Mass Effect 3

[Monk]

http://masseffect.com/downloads/leviathan/

Don't know if any of you folks noticed, or are still playing ME3, but Leviathan is now available for download as of a day or two ago.

I've just finished playing through it myself (I have yet to drag myself through the ending sequence again to see what, if anything, has changed). My thoughts:

-The framerate seems to be sort of choppy compared to rest of the game. Big disclaimer, this very well might be my own computer acting up, which it has been doing for a little while now, but I was playing the game sans-DLC yesterday and didn't notice anything different. If you decide to get it, let me know if you notice anything or if it's just my deteriorating computer.

I noticed the framerate issues myself. It seems the worst when you just load a new scene but quickly stabilizes. I think more than anything it's the unreal engine starting to falter as Bioware attempts to get more and more out of it. Unreal tech has always felt a little stuttery on my setup and it shows up something fierce in leviathan. Your results might vary.

-It seems a little short, gameplay-wise for $10. There is a LOT of story packed in there, given, but there are I think three mission sequences total. It also adds a bunch of new systems to scan for war assets (oh boy, my favorite part). So it's probably about the same amount of content as Shadow Broker or Arrival for ME2.

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I actually think it's longer than Shadow Broker. SB can be completed in an hour and a half, Leviathan took me twice that to get through despite me solving all the clues and knowing exactly where to go. It took right around 2.5 - 3 hours to complete. Content wise I have to say it's really, really good. They got what seems to be everyone to come back and reprise their roles for the duration of the addon, probably had them do their voice work when they were recording for the EC. Wasn't expecting that but it's a nice surprise.

Quality, even though there's much more content I still think it falls short of Shadow Broker, but it's without a doubt the best DLC bioware has released since then. Far better than Arrival.

plot spoils

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

The one downside to all this is that the Synth ending gets the shaft. Again. The truth revealed to you by Leviathan paints the Catalyst AI in such a negative light that there's no logical reason to ever believe a word he says when the time comes. While a lot of this stuff was implied in the EC, Leviathan breaks it down clear as crystal. The Catalyst is trapped in a logical paradox, trying to solve an equation it finds impossible. It has lied. It has killed. It has cheated it's own creators, and for what?

"He turned the galaxy into a science experiment." ~ The Leviathan

It is the paradox in the equation. The created who destroyed his creator. Given that fact, the Catalyst then tries to lecture Shepard about what organics may or may not do in relation to their creations? Give me a break.

Why would anyone ever trust a thing this little says about anything? Taking Synth given what we know in Leviathan makes Shepard look like the galaxy's biggest sucker.

Overall i really liked it. It shows that when Bioware puts some actual effort into their story content they know how to make a compelling experience. I hope this is a trend from them, I'd really like to see more ME3 DLC that isn't just gun packs.