The Arrival DLC Mass Effect 2 Review

The Arrival Review | February 21, 2014
Xbox, Windows, PlayStation

The Arrival is the last piece of DLC for Mass Effect 2 and covers the gap before the events of Mass Effect 3. Even though Sheppard was working with Cerberus he still has strong ties with The Console and members of the Alliance. Admiral Steven Hackett sends a message to the Normandy but Sheppard takes the communication in private. Admiral Hackett believes that he has found the location of Dr. Amanda Kenson and needs Sheppard to retrieve her alone. Dr. Kenson is an Alliance agent who claims to have found evidences of an imminent invasion from the Reapers but she is look at as a criminal by the Alliance. She is being held in a prison by the Batarians and the only way to find out if she really knows what relay the Reapers will use is to break her out and bring her back to the Alliance.

This DLC takes place after your final mission in Mass Effect 2. You just play as Sheppard since the other members of the squad would have gone their separate ways since you would have already taken on the Collectors. For how good the other DLC packs are this one is horrible. Our first time through only took us just over an hour, but you could speed run in less than an hour or even 30 minutes if you decided to. The DLC is not only short on gameplay but story elements too. The Arrival is supposed to bridge a gap between Mass Effect 2 and 3 but it does not seem necessary. The story is really weak and the whole ordeal is only briefly talked about in the beginning of Mass Effect 3 and no additional missions or even any story changes happen. Overall the DLC is a bit of a waste and you will not be missing anything if you did not buy it. The $7 price tag is asking a lot for both the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions. Wait for a sale under $2 if you are one of those people that have to have all the playable DLC for the Mass Effect series.

6.0 out of 10
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