Mass Effect 2: Lair of the Shadow Broker trailer - DLC launches 07.09.10

[shintakie10]

Well crud. I was kinda hopin I wouldnt even have to worry about any of the DLC for Mass Effect 2 since Biowares DLC is usually completely pointless. Yay...a new character that never existed before and suddenly I should give a damn about is with me...uhhh...why exactly? I mean, if it was like Shale in DA:O where you could actually talk to the bloody person...golem...thin... and actually get to know them instead of them bein even less interactive than the damn cook I wouldnt mind. Alas, they are less interactive than the damn cook, and less enjoyable.

Now we have this. DLC about an established character, with established background, and established narrative followin what before seemed to be a major plot point. Kinda wonderin just how long they plan to make it actually. Most Bioware DLC can be finished in half an hour. Considerin what this (and The Witch Hunt DLC which basicall follows the exact same line of reasonin as to why I might actually bother gettin it...excludin the fact that it involves Morrigan and I absolutely love her) DLC encompasses, we might actually be lookin at some DLC that gives us enough content to justify the price tag.

 

[JeanLuc761]

Am I the only one who is annoyed by them taking a fairly significant plot point and apparently ending it in a DLC? I feel like I'm missing out, but I don't want to make a new character just for DLC.

Actually yeah, I find it a little annoying too. But I'm going to get it because I've been crazy curious since that Volus on the Citadel told me about him in ME1.

Actually, in a spot of good news, IGN says that some of the decisions you make in this DLC will affect plotlines in Mass Effect 3.

I am hopeful!

 

[SalamanderJoe]

Everytime I start Mass Effect 2 I stop because I start something else like Final Fantasy XIII or most recently LIMBO and Mafia 2. Should I just wait till all the DLC is out, get it, and THEN actually start?

 

[Jenova65]

"07.09.10" Your strange foreign ways confuse me.

But in all seriousness, I'll wait for reviews before I pick this up. I don't really like DLC anyways.

Yeah, that's how we do it in Ireland. Not sure about the rest of Eurpoe?

Makes perfect sense to me dude, it's the same as it is in the UK! It is way more logical this way too day/month/year.... ;-)
OT - The trailer is great, watched it on the SN earlier today, but I am worried about what looks like some stupid platform game racing section (I hate that) :/

 

[gmaverick019_v1legacy]

"07.09.10" Your strange foreign ways confuse me.

But in all seriousness, I'll wait for reviews before I pick this up. I don't really like DLC anyways.

Yeah, that's how we do it in Ireland. Not sure about the rest of Eurpoe?

I read that as "the seventh day of September, 2010". We Swedes have order our dates with "DD/MM/YYYY" not "MM/DD/YYYY" which seems to be the... non-European standard.

to avoid all this confusion.

at least this is how we do it in america and i have seen it this way on the news before

you say the date as "september 7th,2010"

so thats how we write it. 9/7/2010

just as long as ppl clarify where they are from im fine with any way being used.

 

[gmaverick019_v1legacy]

I'll probably get this, the rest of the ME2 DLC has been quite good. I'm hoping it will properly advance the story like they said it would!

"07.09.10" Your strange foreign ways confuse me.

But in all seriousness, I'll wait for reviews before I pick this up. I don't really like DLC anyways.

Yeah, that's how we do it in Ireland. Not sure about the rest of Eurpoe?

Day month year all good, hell even year month day is alright at a push. But the American month day year? Wait, what?

im too lazy to edit, but i explained it in my other post that i had just posted, so feel free to look at it if you want a protip on american "dating" (a gamer giving advice on dating...wait what?)

 

[coolguy5678]

Day month year all good, hell even year month day is alright at a push. But the American month day year? Wait, what?

YYYY/MM/DD actually makes more sense than DD/MM/[YY]YY, as the endian-ness (most signficant part first) is consistent with that of the individual digits (most signficant digit first). This has benefits, e.g. if you have a bunch of folders with date names in YYYY/MM/DD then you can sort alphabetically to get a chronological sort (like Starke said). Also it's unambiguous (whereas DD/MM/YYYY can often be mistaken with MM/DD/YYYY) as nobody ever uses YYYY/DD/MM. I do have to agree that MM/DD/[YY]YY makes the least sense of all.

EDIT for what gmaverick019 said: Outside of America, people say "7th of September 2010" (and write "7 September 2010"), which fits with 07/09/2010.

Topic: I won't be downloading this, not just because of the price but because of limited bandwidth here in South Africa. I never even downloaded the Cerberus Network DLC's, even though they're "free"... :-(

 

[Hctib]

I'll bet the shadow broker is an A.I.

seconded.

i will be getting this i think, but it'd better be worth the 800 points...

I don't think so.

I think it will be something no ones ever thought of.

Like Liara!


Or... YOOOOUUU!

I strongly believe The Illusive Man is the Shadow Broker.

 

[Funkiest Monkey]

"07.09.10" Your strange foreign ways confuse me.

But in all seriousness, I'll wait for reviews before I pick this up. I don't really like DLC anyways.

Yeah, that's how we do it in Ireland. Not sure about the rest of Eurpoe?

It's how we do it in England too, man.

 

[MrSnugglesworth]

I'll bet the shadow broker is an A.I.

seconded.

i will be getting this i think, but it'd better be worth the 800 points...

I don't think so.

I think it will be something no ones ever thought of.

Like Liara!


Or... YOOOOUUU!

nah it won't be liara, why would she be researching herself in ME2? i'm sticking to the A.I. idea, maybe it's real name will be john henry eden...

I still think its you.


You'll walk into his throne room or office or wherever he sits, then you see a giant chair that evil people sit in looking away from you. After you creep closer you here an eerily familiar voice...

"Welcome, Shepperd"

"Who are you?"

"Me... Well I'm no one important..."

Then BAM he turns around looking exactly like you with a white fluffy cat in his lap, a Goatee (Man or Woman), and a monocle on.

If it doesn't go exactly like that, I will be very disappointed.

 

[Bebus]

I hope we get a real nice choice at the end. Kill the Shadow Broker and Liara lives happily ever after, or let him live, make him an ally against the Reapers and earn Liara's enmity. Looks awesome!

 

[suhlEap]

I still think its you.


You'll walk into his throne room or office or wherever he sits, then you see a giant chair that evil people sit in looking away from you. After you creep closer you here an eerily familiar voice...

"Welcome, Shepperd"

"Who are you?"

"Me... Well I'm no one important..."

Then BAM he turns around looking exactly like you with a white fluffy cat in his lap, a Goatee (Man or Woman), and a monocle on.

If it doesn't go exactly like that, I will be very disappointed.

wow, now you put it like that i actually want that to happen!

 

[Knight Templar]

I still think its you.

That makes zero sense, it might as well be Sandal [http://lmgtfy.com/?q=Sandal+Dragon+Age].

 

[carpathic]

It has been so long since ME2 was released, I am not sure I will care until ME3.

And then, if they part out huge parts of the story into DLC instead of giving me a fucking full game, then I might not even buy that.

I am getting pretty sick of this buy the game for full price, but only really get 1/4 of the game thing.

Because the narrative of ME2 was somehow incomplete without the DLC?

This same argument is often leveled against Bioware games. Was my DA:O experience incomplete because I didn't give a toss about how Leliana came to be in the chantry? Was it somehow broken when I didn't have a rock monster to follow me around? Was the fact that the game ended after I defeated the villain of the moment and scattered his armies somehow not a proper end?

By the same token, did I really need a grizled mercenary to follow me around? Did I need bad driving segments to rear their ugly head? Did I actually need Liara to make a return when I never cared about her character and her power set was easily replicated elsewhere?

Personally, I was perfectly satisfied with ME2 as it was. The DLC that I tried added little of note to the game and I even completed the game in it's entirety without it the first time around feeling as though I hadn't missed anything important. I know there is a fine line between "added bonus" and "shameful grab for cash" but I've never perceived Bioware's actions as anything other than the former.

The problem here quickly becomes one of gradations. If you tell the companies that it is okay to go this far, it will not belong before they start to push the envelope and suddenly the game will be nearly unplayable without DLC.

While I am annoyed by DLC and feel as though the game was likely finished, then cut up with the DLC being put for sale to enrich the experience. I feel as though this is just the first step for most companies trying to further monetize things.

When I look at ME1 vs ME2, I just found ME1 to feel more complete, bigger somehow - yes there was DLC for it, but it was released a fairly long time after the game was completed and not on the same day. In the concept art book for ME2 they had pictures of the flying vehicle whose name escapes me right now. Clearly they were working on it prior to release. Why not just include it as part of the game, since it seems likely it was ready to go.

 

[Eclectic Dreck]

The problem here quickly becomes one of gradations. If you tell the companies that it is okay to go this far, it will not belong before they start to push the envelope and suddenly the game will be nearly unplayable without DLC.

While I am annoyed by DLC and feel as though the game was likely finished, then cut up with the DLC being put for sale to enrich the experience. I feel as though this is just the first step for most companies trying to further monetize things.

When I look at ME1 vs ME2, I just found ME1 to feel more complete, bigger somehow - yes there was DLC for it, but it was released a fairly long time after the game was completed and not on the same day. In the concept art book for ME2 they had pictures of the flying vehicle whose name escapes me right now. Clearly they were working on it prior to release. Why not just include it as part of the game, since it seems likely it was ready to go.

I have to take issue with this argument for it asserts that, in effect, any content that can run on a particular platform (i.e. any content that extends a game) ought to have been included in the first place. The Shivering Isles expanded the world and feature set of Oblivion and yet had nothing to do with the narrative of the original game. Would such an expansion qualify under your standard? If not, then what is the deciding factor that makes it different? Scope? Length? Some arbitrary standard?

 

[Ch@Z]

Ah It's the same day the DA:O Witch Hunt DLC is coming out. Hope I have time to play both in one day.

 

[DustyDrB]

I really do hope it adds a substantial amount to the game. My Shepard has been waiting on her to come around.

 

[carpathic]

SNIP. Why not just include it as part of the game, since it seems likely it was ready to go.

I have to take issue with this argument for it asserts that, in effect, any content that can run on a particular platform (i.e. any content that extends a game) ought to have been included in the first place. The Shivering Isles expanded the world and feature set of Oblivion and yet had nothing to do with the narrative of the original game. Would such an expansion qualify under your standard? If not, then what is the deciding factor that makes it different? Scope? Length? Some arbitrary standard?

A totally fair question. One I will have to think about some.


The release day DLC would be an example.
When the DLC is used as a type of DRM would be a second.
When the DLC feels as though it is core to the story in some manner would be the third criteria.

We don't know how the Liara aspect will fit in with ME3. It could be important, we don't know. So, for me this could be one of those issues. Even though it does not violate criteria 1 and 2, it does violate #3. This is the type of thing that bothers me.

Shivering Isles is a perfect example that satisfies all three, and I am okay with it. I am also okay with the Brotherhood of Steel DLC from Fallout 3 - mostly because it fixed a lot of bugs with the vanilla game (ie 20 level cap etc.)

Going to your added bonus vs shameful grab for cash yeah, that is the line, but I hope my criteria have clarified my views more.

And thanks for discussing them with me in a thoughtful way!