Review: Mass Effect 3 – Citadel

Many may not realize it, but being the hero of the galaxy in the fight against the Reapers is a very stressful job.  So if your Shepard is feeling the weight of the entire universe resting on his or her shoulders, Mass Effect 3’s Citadel DLC is just what the doctor ordered!  What better way to relax than by spending some quality R&R time in a swanky Citadel apartment, enjoying dinner with crewmates, or shopping?

 30 Second Review

 (-)  Seems a bit expensive at first

(+)  Get to use everyone in your squad

(+)  Tons of little nods/easter-eggs that fans of the series will love

(+)  Adds a couple of terrific new weapons

The End of the Galaxy as We Know it

Of course, it is not possible for Shepard to simply take a break. The galaxy would likely implode if that happened without incident.  So when the floor show for dinner involves gunfire and mercenaries hunting Shepard, it’s clear that things are still relatively normal, or at least as normal as things get for your hero.  Granted, identity theft might seem a bit mundane, but when it’s Shepard’s identity that some mysterious figure is after, things will definitely get interesting.

The question is who in the world would even want Shepard’s identity. Considering he is constantly in danger of being shot, stabbed, blown up, or stepped on by Reapers, you should first see if that person needs professional help and then stop them.

“I’m Commander Shepard, and I should go…”

The formula from the main game was not messed with for this expansion, so you will get the same excellent combat as would be expected.  You will get a couple of pretty nice new weapons, including the best pistol I’ve ever had in any of the Mass Effect games.  But there’s more to this DLC than just combat; you’ll get to pull out your suit and go all 007 as you work with your team to infiltrate a casino before getting to battle your way through some of the Citadel’s archives.

What is really special about the push through the archives is,  for the first time that I can remember in the series, you will have your entire squad directly involved.  You will still only have direct control over your two squadmates, but the rest of your team will be right there coordinating with you almost the entire way: flanking for you, giving you cover-fire, and requiring your fire to help them out.  Not only does this allow you to seriously wreck some fools, the banter among your teammates is absolutely hilarious.  There were times where I wasn’t able to contribute at all to the fight because I was laughing so hard at what they were saying I couldn’t shoot straight.

No, You May Not Come Up!

The mission chatter is not the only brilliant content in the DLC, BioWare went all out with tons of great little tidbits and Easter eggs that fans will love.  I think Eric summed up my impressions of it pretty well when he said that is it like a love letter to Mass Effect fans from BioWare, and once the fight is over, what better to do than throw a party?

You will hear from everyone, and I mean everyone.  If a major squadmate/teammate from the games was alive at the beginning of ME3 you will hear from them in some form or fashion.  You’ll also get to do something special with each member of your team in addition to the main party.   Even once you finish with the party, you still have a  whole smorgasbord of different mini-games and activities you can do in the casino, arena, and other locations.

“What a party!”

Citadel is in my humble opinion by far the best piece of post launch single-player DLC for Mass Effect 3.  It does a great job of wrapping up the trilogy. After playing it, I now feel like I’m ready to close the series out where I didn’t feel I had that closure with all of my teammates before.  If you are only getting one piece of the post-launch DLC for this series, Citadel definitely should be that DLC.  It gets a fantastic 10 out of 10.

[starreview tpl=14]

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