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Mass Effect is a game that needs very little introduction, almost everyone who has access to a console or a PC would have either heard of or played BioWare's 2007 title at some point in their existence. The game took the world by storm with it's amazing sci-fi universe, gripping storyline and controversial media attention for exposing a three second glimpse of a pixel side boob..but I digress. The point is, ever since fans got a taste of the world of Mass Effect, they have been clamoring for more and Bioware were more than happy to oblige with announcements of a sequel; Mass Effect 2 set to be released in early 2010. Until then however, fans would have to make do with DLCs
Bring down the Sky was the first DLC to be released in 2008 consisting of a short storyline arc that further expanded the Mass Effect story and universe by introducing a new world and a new alien race. Overall, it was an enjoyable 90 minute excursion into the world that we all knew could have been presented on a much epic scale but was held back because it was a DLC and possibly because climaxing your writing and design team before the actual sequel might be a mistake. Still, we were all very hopeful for the final announced DLC before the second coming.
On August 25th EA and Bioware released the final Mass Effect add-on for the PC and X360, titled "Pinnacle Station". The release came with hardly any publicized announcements or fanfare that it took almost everyone by surprise. The game just silently went live, almost as if the developers were ashamed of their creation...and rightly so. To put it simply, the game is pure, utter, bollocks. The new content in Mass Effect: Pinnacle Station consists of a trip to a space station in an asteroid belt, where you can enter a battle simulator and play out 13 combat missions set in five geologically distinct levels. Each level will see Shepard indulge in either time trial based killings, surviving waves of enemy attacks for as long as possible or controlling a set number of checkpoints. That about sums up the entire Pinnacle Station experience.
If you were looking for a story, mission, jobs or even an RPG in this release, you will be disappointed to find that the game has none. The whole game is just a combat arena where players have to make it on the leaderboard at the end of each challenge (actually the DLC requires that the players have to place first in each challenge). I honestly tried to like this game, I tried to look at it's positives and nothing really jumped out at me. It just reeks of last minute, haphazard and loosely cobbled together gameplay. The only plus sides are that it is cheap, it retails for 400 Microsoft points ($5) and that Tech Officer Ochren, the station's Salarian computer geek is a really likable character, akin to HK-47 of Knights of the Old Republic only more patronizing than comical. Even then, the game is definitely not worth the money, it may be $5 but it's far from a Mass Effect experience with about three hours of unsatisfying gameplay. Adding insult to injury is the sheer amount of glitches and bugs strewn throughout the game. The most prominent and annoying glitch is the one that causes the game to freeze, preventing me from even completing combat scenarios on multiple occasions.
Bottom Line: This may be a Mass Effect title but it is not a Mass Effect game. Even Bring down the Sky with it's 90 minute gameplay is a considerably better package than what is on offer here. Sadly, you get no value for money with Pinnacle Station , I struggle to understand why this was even released. Perhaps if the game offered a multiplayer mode there might be a redeeming feature to this release but there is no such option. So truly, you have a game here that is very much like playing single player Counter-Strike with bots. It's rarely fun and nothing compared to the full experience.
Recommendation: I found this game to be a waste of time and money. Having no plot or story and riddled with bugs makes this game a massive let down for the fans of the genre and the Mass Effect game. If you would like a first hand experience of this, you can buy the game for $5.
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I know this is a short review but there really is nothing to see nor review in this game. It's hopelessly broken
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As always, comments and criticisms are more than welcomeMass Effect: Pinnacle Station [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.134802]
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