Comments: 3 Comments (Go to Comments)
Categories: Review
Tags: dlc, mass effect, rpg, xbox 360
Mass Effect’s second and final DLC was quietly released on Aug 25, 2009, almost two years after the game launched. Like Bring Down the Sky, this episode can only be played after you have access to the Galaxy Map and before the story hits the point of no return (Ilos). It retails at 400 MS points ($5 US), adds 150 points to your gamerscore and offers a few hours of entertainment.
Pinnacle Station
Pinnacle Station is a new location in the Phoenix system of the Argos Rho cluster. Once a turian command center, it’s now headed by Alliance Admiral Ahern for advanced combat training. Think of it as Mass Effect’s holodeck equivalent. Here Commander Shepard can prove his skills by reaching the number one spot on the various combat simulation leaderboards.
Capture, Survival, Hunt and Time Trial are the four modes of gameplay fought in subterranean, volcanic, tropical and warehouse arenas. Similar to what you might find in a multiplayer game, these simulations are less compelling in a single-player RPG.
Survival – endless waves of enemies – works the best, welcoming different playing styles and combinations of biotic and combat abilities. Hunt and Time Trial – both focused on killing enemies as fast as possible – are less effective, especially since Hunt requires convenient enemy spawns. Capture – hitting three or four checkpoints – is the least well designed since it relies purely on memorizing the map.
I always thought Mass Effect had a crude, but effective, combat engine and Pinnacle Station reinforces this belief. There’s fun to be had here, but sluggish gunplay and teammates who can’t keep up with Shepard’s pace add unwelcome complications. Overall, this expansion seems poorly balanced. I took on Saren in Insane Difficulty, but the basic simulations had me reaching for the “I’m too Young To Die” setting.
Ultimately, it fails to offer an essential Mass Effect experience, but the final simulation and its reward make this expansion worth muscling through for completists.
carocat:
I had been looking forward to this for a while and finally played it on my current ME1 playthrough.
I echo everything you say about it and feel that it’s just too far removed from the gameplay of the rest of the game to make it interesting to me.
Such a shame.
Is the final mission reward really worth getting bearing in mind I have a level 60 character with maxed out stats/equipment?
Terry:
If your character is that far along, probably not.
Michelle:
Wow, looking at that screenshot makes you realise the little touches and improvements Mass Effect 2 brought in.