Well, this DLC is... not so good, really.
I mean, Hackett was awesome. I liked the debriefing especially.
I also looked forward to killing lots and lots of Batarians in this DLC. My expectations in that regard were exceeded so much it actually kinda cracks me up.
The level design was okay, if somewhat generic and uninspired in places. There was nothing even remotely comparable to the awesomeness of running along the outside of the Shadow Broker's ship in this, but all in all, the locations served their purpose rather well and fighting that mech with the mass relay looming threateningly in the distance was pretty cool, as was controlling the smaller mech earlier.
However, there were some glaring problems with Arrival - the worst being the very noticeable lack of voice actors. I see how Bioware can't bring the whole cast back in for every other DLC, but couldn't they have at least recycled some of Joker's or EDI's lines that were already recorded? Shepard hailing the Normandy and being answered by some unnamed crewmember is just stupid.
This problem extends to not being able to take a squad with you. There's literally no satisfying reason for this given, and it makes the whole experience somewhat bland. Mass Effect 2 has been all about the team so far - more than the actual plot, really. In Arrival, your team is strangely absent even from the cutscenes aboard the Normandy, and it makes everything feel just a little off. Maybe/probably this bleak and sinister atmosphere is what they were going for, but throughout the DLC I always half expected Shepard to be in the shower the next moment and talk about having had the weirdest dream. The Mass Effect universe usually feels very vibrant and organic, even in its darker places. Arrival feels strangely empty and lifeless.
Then there are the plot holes. The last time we saw the reapers, they were still in darkspace, slowboating towards the milky way. Mass Effect 1 was all about how the reapers needed the citadel (and hence a vanguard) to get back to the galaxy within any reasonable amount of time. Now suddenly, they are apparently about to appear in some backwater batarian star system through means that are never elaborated upon. This makes no sense. Neither does it make sense that Shepard would be missing for about two days without her team coming to look for her. I also missed any real choices in this DLC, particularly concerning 'blow up the relay or not'. Granted, it was made pretty obvious that sparing it was not an option.
Also, glitches. I encountered nothing game breaking, but a lot of dead guards stuck to ceilings and the like. This is a minor concern, but it looks unrefined in places and kinda rounds off my impression that Arrival was a bit of a rush job. I also figure Bioware was well aware of this, which explains why Arrival got nowhere near the exposure that LotSB had before release.
All the DLCs so far had seemed very lovingly done. They had nice plots, they integrated your team (even if it the guys were just silently doing stuff in the background) and they gave you some nice stuff, like the Shadow Broker ship model or that prothean artefact for your cabin. Arrival does none of these things. It's still fun to play, but in the end, it raises more questions than it answers and it feels detached from the rest of the game.
Overall, I'd say this has been the weakest DLC so far (not counting the dress-up packs and Firewalker). I also get this weird feeling that ME2 has run its course now and the series can only reasonably be expanded upon through a full game with a full cast and a full budget. I guess I'll be holding my thumbs for ME3 for now.
Modifié par CptAwesomePhD, 29 mars 2011 - 11:09 .
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(though tbh, seeing as in their views, a doctor was planning to kill 300,000 people based off a urban legend, I think their response was justified.)
