There's times where I don't quite like what Bioware does with their downloadable content. Ever since the original Mass Effect had 2 pretty mediocre DLC releases, it's like they almost got offended and they went crazy bringing out one after another not only for Mass Effect 2 but for Dragon Age: Origins. However that created another issue: their new DLC plans haven't been exactly stellar since they just come out with a huge ton of content yet they feel somewhat insubstantial, not quite as bad as before but when you look at what Bethesda did for Oblivion and Fallout 3, 2k Games with Minerva's Den in Bioshock 2 or the Borderlands DLC, Mass Effect 2 and Dragon Age so far is "a bunch of content that you can blow through in an hour or 2". Well with Lair of the Shadow Broker, this is not only the best DLC for the game but also the best one they've put out for any game. Great story, nostalgic uses of music cues and some intense combat make this an absolute must buy for any fans of the game.
Unlike most DLC for the game which were largely side story, LotSB is largely centered on Liara T'Soni, your squadmate from the first game, has she hunts down the Shadow Broker, an enigmatic and rarely seen information dealer. In the comic, it centered on Liara's quest to recover Shepard's dead body from falling into the hands of the Collectors and since then she's become another useful source in the underworld of Ilium so upon arriving on the planet, you're given the task to track him down, rescue a close friend of hers and get a good idea on Liara's role going into Mass Effect 3.
One of the benefits this DLC has is that the story actually feels worthwhile and beneficial to experience. Unlike say the Firewalker pack or Overlord, you get the feeling LotSB will actually have some impact on the direction the next installment will take. Not to mention it's quite nostalgic in a weird way as a couple of music cues instantly reminded me of the first game, not to mention a couple lines of dialogue referencing it (my favorite being Shepard's comment about the convenience of just using omni-gel to open doors rather than a long hack). One trip through a bombed out building is heavy in atmosphere and one part where you're outside a ship is just dripping in not only stunning visual quality but tone as well.
As far as the gameplay, it's kind of standard ME2. One suggestion i have is to bring Miranda as there's quite a bit of armor and barrier wearing enemies around and her duel Overload/Warp combo will make the trip much easier. One thing that I found really weird (and kind of frustrating actually) was the lack of ammo at parts. Killing a bunch of enemies only to not have thermal clips and no corners yielded any either made it somewhat needlessly tough. One cool part is there's a little flying car chase reminiscent of the scene in Star Wars Attack of the Clones though thankfully, like the Firewalker, it controls more smoothly than the Mako did.
Lair of the Shadow Broker is absolutely worth the 800 MS points, not only for the fun of it all but also it's from what I can see the first DLC that feels like it'll be significant going into the third game. My only complaint? I don't have a Mass Effect save game so I'm using the default ME2 Shepard...the only that doesn't have Liara has the romance but Ashley so meeting Liara maybe doesn't have the bigger dramatic impact if you 2 weren't lovers in ME1 (though I'm sure Fox News is happy).
