Mass Effect 3 "Citadel" DLC--A great apology.

At the moment I'm on a Mass Effect kick.  I've been replaying the entire series and loving it all over again.  Yesterday I wrote about the controversial ending and my feelings about how BioWare addressed the outrage.  Today I am continuing that discussion with gushing approval over the "Citadel" DLC.  It makes me feel happy.

After some major fan backlash over the crappy ending to Mass Effect 3 BioWare worked to make amends to all the pissed off fans.  The "Citadel" DLC was the perfect way for fans to get some closure.  I'm at the point in my current Shepard's story where I have grudgingly brought the Normandy into dry dock for repairs and am enjoying some shore leave with my crew.  "Citadel" is a nostalgic adventure with all the memorable characters from the Mass Effect series.  I would highly recommend it to anyone who is a fan.  I don't know that I would recommend it to someone who only played ME3 as it would seemly oddly out of context with the very serious story taking place.

The premise behind "Citadel" is that the Normandy is in need of a tune-up and the crew is due for some shore leave.  Admiral Anderson graciously decides to give his fancy apartment on the Citadel to Shepard.  If you were impressed by the captain's cabin on the Normandy you will be blown away by this cool new base.  It's a huge, sleek apartment with lots of room to kick back and relax.  Another nice feature of the apartment is the ability to change the decor to reflect your own style aesthetic.  As you initially explore the apartment you can listen to audio logs left by Anderson that help expand his story in the saga.

This DLC isn't just about relaxing with your crew and also includes a short mission sequence that involves a sushi restaurant, a casino break-in, some crazy mercenaries, a massive secret archive, and a battle on the Normandy (where you are actually fighting on the ship).  There are new foes with new abilities to face off against.  There's also a super-secret bad guy at the end of it all which might surprise you.

Besides the semi-serious story in "Citadel" there is much humor and the whole thing is basically another chance to hang out with your crew.  A new area of the Citadel, the Silversun Strip, is introduced in this DLC.  The area features a store to buy home furnishings for your apartment, an arcade with a few mini-games to play, a casino with gambling games, and a combat simulator (kind of like Pinnacle station from the original Mass Effect).  After you've completed the main story sequence your crewmates will start sending you requests to hang out.  Some are content with simply swinging by the apartment and sharing a drink or having a short conversation.  Others want to meet up in locations around the area like the arcade or the casino.  I enjoyed trying to hook Garrus up at the casino bar, watching Traynor defeat a cocky Asari at a strategy game in the arcade, and freeing Grunt from police custody after a day of Krogan chaos that involved flaming C-Sec cars.  Shepard gets a little time with every major crew member from the previous games and you get a nice sense of closure with all of them.

The culminating event of this DLC is a party in Shepard's new apartment.  You can choose who to invite, but we all know you've got to invite everyone.  The evening starts on a tame note with some drinks and light conversation.  I found it enjoyable to wander around listening to the conversations of my crewmates and sharing a few more moments with them.  After you've chatted them up and complaints start pouring in about your boring party, you can choose to "step it up" a notch.  You turn some music on and the party starts to get wilder.  There are some great moments during the party--there's a dance session with a large group, a reconciliation between Miranda and Jack, a biotic brag session that ends up with James being lifted off the ground via biotics, a mock battle featuring Wrex and Javik, and an awkward conversation between Traynor and EDI about a weird attraction.

It all ends the next morning as you wake up and explore the aftermath of the party.  Everyone is clearly feeling the effects.  The DLC winds up with a cute moment where everyone crowds onto the couch for a photo.  This memento captures all the unique personalities and interesting characters that you meet on your journey in Mass Effect.  I can barely contain my "awww" feelings at this point.  And it sort of makes me want to cry.  Damn you BioWare!

If you're a big fan of the series and characters in Mass Effect you will definitely want to pick up this humorous and touching goodbye.