Going through Sonic Frontiers at the current moment (pretty nice so far), and decided to take a break to watch some YouTube videos as well as do another ME Retrospective with this DLC.
Now, Lair Of The Shadow Broker is one of the most famous DLCs in the series. I only barely learned about this whole thing for the first time due to the infamous ME3 Ending Fiasco back when it first released, and even then I was still able to get scraps of info related to it. It's got a large amount of push and acclaim, some saying it's even the absolute best add-on the series has produced. It's warranted, to a degree, since it's the first time a DLC made for the series actually felt about as robust and high in production value as the base game. I mean, BDTS is more or less an additional mission for 1 in structure and design philosophy, Kasumi's LM from her DLC has a nice change of pace with the initial start being a pseudo-stealth checklist, but doesn't quite have enough scope and differences from some of the other areas in 2, and while Overlord does give you a new hub, it's really just to get more use out of the Hammerhead while still using some of the environments found prior with the exception of the Matrix-like tech stuff.
LOTSB, though, is a bit different. It takes you from a brief investigation in Liara's apartment, to a trade center building, that once all done then transitions into a car chase across the highways and bustling traffic of Illium, to a sunset-dripped run across an 'exotic' hotel, culminating in a showdown on the titular Shadow Broker's base of operations on a ship stationed in hectic thunderstorms and other harsh weather conditions. The direction in both aesthetics and setpieces can get inspired, the last of which still sticking to my mind to this day, and even after all of that, the ship itself becomes a mini-hub of sorts, having some dossiers to read on your crew, important people, and even Cerberus and SB itself, a video selection available for different you know and met, stuff to invest in, daily pickups that'll give you a variety of things needed for the journey, all while still having access to the armor, research, and advanced training stations across the place. Might not be much in the grand scheme and when I was able to finally play it January 2017, but at the time I imagine this was all pretty exciting stuff, and even without all that the main mission is still pretty exciting to go through, the few boss fights and enemy encounters being spruced up just enough to feel pretty different from the norm.
Despite all this, I can't help but feel rather... lukewarm, I guess to say, towards this. I know it's good, I still like it even after my replay last year, and yet I still wouldn't say it's one of my favorite pieces of Mass Effect media. I can point this to two reasons: The first reason is, again I played this in January 2017, meaning I missed the boat by about 7 years, already having other games and experiences handled by then, which meant it wasn't that "fresh" so to speak. The other, far more personal reason, is simple: I don't like Liara that much. I've already expressed this a few times, but my opinion on her has dwindled to feeling like she's a character whose writing and personality drastically changes within each game - or in this case, DLC - solely to suit the needs of whatever is going on for that game's story, bordering on Writer's Favorite (or WriterS, I'm actually unsure if Liara had been handed off too different people or had the same writer since day one). Even the comics had to go into detail on just how special and important she is by going into detail about her retrieving and sending Shepard's corpse back, and giving it to Cerberus for their Lazarus Project needs. To be fair on the DLC though, I do like how the conversations and interactions with her play out here, her flaws and grievances being more on display and, for people who romanced her, having more depth and some extended lines regarding the relationship between you and her. Plus, this can get pretty funny, even if it does border on Quip Territory a bit much.
Still, personal reasons aside, I should stress LOTSB is very much worth it, more so than the other add-ons aside from Kasumi's and maybe Arrival. Much like the rest of the series' DLCs, it's bundled in with the Legendary Edition remaster, which makes an already worthwhile and must-play for ME3 connection that much sweeter. Unlike Arrival which is very obviously meant to be played after the main game, doing LOTSB as soon as you're able to is a fine place to start, though I recommend at least doing half of what's available around that second act beforehand.
Now, Lair Of The Shadow Broker is one of the most famous DLCs in the series. I only barely learned about this whole thing for the first time due to the infamous ME3 Ending Fiasco back when it first released, and even then I was still able to get scraps of info related to it. It's got a large amount of push and acclaim, some saying it's even the absolute best add-on the series has produced. It's warranted, to a degree, since it's the first time a DLC made for the series actually felt about as robust and high in production value as the base game. I mean, BDTS is more or less an additional mission for 1 in structure and design philosophy, Kasumi's LM from her DLC has a nice change of pace with the initial start being a pseudo-stealth checklist, but doesn't quite have enough scope and differences from some of the other areas in 2, and while Overlord does give you a new hub, it's really just to get more use out of the Hammerhead while still using some of the environments found prior with the exception of the Matrix-like tech stuff.
LOTSB, though, is a bit different. It takes you from a brief investigation in Liara's apartment, to a trade center building, that once all done then transitions into a car chase across the highways and bustling traffic of Illium, to a sunset-dripped run across an 'exotic' hotel, culminating in a showdown on the titular Shadow Broker's base of operations on a ship stationed in hectic thunderstorms and other harsh weather conditions. The direction in both aesthetics and setpieces can get inspired, the last of which still sticking to my mind to this day, and even after all of that, the ship itself becomes a mini-hub of sorts, having some dossiers to read on your crew, important people, and even Cerberus and SB itself, a video selection available for different you know and met, stuff to invest in, daily pickups that'll give you a variety of things needed for the journey, all while still having access to the armor, research, and advanced training stations across the place. Might not be much in the grand scheme and when I was able to finally play it January 2017, but at the time I imagine this was all pretty exciting stuff, and even without all that the main mission is still pretty exciting to go through, the few boss fights and enemy encounters being spruced up just enough to feel pretty different from the norm.
Despite all this, I can't help but feel rather... lukewarm, I guess to say, towards this. I know it's good, I still like it even after my replay last year, and yet I still wouldn't say it's one of my favorite pieces of Mass Effect media. I can point this to two reasons: The first reason is, again I played this in January 2017, meaning I missed the boat by about 7 years, already having other games and experiences handled by then, which meant it wasn't that "fresh" so to speak. The other, far more personal reason, is simple: I don't like Liara that much. I've already expressed this a few times, but my opinion on her has dwindled to feeling like she's a character whose writing and personality drastically changes within each game - or in this case, DLC - solely to suit the needs of whatever is going on for that game's story, bordering on Writer's Favorite (or WriterS, I'm actually unsure if Liara had been handed off too different people or had the same writer since day one). Even the comics had to go into detail on just how special and important she is by going into detail about her retrieving and sending Shepard's corpse back, and giving it to Cerberus for their Lazarus Project needs. To be fair on the DLC though, I do like how the conversations and interactions with her play out here, her flaws and grievances being more on display and, for people who romanced her, having more depth and some extended lines regarding the relationship between you and her. Plus, this can get pretty funny, even if it does border on Quip Territory a bit much.
Still, personal reasons aside, I should stress LOTSB is very much worth it, more so than the other add-ons aside from Kasumi's and maybe Arrival. Much like the rest of the series' DLCs, it's bundled in with the Legendary Edition remaster, which makes an already worthwhile and must-play for ME3 connection that much sweeter. Unlike Arrival which is very obviously meant to be played after the main game, doing LOTSB as soon as you're able to is a fine place to start, though I recommend at least doing half of what's available around that second act beforehand.