When Mass Effect 3 released earlier this year, fans were thrilled with how much further BioWare’s space spectacle went, even if the ending wasn’t quite everyone’s speed. Regardless, the company has been quite loyal with its downloadable content, most recently the release of the free Extended Cut. But that’s hardly the end of the series, as the developer recently showed us a new piece of DLC set for release later this year. Say hello to Leviathan.
At the Summer Showcase event at EA’s Redwood City headquarters, BioWare showed off a gameplay demo from the upcoming DLC, and though the entire story behind it wasn’t revealed, it will involve Shepard and his cohorts – Garrus, Solus or whoever else is chosen in his party – seeking out the Leviathan, a creature that could have origin tie-ins with the Reapers, who are wreaking havoc throughout the galaxy, most recently on Earth.
From what we saw in the demo, we landed on a mysterious, dank planet, one near a gloomy-looking ocean. It’s here that Shepard – either male or female form – begins their search for answers behind the Leviathan. The demo features a similar sort of action as previous chapters in the series, with plenty of exciting confrontations and, near the end of the demo, a load-up into a mech unit. There are also hints that it could be headed back to Omega, though BioWare didn’t confirm this just yet.
What was confirmed, however, were two new weapons that will be included in the DLC. The first is the AT-12 Raider shotgun, with semi-automatic firing that loads slowly, but has tremendous effect when it comes to hitting enemies. It’s perfect for up-close skirmishes, or taking on bigger enemies that can absorb the bigger pellet spread.
The other weapon is the M-55 Argus assault rifle. This is also ideal when it comes to close range combat, a preference when it comes to the senior C-sec officers that used it beforehand. It fires in three-round bursts, perfect for combat scenarios that require quick but effective results in battle.
In addition, the Leviathan DLC will also provide a number of new weapon mods, though they haven’t been revealed just yet. New characters will also make the trip, though, again, we’re not sure if any old faces will re-emerge. It could be possible.
What we do know, however, is that Leviathan will extend the single player content by a few hours, and maybe even provide a few answers to those who weren’t completely clear about everything that unfolded in Extended Cut. And this content will be available for a rather decent price of 800 Microsoft points, or $9.99. However, BioWare didn’t say whether it would be released for the Wii U just yet, though we wouldn’t be surprised if it emerged on day one of the game’s launch, which will come at the same time as the system.
If you’re a fan of Mass Effect, you won’t want to miss out on Leviathan. Its new story arc, action and weapons will be right up your alley, and it’ll give you one more chance to run around with Shepard into new territory. Maybe even newer corners of Omega…we’ll just have to wait and find out later this year.
