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Mass Effect 2: Arrival DLC review

Justin McElroy — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 16:30:00 EST

In addition to setting standards for games' capacity to generate pure human joy, Mass Effect 2 has also mounted a pretty high bar in terms of post-release support. In the months since the game's January 2010 retail launch, BioWare has continued to deliver on mini-episodes that feel fresh, vital and fully realized.

Imagine my disappointment to find that the game's final episode, "Arrival," not only fails to top them all and send the DLC series out with a bang, but whimpers into its position as the weakest add-on of the bunch.

Gallery: Mass Effect 2 (Arrival DLC)

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Mass Effect 2: Arrival DLC review originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 29 Mar 2011 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mass Effect 2 'Arrival' DLC launch trailer is downright apocalyptic

Griffin McElroy — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 18:20:00 EST

We've seen a lot of things at stake in the intergalactic drama of Mass Effect 2 -- but nothing quite as costly as, well, our planet. Check out the trailer for tomorrow's "Arrival" DLC to see the ugly, ugly faces of Earth's conquerors and the steps you'll be taking to foil their nefarious plan.

Continue reading Mass Effect 2 'Arrival' DLC launch trailer is downright apocalyptic

Mass Effect 2 'Arrival' DLC launch trailer is downright apocalyptic originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 28 Mar 2011 18:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mass Effect 2 'Arrival' DLC preview: Shepard without a flock

David Hinkle — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 15:00:00 EST

Next Tuesday, a sad and wonderful thing will happen. Mass Effect 2 will receive its last DLC, "Arrival," which sees Commander Shepard on a rescue mission to save a doctor kidnapped by batarians. As the nature of the mission is quite sensitive -- the doctor is part of a team that has found a Reaper artifact -- Admiral Hackett calls for Shepard to go it alone.

"Arrival is a side-quest, ultimately," explains Jesse Houston, producer at BioWare, "but it's also kind of an epilogue," he adds, reiterating that it's the final Mass Effect 2 update. Within the context of the game's plot, players can access Arrival at any point after the mid-game Horizon mission. Depending on when players choose to undertake the mission, Houston notes, they could experience some "small differences," though he describes these as "aesthetic" changes only.

Though a side-quest, Arrival is different from other such missions in Mass Effect 2 in that it's strictly a solo operation. Shepard is on his (or her) own throughout the entirety of Arrival.

Gallery: Mass Effect 2 (Arrival DLC)

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Mass Effect 2 'Arrival' DLC preview: Shepard without a flock originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 24 Mar 2011 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Final Mass Effect 2 DLC sees 'Arrival' on March 29

James Ransom-Wiley — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 09:55:00 EST

BioWare has dated the long-promised and recently teased final Mass Effect 2 DLC mission, "Mass Effect: Arrival," for release across Xbox Live, PlayStation Network and Bioware.com (for PC) on Tuesday, March 29. The add-on will be available for $7 (£5.49) or the equivalent platform currency.

Leading players into this holiday's Mass Effect 3, "Arrival" will see Commander Shepard "sent to the edge of the galaxy to rescue an undercover operative who may have evidence of an imminent Reaper invasion." Admiral Hackett (voiced by Lance Henriksen) will make a return appearance.

Gallery: Mass Effect: Arrival (teaser screens)

Continue reading Final Mass Effect 2 DLC sees 'Arrival' on March 29

Final Mass Effect 2 DLC sees 'Arrival' on March 29 originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 18 Mar 2011 09:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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BioWare hints at Mass Effect 2 'Arrival' DLC with new screenshot

Mike Schramm — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 23:00:00 EST

Behold, a brand new Mass Effect 2 screenshot, posted on BioWare's Facebook page. But wait -- this is no ordinary capture! The word "Arrived" has been stealthily capped in the pic's description, hinting that this is from the rumored new DLC. Which tells us... not much, really. It's still coming out?

Continue reading BioWare hints at Mass Effect 2 'Arrival' DLC with new screenshot

BioWare hints at Mass Effect 2 'Arrival' DLC with new screenshot originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 14 Mar 2011 23:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mass Effect 2 'Arrival' DLC detailed by latest patch

Andrew Yoon — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 13:45:00 EST

The PS3 version of Mass Effect 2 has been patched and, in the process, has revealed details on an upcoming DLC pack called "Arrival." The BioWare forums have been abuzz with theories on what the expansion, which features three new Trophies, will entail.

One of the Trophies, "Covert Action," refers to a Dr. Amanda Kenson, who was previously mentioned in a recent Cerberus Network update:

Historians and astronomers alike are abuzz tonight over a new paper published by Dr. Amanda Kenson of the University of Arcturus ... "Only a small fraction of the mass effect relays date back 50,000 years," she writes, "The majority are far older, indicating they were created by a species predating even the Protheans." ... What civilization could have spanned the galaxy for not thousands, but millions of years? If this were the case, we should have found mountains of evidence of their passing. Where is this species now?"

Some believe that "Arrival" can refer to the arrival of the Reapers, setting up events for the upcoming Mass Effect 3. Others, however, are more fixated on figuring out how to acquire one of the more ominous Trophies for the DLC: "The Ultimate Sacrifice." Wasn't dying once sacrifice enough?

[Thanks, Shane! Image credit: Vamplosion]

Mass Effect 2 'Arrival' DLC detailed by latest patch originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 21 Feb 2011 13:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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