Mass Effect 3: Omega Critic Reviews

The asking price is a little too steep, but long-term Mass Effect fans will appreciate this return visit. Small-scale stories are what Bioware does best, and we're hoping we'll see more stuff like Omega in the next Mass Effect game.

Granted, Omega is as much a matter of taste and preference as the next DLC. It's a story of its own without big connections to the main plot and you'll definitely get the most out of it, if you fell for Aria and Omega in Mass Effect 2. I liked it for its great production values and a solidly balanced mix of story, character dialogue and often more open ended fights than in the main game. Though this is hardly a must-have, it is most definitely four hours of entertaining side content with interesting companions and a charismatic bad guy.

All in all, Omega feels like a dumb action movie within the Mass Effect universe - gorgeous and exciting, but empty and implausible at the same time.

From the rousing space battle at its beginning to the surprisingly intense firefight at its end, Mass Effect 3: Omega is just the sort of add-on that I would want for a game of this kind… apart from the fact that it's a bit mindbending to revisit a virtual time and place that had such an unforgettable final act. I might still be trying to wrap my head around it, but I enjoyed my time with Aria and Nyreen just the same.

There are significant differences in the ending depending on how Renegade or Paragon you play it, consisting of 6 possibilities, 4 of which are distinctly different. You can either end up on Aria's good side or end up on her bad side, but none of it really translates to the main campaign, which is a shame. You can't even return to Omega after the mission and nobody on your crew mentions your absence or anything about the mission, not even Archangel, aka Garrus. That disconnect really sucks, and it'd be nice to have something like that after the mission was over to distract from it not having any impact on the ending. Really, Bioware? After all that work we don't even get to go back to Omega for a drink?

If you're looking to expand your time in Mass Effect 3, the combat is good enough to enjoy, though it doesn't really earn its keep with a fifteen dollar asking price. If you want more Omega station, I'd suggest a replay of Mass Effect 2 instead.

The lack of emotional weight makes Omega just another pointless series of hallways chockful of mildly challenging cannon fodder.

While Omega has its good parts, it doesn't bring enough of that signature storytelling to the forefront. I love pulling the right trigger to shoot dudes, but I enjoy using the same button to interrupt a cutscene even more. This DLC doesn't understand that.

Omega has little narrative impact on the main game. Omega has snatches of rich backstory, but it's a limited, pricey thrill aimed only at the series' most devoted fans.

Omega is a short DLC that doesn't have much of the distinctive Mass Effect experience.

For those that aren't at all bothered by the slightly mediocre gunplay, there are a few new enemies that are fun twists on creatures with which we are already familiar. It's enough to keep the feeling that we've seen it all before at bay, but not much more.

In the end, the biggest problem that Omega struggles with is the fact that nothing about it seems worthwhile in the overall scope of the game's narrative. This is particularly true if you've already completed the game.

What's left is all that combat, which seems to go on interminably with too little to break it up.

It's too pricey, too inconsequential - and too late.

BioWare has had a year to get Omega right. It didn't.

The most disappointing Mass Effect 3 download so far, which once again emphasizes overfamiliar action instead of meaningful storytelling.

It's a shame that our final goodbyes to the cityscape of Omega is so passionless and dull. If Bioware intends to release more episodic content for ME3, I hope they don't rely on their increasingly tired combat system to do all of the work next time round. Let's have some more of that character back, okay?