Omega’s power trio

 

The third major of single-player DLC for Mass Effect 3, Omega closes the circle started in the four-part comic series Mass Effect: Invasion.Tired of lounging around the ironically named nightclub Purgatory, Aria has finally set in motion her plan to retake Omega from Cerberus general Oleg Petrovsky. To this end, she must enlist help from her past: a female turian biotic named Nyreen Kandros, and the famous Alliance soldier, Commander Shepard. Witness Aria’s devastating biotic power and legendary ruthlessness in her drive to retake Omega from the clutches of Cerberus.

The story is straightforward: as Commander Shepard, you must navigate the seedy, shadowy underbelly of Omega, fight off Cerberus troopers, new Rampart mechs, and Cerberus-controlled Reaper monsters called Adjutants, all in a desperate bid to restore Aria’s rule to the beleaguered space station. Of course, that’s easier said than done. Even on normal difficulty, Cerberus forces will give you a run for your money. If you try Insanity or even Hardcore, be prepared to die… a lot. Of course, Shepard and Aria will eventually triumph, but BioWare once again surprises with at least more than one ending. Cerberus soldiers are as bloodthirsty as ever, but the real challenges come from three places: the Rampart mechs, the Reaper Adjutants, and oddly enough, the sidequests.

Rampart mechs are basically repurposed LOKI mechs from Mass Effect 2 given a massive speed boost, Sentinel-like tech armor complete with heavy melee, and a powerful shield-breaking ability that activates upon death. If you’ve read the tie-in comic Mass Effect: Invasion, you know a little about them, and now they’ve returned to wreak havoc and be a general pain in the ass. I’d like to say more, but this being a generally spoiler-free review, I can’t. The sidequests sound easy enough on the surface, but I have yet to complete them all, despite multiple playthroughs. You’ll need to find accessible terminals for a hacker, new parts for a mechanic, and Aria’s couch for the Elcor salesman, Harrot, whom you met on Omega in the previous game.

The whole mission shouldn’t take more than three or four hours, even on Insanity, but the story will keep you entertained as will your squadmates. As you can probably guess, Aria is no slouch in combat. In addition to known abilities Carnage and Reave, Aria brings the entirely new ability Flare, which is basically a self-contained biotic explosion, and the multiplayer ability Lash, effectively another Pull. Nyreen, the first playable turian female, has a most interesting ability called Biotic Protector. It’s the same biotic bubble shield the asari justicar has in multiplayer and, when maxed out, can offer extra protection or damage after expiration, but it only surrounds Nyreen, which I was kinda disappointed about.

All in all, Mass Effect 3: Omega is well worth the 1200 points in my opinion. Fans will be excited to see more of the eponymous space station than they did in Mass Effect 2, and travelling through the guts of Omega gives people a real sense of how big the station is.

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