Honestly, as a later Mass Effect player, I didn\'t like Overlord. It was full of jump scares that intentionally ratchet up the volume compared to the rest of the game, which felt cheap, and I thought the storyline was cheap and maudlin in tone. Everything about that DLC reeks of the late 2000\'s in the worst way, in how tone-deaf and blunt the writing is as well as the jump-scare horror aspects it cribs from other games of the era.
Otherwise, I didn\'t mind the DLC for Mass Effect 2. I liked Kasumi a lot, and Arrival is significant for being the first physical appearance of Admiral Hackett and for being the most logical way to get Shepard from the end of ME 2 to the start of ME 3. But man, I really have a chip on my shoulder about Overlord.
I guess I’ll complete the trifecta. I don’t care for arrival. I think many of the railroaded decisions made for the story there ultimately bode quite poorly for the final part of the trilogy, and even setting that aside some portions of the story are a little questionable given established character motivations.
Conversely I had fun with the silly hover tank segments, even if I’d probably wouldn’t of bought them piecemeal back in the day.
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DLC Mini-review
Compared to ME 1 there's a lot more DLC this time around. Instead of 2 sets there were now 8 narrative sets plus nearly a dozen extra weapons and skins for your squadmates. Since the weapons and skins don't really have much of an impact on the story or particularly tip the gameplay either way, I'm going to focus on the narrative ones. I'll rank them all from worst to best and give some brief thoughts on them.
8: Firewalker
The only ME DLC I would've preferred to lose over Pinnacle Station. Firewalker involves you taking a new mobile tank, the Hammerhead, to various planets to search for missing scientists. The Hammerhead is decent at exploration but terrible in combat, and the 'story' of this mission is bland and completely inconsequential. Skip this one.
7: Genesis
The oddball of this selection, Genesis doesn't actually have any parts you playthrough within ME 2 itself. Instead it's an interactive graphic novel based on the first game. It was originally released to provide PS 3 users with a way to change the world-state of ME 2 from the default, as ME 1 wasn't released on the PS 3. It gives you the major choices of that game, but many of the smaller parts get lost in the shuffle. For example, you won't see Conrad Verner in ME 2 using this method. It is a decent substitute for importing an ME 1 save, but by now it's pretty obsolete. The only real reason to use it is if you don't want to play ME 1 again and are fine with missing out on the smaller details.
6: Arrival
From here we've crossed the threshold into what I consider to be the good DLC. Arrival is sadly the weakest of the bunch, but don't take that to mean it's bad. You're sent on a solo mission to rescue a scientist who's discovered evidence of an imminent Reaper invasion. Once you rescue her, it's a race against time to stop the invasion. The biggest fault of this DLC is that you spend too much time on your own. It was an interesting gimmick for an hour, but after 3 it's worn out its welcome. Storywise this is the most impactful DLC for the entire trilogy, but it's not the most fun to play.
5: Overlord
A step up from Arrival, but not a big one. A Cerberus scientist was experimenting on ways to control the Geth, only for the VI/Human hybrid he created to go rogue. Shepard and crew must stop they hybrid from escaping the facility and shut down this dangerous experiment. This mission pack has a good start and a good finale, but the middle feels pretty padded out. None of your squadmates have any dialogue here, so it's mostly just shooting a bunch of Geth interspersed with some Hammerhead segments (oh joy). There are some neat horror elements at various points, but for the most part this pack is really remembered for its ending. You can skip this one if you want, but I would recommend at least one playthrough.
4: Normandy Crash Site
It's short, simple, and free. There's no combat this time, you're just exploring the wreckage of the original Normandy for the dog tags of its casualties while having some brief flashbacks. It's not exactly fun, but it does a lot to make the world feel a little more real and hit on the tragedy of the loss of the SR-1. I often like to save this as the final mission I do before transferring a save over to ME 3. It feels appropriate to give the past this one last tribute before heading on to the finale. You can skip it if you don't care about this sort of thing, but it's worth it for fans of the series.
3: Zaeed - The Price of Revenge
This pack includes a new squadmate, Zaeed, who comes with his own loyalty mission. Recruiting him only takes a conversation, so its not as involved as the other recruitment missions. Zaeed is a ruthless mercenary with a reputation for surviving the most impossible jobs. That's obviously a hot commodity for Shepard in this game. His loyalty mission is interesting, as it has multiple outcomes depending on your choices. If you complete it after finishing the main game you can even leave him to die. He doesn't have true conversations aboard your ship like the base game squadmates, but he does have things to say after each mission. He's a good character, but not one of my favorites. Still, you can get a flamethrower from the loyalty mission, and that's pretty awesome.
2: Lair of the Shadow Broker
One of the most popular DLC packs in the series, and for good reason. In the base game you meet with Liara and learn that she's hunting the Shadow Broker, a ruthless information seller. This DLC picks up on that thread, and lets you temporarily have Liara back in your party. You can also pick up on your romance with her if you did so in ME 1. There's a lot of fun banter throughout, and once you complete the mission you can return to the Shadow Broker's base for some cool unlockables and interesting information about the various NP Cs of the series. Learning that the very robotic Legion is a trash-talking gamer in its spare time will never not make me laugh.
1: Kasumi - Stolen Memory
The second of the DLC squadmates, her recruitment and loyalty mission follow a similar structure to Zaeed's. Kasumi is a master thief, and her loyalty mission is a heist. It's a neat shake-up, and the game manages to balance the tone of it very well. It doesn't have the varying outcomes of Zaeed's mission, but it's more fun to replay. Kasumi is a very playful and fun character, and is probably the most well-adjusted of your squadmates. She made a great addition to the series, and her loyalty mission is one of my favorites.
That covers ME 2's DLC, but I'll be back soon for ME 3's. See you there!