Mass Effect 2: Overlord DLC

With the new objective added to the star map you will be able to journey to this remote base and find out what exactly went wrong. Overlord consists of four building structures to explore with one large hammerhead driving area connecting them all.

This was my first time piloting a hammerhead and I feel like it is a mixed bag. The hammerhead’s hover and speed boost are excellent features but its weapon system made me wish I was driving a Mako. The lack of a zoom ability demonstrated that the hammerhead excels at exploration but suffers setbacks in a firefight.

The overlord mission itself seems like an upgraded throwback to the rogue VI mission of Mass Effec t 1 but much longer and more interesting. Instead of simply investigating one base, the overlord mission will make you venture through abandoned Cerberus facilities and a derelict Geth cruiser. The latter of which dials up the creepy factor and really hooks you into the story. Venturing through these areas you will come across countless dead bodies, blood stains and strange environmental behavior that makes the mission reminiscent or a survival horror game. There are audio logs scattered throughout the level that paint a grim picture of the fate of the Cerberus scientists.

The best part of the audio logs is eventually they will detail the same strange environmental behavior that you have been subjected to, that ultimately lead to their demise. Besides the audio logs, most of the levels are largely lifeless until you flip a switch and have to battle your way out pasted VI controlled Geth or mechs.

I never felt a sense of danger while playing through overlord. Nor did I feel that intrigued by the events that were unfolding around me. However, the last area of the game was very interesting and made this download worthwhile. I only hope that the ramifications of your choice at the end of mission is carried over into Mass Effect 3 because it is a potential game changer to the last story arc.

The highlight of the overlord pack is the cutscenes that appear throughout. One of the first cutscenes involves a massive set piece while one later on does its best to try an illicit an emotional response from the player.

The biggest disappointment in the overlord pack is the lack of interaction with your squad. Commander Shepard is forced to solely carry out dialogue duties while anyone in your squad is relegated to background character.

I specifically chose certain character to accompany me because I wanted to hear their reaction to the events of the overlord pack. Much to my dismay no main character besides Shepard gets any lines. This is understandable for the simple reason that it would cost too much to reassemble the entire cast for these small DLC packs, but in a perfect world I want my team to chime on a level’s events and my decisions. The main NPC and sole survivor in the Cerberus base will reference certain characters in your party but that is all the interaction you can expect. Whenever Shepard does enter into a dialogue cutscene with this character, your squad is intentionally absent so their muted character models will go unnoticed.

The Overlord pack can be yours for 560 Microsoft points ($7). It doesn’t grant you any additional armor, weapons or squad mates but it does deliver a satisfying story and 2-3 hours of gameplay.