Mass Effect 3: Leviathan DLC Review

Words by: Dave Burns | Posted: 8 months ago | Filed under: DLC, Game Reviews.

BioWare have finally released the first piece of paid-for single-player DLC, priced at 800 Microsoft Points, but is it worth it?

Save your grenades… Brutes appear often in ‘Leviathan’

The short answer is yes, but let me tell you why… Let’s rewind back to the launch of the game and the DLC that came with the limited and collector editions: From Ashes. From Ashes caused quite a bit of a stir, some suggesting it should have been part of the original single-player campaign, others arguing that it was a cash-cow to try and make money from hardcore fans, I on the other hand ignored most comments surrounding the DLC and gave it a go, after playing I did feel as if it should have been part of the main quest line but also it should have been offered for free… Leviathan is different.

After playing through Leviathan I almost felt as if I owe BioWare more than 800 MSP and let me tell you why… The mission itself took me around 3 hours to complete as I took my time hunting the environments for weapon upgrades and focus points, I think a hardcore player could probably complete the DLC inbetween 90-120 minutes while taking in the story itself. Be warned, this isn’t a slap on mission that bares little relevance to the main campaign, it’s very much a core part of any Mass Effect fans journey across the last part of the trilogy.

Harvesters!

But what is Leviathan? Leviathan is a rumoured myth to be a Reaper killer, scientists had researched the Leviathan long before we even met Commander Shepard in the first Mass Effect title and after Shepard came into contact with the first Reaper, Sovereign, it confirmed what the scientists were researching. After this Dr. Bryson (head of the Leviathan research) was given an unlimited budget for his research.

This is where Shepard comes into play, once the DLC has been downloaded you will get a message from Admiral Hackett telling you to visit Bryson’s lab on the Citadel, the only downside to this is if you have completed the game you have to backtrack through your saves to find a save that still has the option to visit the Citadel. Once you reach the Citadel you will be thrown into a cut-scene which I can’t say what happens but it throws you into an investigation, hunting clues and trying to track down people in the galaxy through the process of evidence elimination but EDI is there to help you along your path.

Beautiful areas get very nasty, very quickly

The DLC itself takes you to new planets with brand new environments to explore including taking a modified Atlus mech unit underwater in search of the Leviathan. From the outset it’s quite clear that the Leviathan does not want to be discovered, there is a major reason for this but once again in the interest of spoilers I won’t go any further.

One thing you must know is that if you’re a fan of the Mass Effect storyline then your tale is not complete without this DLC, it explains a fair amount more about the Reapers and their origin and it also offers a ton of new dialog, just be ready for some intense fire-fights and some eerie scenes set to make your spine tingle with Mass Effect joy.

Digg Digg

About Dave Burns

Dave created Xboxer360.com back in 2008 and now runs it alongside Rich. Dave also runs a Web Design business and writes for Xbox.com