Mass Effect Archive

Lair of the Shadow Broker brings Liara back to the fight -- temporarily, at least

I remember the days of expansion packs with pleasant nostalgia, so the concept of a self-contained mini-adventure downloaded straight into my game appeals to me – the chance to take my party out on one more quest from which I can triumphantly emerge with experience points and loot (and, on the Xbox 360, achievement points).  This ideal DLC isn’t exactly what Bioware delivers in Lair of the Shadow Broker.  For one thing, there’s minimal loot and only one level’s worth of XP.  But what the episode does deliver is pretty damn good.

For those who have no idea what I’m talking about, Lair of the Shadow Broker is the latest downloadable content pack for Mass Effect 2.  The plot involves helping former crew member (and, depending on your actions in the first Mass Effect, love interest) Liara T’Soni track down an evil power monger called the Shadow Broker and rescue some dude he kidnapped.  (I have not confirmed this, but I suspect the origin of this lore can be found in the Mass Effect comic books that came out around the same time as Mass Effect 2 and starred Liara as their central protagonist.)