Mass Effect 2: Lair of the Shadow Broker

Mass Effect 2: Lair of the Shadow Broker
Developer(s)	BioWare
Publisher(s)	Electronic Arts
Composer(s)	Christopher Lennertz
Series	Mass Effect
Engine	Unreal Engine 3
Platform(s)	Microsoft Windows Xbox 360
Release date(s)	September 7, 2010
Genre(s)	Action role-playing, third-person shooter
Mode(s)	Single-player
Media/distribution	Download

Mass Effect 2: Lair of the Shadow Broker is a downloadable content pack developed by BioWare and published by Electronic Arts for the action role-playing video game Mass Effect 2. It was released on September 7, 2010 for 800 Microsoft Points on Xbox 360, and 800 BioWare Points on PC. The pack is included in the PlayStation 3 edition of Mass Effect 2, which was released on January 18, 2011. Lair of the Shadow Broker introduces a new mission in which the player assumes the role of Commander Shepard, an elite human soldier who must help former squad member Liara T'Soni to find an information dealer known as the Shadow Broker.

Mass Effect 2: Lair of the Shadow Broker was announced to be in development on July 22, 2010. BioWare stated that some decisions the player makes in the pack affect the story of Mass Effect 3. The pack received very positive reviews from critics, with an aggregate score of 87 out of 100 for the Xbox 360 version at Metacritic. Reviewers generally praised the narrative between the main characters and considered it the greatest downloadable content pack of the game.

Plot

Mass Effect 2: Lair of the Shadow Broker is set two years after the events of Mass Effect: Redemption. Elite human soldier Commander Shepard is sent on a mission to help former squad member Liara T'Soni to find an information dealer known as the Shadow Broker. Liara asks Shepard to meet her at her apartment to discuss plans regarding the location of the Shadow Broker, but when Shepard arrives, the apartment is locked down, and agent Tela Vasir is conducting an investigation into Liara's disappearance. Shepard and Vasir learn that Liara went to an office building to meet with an informant. Upon arriving at the building, Shepard and the squad fight their way up from the bottom while Vasir lands on the roof of the building and proceeds downward. When Shepard reaches the office, Vasir is already there and Liara's contact is dead. Liara suddenly appears, pointing a gun at Vasir. She says that Vasir was the one who tried to kill her, and that Vasir has the disk with the Shadow Broker's location, having taken it from the dead informant. In the ensuing confrontation, Vasir escapes and is hunted by Shepard and Liara, who eventually defeat her on the roof of a hotel.

Having recovered the disk from Vasir, Shepard and Liara learn that the Shadow Broker is located inside a massive ship near a planet called Hagalaz. Upon boarding the ship, they rescue Liara's long-lost partner, Feron, who was imprisoned in the ship's prison cells after the events of Mass Effect: Redemption. When they finally reach the Shadow Broker's office, the Shadow Broker engages Shepard and Liara in combat. Shepard distracts the Broker, while Liara brings down a liquid that was contained in the ceiling onto the Shadow Broker. The liquid causes the Broker's protections to malfunction, and he dies in the subsequent explosion. Liara now assumes the position of the Shadow Broker, and promises Shepard that she will turn the organization around. She also mentions that she will be able to provide Shepard with more information now thanks to the Broker's extensive networks.

Gameplay

In Lair of the Shadow Broker, the player controls a vehicle through the skies of a city for a brief period.

See also: Gameplay of Mass Effect 2

Mass Effect 2 is an action role-playing game in which the player controls Commander Shepard. Shepard's gender, appearance, history and combat-training are determined by the player before the game begins. The game features a variety of missions that the player must complete to progress. Mass Effect 2: Lair of the Shadow Broker adds a new assignment that involves defeating enemies and interacting with NPCs. During the mission, Shepard is accompained by two AI squad members that the player can indirectly control through orders. Combat takes place in real-time, but the player can pause the game at any time to calmly target enemies and select different powers for the squad members to use. At one point in the mission, a new temporary squad member with a different set of powers joins the squad, and the player has to choose who of the previous two members will remain for the rest of the mission. The relationship between Shepard and Liara can vary depending on whether they were romantically involved in the original Mass Effect. The mission also includes two bosses, and a chase scene in which the player must control a high-speed vehicle through the skies of a city.

The player can also find six in-game upgrades that are scattered throughout the mission, allowing the player to enhance aspects of the game's weapons and armor. After completing Lair of the Shadow Broker, a new location, the Shadow Broker's Base, becomes visitable. Inside the base, the player can use several terminals with numerous functions. Some terminals show surveillance footage, dossiers on Shepard's crew members, and a video archive which contains clips taken from around the galaxy. The player can also purchase mining manifests which are useful to mark mineral-rich planets on the game's Galaxy Map, and invest credits in various mini-missions which allow the player to receive upgrades and resources from the Shadow Broker's contacts, depending on the player's personal alignment. The pack also adds five new achievements that are awarded for completing specific tasks, such as completing the mission on one of the two highest difficulties.

Development and release

Mass Effect 2: Lair of the Shadow Broker was developed by BioWare and published by Electronic Arts. During development of Mass Effect 2, Bioware stated that downloadable content was becoming a fundamental part of the company's overall philosophy. The pack was announced to be in development on July 22, 2010 with the release of three brand-new screenshots of the game. BioWare stated that the decisions players make in the pack would affect certain storylines in the then-upcoming Mass Effect 3. The pack was released on September 7, 2011, selling at a price of 800 Microsoft Points on Xbox 360, and 800 BioWare Points on PC. Like Mass Effect 2's earlier downloadable content packs Kasumi - Stolen Memory and Overlord, Lair of the Shadow Broker is freely included in the PlayStation 3 edition of the game, which was released on January 18, 2011. The soundtrack was composed by Christopher Lennertz, who previously penned the music for the Overlord downloadable content.

Reception

Reception
Review scores Publication Score PC Xbox 360 Eurogamer 9/10 Game Revolution A- A- GameSpot 8.5/10 8.5/10 GameTrailers 8.9/10 IGN 9.5/10 9.5/10 Aggregate scores GameRankings 84.17% 86.60% Metacritic 86/100 87/100

Mass Effect 2: Lair of the Shadow Broker received very positive reviews from critics, who considered it to be the greatest downloadable content pack of the game. Dan Whitehead of Eurogamer considered Lair of the Shadow Broker "a solid, thrilling, satisfying addition to an already expansive universe; one that leaves you on an appropriate note of hopeful melancholy." He praised the amount of content in the pack, stating that it "adds far more to the game than some of its disappointingly slender predecessors." Game Revolution's Eduardo Reboucas said that the pack is "a blast, especially for fans who want to catch up with Liara and dissect the bits of story that were omitted in the main game."

The narrative and story received high marks. Critics praised the fact that some decisions from the original Mass Effect impact the storytelling experience. Kristine Steimer of IGN stated that the storytelling "effectively communicates the strong bond between [Shepard and Liara], even if they weren't romantically involved in your game." The graphics received similar praise. Brad Gallaway, a reviewer for GameCritics, noted that they "make the action feel like a more organic part of the story and engage the player in some superb atmosphere." The Shadow Broker's ship exterior was seen by some critics as the most impressive battle environment of the pack. Steimer remarked that "approaching the Shadow Broker's ship is simply stunning as lightning storms envelope [sic] the massive vessel."

Kevin VanOrd, a reviewer for GameSpot, praised the pack's atmosphere and combat sequences, particularly in the second portion of the mission. According to him, "enemies attack at just the right pace, so individual battles never drag on too long, nor are they over so quickly that they end up being unsatisfying." He also highlighted the vehicle chase scene, comparing it favorably to Blade Runner and The Fifth Element, but also admitted that the controls in the Xbox 360 version of the game are not very precise. The bosses received similar praise, with Steimer stating that both of them "have unique traits that make them a formidable opponent." The Shadow Broker's base was highlighted as a valuable addition to the game. Whitehead noted that marking mineral-rich planets alleviates the scanning, which was seen as a tedious feature in the main game. VanOrd concluded that Lair of the Shadow Broker is "worthy of your time (more than two hours) and your money."

External links

• Official website