($15) and a 500 point ($7.50) pack. Again, I'm left over with unnecessary points. Damn you Microsoft, get rid of this system already! Was this a worthwhile, purchase? Read on to find out.
As with other Mass Effect DLCs, the story starts with a private message. After meeting with Aria, you're informed that she wants you to help her retake the Omega station. Your crew, however, is not welcome. Given the importance of your crew throughout the series and the relationships that have developed (romantic or otherwise), I was not pleased with this decision. I know that this is about Aria and developing new relationships, but that (in my opinion) should be left for another game altogether.
For the most part, you're restricted to have only Aria as a team member. She's a capable biotic, and her Reave played well with my Vanguard for biotic combos. She also has a nice ability called Flare, which inflicts massive damage to multiple enemies. There is a massive cooldown after using Flare, so I didn't use it all that much. A Turian female (Nyreen) will also join your squad for a few missions. Unfortunately, she's a biotic too. She does have Overload, but if your Shepard is a biotic like mine, your team will be seriously disadvantaged. All of the enemies are Cerberus. Not only is there an abundance of shielded enemies, but on top of the Turrets and Atlases, you get Mechs thrown your way as well. From a combat perspective, your team sucks. If you're playing on story or normal modes, this doesn't matter, nut this made my hardcore playthrough a bit of a pain.
If you're a Paragon player like myself, Aria will inevitably get on your nerves. Fortunately, Nyreen will be there about half of the time to side with you.
The story is pretty solid, but it is way too short. It only provided me with a couple hours of playtime on hardcore, and that was with every dialog option and map "exploration". There is one part of the story that's supposed to be emotional, but as these characters are largely alien to us (no pun intended), it kind of fell flat.
Would I recommend Omega? Yes, but only to the most hardcore Mass Effect fans like myself. Unlike Leviathan (the previous single player DLC), it adds nothing to the overall experience of the epic game. At 1200 points, it's definitely not enough bang for your buck.
My rating: 6.5/10
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