Bring Down the Sky trailer

Here’s the trailer for the new Mass Effect expansion pack, “Bring Down the Sky.”

Bring Down the Sky

This Monday BioWare released the first episode of its promised downloadable content for Mass Effect, its latest RPG/shooter. The content pack is called “Bring Down the Sky” and promises fans of Mass Effect an hour and half of gameply for a mere 400 Xbox Live points (five dollars in Earth money). Not only this, but it introduces a new race into the Mass Effect universe, a species mentioned but never seen on the game disc itself – galactic gangsters, the Batarians.

The story is this: Batarian extremists have hijacked an asteroid and are aiming it squarely at humanity’s first and largest colony world. If’ you’ve seen Armageddon, you are well aware of the problem this poses, namely, mass extinction on a global scale. Instead of Bruce Willis, however, we have commander Sheppard, your avatar. Like Willis’ character, Sheppard has a choice to make – one that is less black and white than Willis’ sacrifice at the end of his meteor movie.

The gameplay is exactly what you’ve come to expect from Mass Effect, if a little ramped up in difficulty. There is little difference in appearance between the Batarians, Human, and Asari. They’re all bipedal humaniods, and when you’re trying to gun them down you’re not looking too closely at their faces or how many fingers they have. As enemies, the Batarians seem a little smarter, tougher, and more accurate than your average though, though with my level 54 Vanguard character I only died twice.

The moral dillemma you are faced with really makes an impact. I found most of the large decision in Mass Effect to be fairly black and white in nature. And, being the sap that I am, I almost always chose to do the “right” thing and collect a nice number of paragon points. However, Bring Down the Sky forced me to make a choice that I was uncomfortable making. I still saved the day… but not without losses, and that is what made this new content stand on its own as a storyline within a storyline.

For those who were disappointed in the side missions in the main game and are wondering if this is simply more of the same – yes and no. There are for major installations on the asteroid that you have to shut down, and yes, three of them are the same pre-fab buildings that seem to breed like rabbits somewhere in the Mass Effect universe. One large room with a ramp, balcony, and two smaller rooms budding off like polyps. However, each room is filled with different stuff, and the last of them almost convinced me that it was a different building for a moment or two. The main installation, however, is a completely new structure, a large, multi-tiered building that looks something like an arena with plant life, giving it a Citadel-esque feel. Also, the presence of extra characters and storyline cut-scenes make Bring Down the Sky feel a little more like a main storyline mission, so it feels a little fresher this time around.

And now for the main gripe – why do I have to play access this content by using a save somewhere in the middle of a game? This content would have worked a lot better as a playable mission after the main story events of Mass Effect. Their decision to only make it accessible through the galaxy map, and the lack of a post game “free-play” means that you either have to start a new save and play up to the point where you are given the Normandy, or use a save from somewhere in the middle of the game, which is a huge hassle to anyone who just wants to play the darn content. The main storyline of Mass Effect was felt so urgent, the threat Saren posed to the galaxy so near that many players felt that putzing around the galaxy looking for sidequests broke the pace. And the vast array of things there is to do in Mass Effect is truly intimidating. Why BioWare chose to not allow free-play after the ending is beyond my reasoning.

Now, for the question on all of your minds – is it worth it?

If you enjoy Mass Effect, have 400 points to spend, and don’t mind using an old save file, then yes. It adds another layer of depth to the Mass Effect universe and gives you an experience you’ll wish all of the side quests had offered.