Bioware announces final two DLC packs for Mass Effect 3
ASHOSNJHFBSJHSPQN!!! That’s how Mass Effect players say “OMG NEW DLC!” Fans of Commander Shepard and the crew of the Normandy have reason to be very excited today as Bioware has unveiled their final two pieces of downloadable content for Mass Effect 3. Read on for all the details.
The announcement was made earlier today on the official Bioware Blog. Two DLC packs, one for the single player campaign will be released on March 5th, and one for multiplayer which will be released on February 26th. The single player DLC pack is entitled Citadel, will sell for $14.99 or 1200 MS points, and is the culmination of months of rumors and speculation. As it turns out, many of the rumors turned out to be at least partially true. Here’s the official description from Bioware.
When a sinister conspiracy targets Commander Shepard, you and your team must uncover the truth, through battles and intrigue that range from the glamour of the Citadel’s Wards to the top-secret Council Archives. Uncover the truth and fight alongside your squad – as well as the cast from the original Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2.
When the adventure is over, reconnect with your favorite characters from the Mass Effect Trilogy, try your luck at the Citadel’s Silver Coast Casino, blow off steam in the Armax Combat Arena, or explore and furnish Shepard’s own living quarters on the Citadel. With unique content and cinematics featuring your friends and romance interests in the Mass Effect trilogy, Mass Effect 3: Citadel offers one final chance to see the characters you have known for years and rekindle romances.
Or to put it more simply…
Blah blah whatever plot device and WHAT all my squadmates from the first two games are back? Miranda and Wrex and wow a casino that friggin ROCKS and a combat arena? That’s sweet, well it’ll probably be better than Pinnacle Station anyway and Shepard gets quarters on the Citadel and we get to DECORATE it? That sounds totally fun and hold the friggin phone because NEW ROMANCE CONTENT ARE YOU SERIOUS? TAKE MY MONEY BIOWARE TAKE IT NOW.
Naturally, fans began analyzing this announcement almost immediately, looking for more information. Specifically, the scar on Shepard’s chin in the image above resembles the one he receives near the end of the game. This made fans wonder if Citadel might change the controversial ending of the game once again. Bioware community lead Christ Priestly later posted on the Mass Effect 3 forum, and clarified where Citadel takes place within the narrative of Mass Effect 3. The DLC can be accessed at any point after the Cerberus Coup on the Citadel, and before the Priority: London finale. Jessica Merizan, another community manager at Bioware, went to twitter to further clear up any confusion and/or crush the desperate hopes of those who wanted additional endings.
Citadel is NOT post-end DLC. The scars in this screenshot are from Lazarus Project. Hope that clears things up! http://t.co/xXcYtEhres
— Jessica Merizan (@JessicaMerizan) February 21, 2013
Sigh… oh well. In happier news, Citadel is such a large DLC pack that the Xbox 360 version of it will have to be delivered in two separate files. PS3 and PC versions of Citadel are unaffected, but since Xbox Live limits the size of DLC packs to 2gb, Bioware had to split Citadel in half. Pack 1 will have to be purchased, while pack 2 will be free. While you can technically download the 2nd pack by itself, it won’t work without the first one. Sorry.
One last note on Citadel. It’s been known for quite awhile now that veteran Mass Effect composer Sam Hulick has been working on music for an upcoming DLC. He confirmed it once more on twitter this morning, and shared this little tease…
Note the mention of romance interests in the BioWare blog post. I MAY have written a "positive" version of "I Was Lost Without You." Maybe.
— Sam Hulick (@SamHulick) February 21, 2013
Oh, Sam. We were lost without you.
But wait, there’s more! In addition to all of the single player DLC news, the final multiplayer pack was also announced today. Entitled Reckoning, it brings at least five new classes to the fight, including the Geth Juggernaut, Cabal Vanguard, Talon Mercenary, and the Alliance Infiltration Unit. Pictured above is the Krogan Warlord class, who wields a new weapon called the gravity hammer. Errr… sorry, I mean “biotic hammer.” In addition to the gravity/biotic hammer, other weapons include the Geth Spitfire Assault Rifle, Venom Shotgun, and Lancer Assault Rifle.
Reckoning will launch of February 26th, and will be available for free. One day before, on the 25th, the Mass Effect dev team will demo the new content and answer player questions during a special live stream on Twitch TV. Don’t click that link now, though. It’s offline. All you’ll get are commercials.
So… that’s it. Mass Effect 3 is really, truly, completely coming to an end. For real, this time. While I’m excited for the new DLC, I’m more than a little sad. While the franchise will go on, Shepard’s story will not. I think it’s only fitting to close this chapter of my gaming life with this classic from The Doors…
Well, that was a huge mistake. I forgot how depressing that song was. Wow. OK, new plan. How about a My Little Pony version of Mass Effect 2?
Muuuuuch better.
