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Recently there has been a lot of talk regarding a Liara/Shadow Broker DLC for Mass Effect 2. This news really took off yesterday when Tehpwnage.com unveiled their story regarding this manner. First off before I continue, this can been seen two ways, as rumor and as fact. The rumor portion is the idea of a Liara/Shadow Broker DLC coming to ME2. That is rumor because it hasn’t been confirmed by EA and/or Bioware. The FACT portion is the audio files that have been found on the PC version of ME2. In these files, are audio files from Commander Shepard and Liara discussing hunting down and killing the Shadow Broker. Now this isn’t the same conversation that happens in the game, in these unreleased audio files, the conversation goes from Shepard receiving a tip from Cerberus regarding the Shadow Broker’s location, to Liara confronting the Shadow Broker, to Liara/Shepard discussing whats next now that the Shadow Broker is dead. THIS is not rumor because it has been proven that these files exists. So why is this even relevant?
The reason why this is so important is that here we are with what is obviously content that was meant to be used post release. These are not some audio files that were supposed to be with the current Shepard/Liara conversation on Illium, but were later cut out to trim things down. No, these are audio files that obviously take place later. In the game, Liara’s last words to Shepard were that she will hunt down the Shadow Broker and kill him. These audio files clearly detail a confrontation between Liara and the Shadow Broker as well as his death. These files clearly have the letters “DLC” in them and let us not be stupid, we all know what is meant when we see that in the context of videogames. Bioware and Electronic Arts can remain silent all they want, but they can go two ways with this. They can do the obvious and eventually announce this as DLC and release it, or they can ****** off a legion of fans by never releasing this as DLC. I would assume that they go with the first option.
Now this is not my first time doing a “prediction article” when it comes to Mass Effect 2. I’ve done this before back when I used to contribute to Ripten.com. Then, I wrote an article about Cerberus and their role in ME2. In this article, I outlined some possible ways Cerberus could be connected to Shepard in Mass Effect 2. Some were way off, but a few I really hit head on and remember, this was just after the teaser trailer of ME2 when all information regarding this title was vague. I am going to attempt at this once again and highlight some information regarding a possible Liara & The Shadow Broker DLC and we you can expect if it were to ever be released.
Who is the Shadow Broker? And what is Liara’s interest?
Before I continue further, I’ll need to detail who is the Shadow Broker and why does this name have anything to do with Liara. The Shadow Broker is an agency that buys, sells, and trades information. If you want information, you go to the Shadow Broker. If you have valuable information and want compensation for it in the form of money, you go to the Shadow Broker. If you have information but want to trade for other or further information, you go to the Shadow Broker. Nobody directly deals with the Shadow Broker and instead, deal with agents whom reports backs to the Shadow Broker, Fist was one of them in Mass Effect 1. The Shadow Broker’s identity is secret as he/she could be one individual, or many invididuals working under the Shadow Broker name.
As for Liara’s connection to the Shadow Broker, well, that begins prior to Mass Effect 2 but after Mass Effect 1. In short, in the pursuit of Commander Shepard’s body, Liara had a run in with the mercenary group, The Blue Suns whom were hired by the Shadow Broker to locate Shepard’s body. In Mass Effect 2, Liara expresses that the Shadow Broker is hiding from her and that she will take every necessary action to track down the Shadow Broker and kill him/her. Again, in the audio files that were found on the ME2 PC disk, there is audio of Liara confronting the Shadow Broker as well as dialog between Liara and Shepard discussing what to do now that the Shadow Broker is dead.
Expansion Pack or Single Mission?
Now everyone is talking about a Liara/Shadow Broker DLC but how would Bioware handle it if it were to be released? They could go the route that they have been going lately and release it as a single mission where Shepard reunites with Liara, goto a new planet and eventually confront the Shadow Broker. The length would be similar to Kasumi’s Stolen Memory DLC which can take anywhere from 30 minutes to 120 minuets depending on your skill level and playing style. So let me analyze how this would work out if it were just a single mission.
If it were a single mission, it would follow the same routine as the Kasumi and Zaeed missions. You’ll get an email from the Illusive Man detailing that he has found the location of the Shadow Broker and given your former crew member’s interest, you might want to check it out. You will then be inclined to go back to Illium to tell Liara that you have intel from Cerberus regarding the location of the Shadow Broker, which can be heard in one of the hidden audio files. Liara would willingly join with you with the assumption that you would help her destroy the Shadow Broker. She would temporarily join your Normandy SR2 crew in a touchy cut scene and then off to business. You will land on the planet/moon/space vessel that houses the Shadow Broker and you will fight your way through the level until you are finally face to face with the Shadow Broker. Keep in mind that throughout this mission, Liara would be with you as a squad mate the whole time along with a third squad member of your choice. When face-to-face, you will probably have a moral decision to make, kill the broker, or let the broker live and just take him/her into custody, very similar to how you could have handled Balak in ME1’s Bring Down the Sky DLC. You’ll make your decision, Liara would react accordingly and then mission over, and you must drop Liara back off to Illium, DLC complete.
Given the popularity and interest that Liara and the Shadow Broker have, I doubt that Bioware would finish this subplot off with just a single mission that can be completed in 30 minutes. I believe Bioware could spread this out into a string of multiple missions that continuesly build the plot mission after mission and release the DLC as an expansion pack, pretty much a small ME game within the game. Would it be as massive as Dragon Age: Awakening? I do not know, but there could be multiple scenarios as to how this could all play out. If it were to go the expansion route, I would expect something that could take 5-10 hours to complete depending on play style and skill level of the player and release the content for $15-$20. An Expansion would probably start by not having anything to do with Liara/The Shadow Broker but as you get deeper into it, you dig up a much larger plot that leads back to Liara and her hunt of the Shadow Broker. The last portion of the pack would be the part where Liara joins you to confront the Shadow Broker. If your Shepard romanced Liara in ME1, then there could be a nice romance scene at the end to top it all off well. To spice things up a bit, if you didn’t romance Liara in ME1 and instead either romanced Kaiden/Ashley or nobody, this could be a second chance to possibly woo her and whatever decision you take, would see a conclusion in Mass Effect 3.
As an expansion, we would probably receive the full course meal with this one. There would be one or two hammerhead missions, new armor parts, new weapons, possibly a new hub world/space station, new music, and an increased level cap. While the pack would be about Liara/Shadow Broker, there could be also many subplots to just as there was for the main game. More Blue Suns, Eclipse, and Blood Pack to kill and new small missions available on the Citadel, Illium, and Omega (Particularly working for Aria). Bioware could really expand the experience with this one. Like a said, a small game within the game.
When might we hear something?
If Bioware is seriously working on this, then it could be any day and time now that we may hear something. In this stage, I would expect E3 in June to be the first time Bioware/EA could announce something and/or release a teaser trailer. Personally, while this is a possibility, I find this very unlikely. Yes, within months of the Dragon Age release, it received an expansion, but I do not see Bioware handling ME2 the same way. I would expect PAX in September to be the more likely date we receive an announcement and trailer. This would make great sense because holiday season would be creeping up and EA could release this around December, nearly a full year after the release of ME2.
Please keep in mind now that this is all speculation. So if Bioware does not announce anything at E3 or PAX, do not come back to GameZenith saying that I have false information. This is just speculative information that is based on factual findings (PC audio files). Now if Bioware does release something at E3 and or PAX, remember where you first heard it. Now in my honest opinion and you can quote me on this, I DO believe there is a Liara/Shadow Broker DLC coming. When will it come, I do not know. What would it be about and how long would it be, I do not know but I do believe something is coming before the end of this year.
Now this is what we need to do
I will say this however and this is something you will never hear from any other website. Lets put the pressure on Bioware to get this out to us because for all we know, Bioware/EA might not have plans to ever release this but with the right amount of attention and pressure, they might just go back and re-launch this project and pick up where they left off at with the audio files. Us gamers need to have thicker spines and quit being so passive. We have so much power over these developers/publishers, yes I said it, we have the power to allow a company to prosper or crumble. This power comes in the form of the green pieces of paper we hold and whether or not we decide to use it to purchase a developer’s/publisher’s product or not. If we waive enough green in their faces, they will dance for us. So come on Bioware fans, Mass Effect 2 fans, RPG fans, let us storm the Bioware forums, and let our voices be heard! We want this content but does Bioware/EA know how bad? GameZenith.com is more than a website, it is a movement baby! A movement to give gamers a voice, a movement to make things happen the way we want it to happen. As I said, we control this industry, not them! So let us start taking control by expressing our feelings to Bioware/EA just how bad we want this DLC. I am going to do my part, now you should do yours. So let us do so by discussing this at the Bioware forums. Its time to be heard!
Modifié par MajesticJazz, 20 avril 2010 - 11:54 .
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, you have my support. I'd surely buy such an expansion.
considering the smaller number of expected sales of most DLC and expansions in comparison to the expected sales of ME3, I'm sure there's an accountant somewhere that has told Bioware/EA that leaving LI resolutions until ME3 will gurantee better sales figures.
