Great info. I just started playing the trilogy set on PS3. Will get the ones you recommend, its not the right thread but any opinions on the first and second games DLCs as well?
Again, no rankings. Just thoughts.
ME1:
Bring Down the Sky = Loved it. Great pacing, cool hook, and introduces Batarians. Has one of the better moral dilemmas at the end. Takes the Mako planetary exploration concept and structures it into a focused mission. A lot of people, myself included, were hoping BDTS would provide framework for planetary exploration side missions in ME2 and ME3. Alas, waht could have been.
Pinnacle Station = An arena, and not a very good one. Rubbish.
ME2:
Kasumi - Stolen Memory = Nicely paced, interesting mission, but very, very short. Kasumi has no recruit mission, only the loyalty mission. She's also an available squadmate. She, like Zaeed, has no dialogue trees on the Normandy, only contextual conversation that talks at you. Still, she's fully voiced for main missions into the game, and is an interesting enough character. Like ME3's From Ashes, only really worth it if you want to expand your crew and go on another cool, if short mission.
Overlord = Kind of like BDTS: a series of missions that has you driving the new Hammerhead tank around a semi-open planet. Great pacing, good environment diversity, solid story hook, and arguably the longest of ME2's mission packs. The Hammerhead isn't quite as fun to drive as the Mako (in my opinion), but it was nice to see BioWare try the BDTS formula again.
Lair of the Shadow Broker = For many the best of all Mass Effect's mission DLC. Focuses on Liara and her quest to take down the Shadow Broker. Excellent location variety and a fast pacing spearheaded by a cool plot hook. Fun encounter design thanks to visually pleasing set pieces. Two boss fights, and a great climax. Lots of interaction with Liara, making it essential for anybody who likes her character or wants to continue a romance established in the first game. A little bit of post-mission content, mostly in the form of interesting readable data on your squadmates and other series characters. Really, in it's total, LOTSB is a good blend of solid game design and fan service. Balances the two better than any mission pack.
Arrival = Lukewarm encounters across fairly boring locations (though a very cool final set piece). Was supposed to tie ME2 into ME3, but really personifies the worst writing qualities of BioWare and how they handled the trilogy. Doesn't really explain anything and has a stupid dumb narrative hook. When I replayed it prior to ME3's launch I found myself enjoy the
play more than my first time through. But the narrative is total half arsed shit and full of stupid.
Normandy Crash Site, Zaeed - The Price of Revenge, and Firewalker Pack should be free if you have access to the Cerberus Network. Of those three, Normandy Crash Site is not really a "mission" but a walking simulation. Unoffensive fan service pulp, best free. Firewalker was a test bed for the Hammerhead's use in Overlord, and is poo. Zaeed is a cool character, but like Kasumi only has one (pretty solid) loyalty mission and no interactive conversation branches.
