Mass Effect: Pinnacle Station Review (Xbox 360)

The rumored second DLC add-on for Mass Effect was released Tuesday morning for the public. Available at only 400 Microsoft Points, players can compete in an arena-style simulator and rise up on the scoreboard.

To get straight to the point, there really isn’t a story here. Shepard arrives at Pinnacle Station only to be challenged by Vidinos, the cocky leader of the scoreboard. Vidinos challenges Shepard to beat his scores and in return he’ll give up one of his weapons.

There are four simulations available with two different levels, Hunt; killing enemies gives more time, Survival; must fight as long as possible, Time Trial; kill the enemies as fast as possible, and Capture; three points must be taken. After certain requirements have been met, more simulation levels will become available. When fighting in the simulation, Admiral Ahern will act as sort of a commentator. His comments are repeated frequently enough that they become annoying quickly.

These modes are fun for a little while, but they quickly become dull after repeatidly retrying them to obtain first place. There isn’t anything really wrong with these modes, but the combat isn’t as snappy as it needs to be to accomplish any of these goals, making some later senarioes rather frustrating.

Perhaps the best part of Pinnacle Station is Tech Officer Ochren, a nerdy, annoyed, and sarcastic technician that just wants a little credit for his work. His comments are usually pretty funny and left me with atleast something to look forward to. With that said, that’s all there really is to Pinnacle Station. The station is just a training ground for soldiers, with no real mission to complete. Players only gain experience from the simulations only if placed in first, and nothing really worth while comes out of this add-on.

For 400 Microsoft points it seems like a deal, but all that’s really here is some shallow combat modes that are never really that fun. This can certainly add a few hours to any Mass Effect play-through, but unless dominating a scoreboard that other people can’t even see is your thing, you might as well stay away from this add-on.

Found on: endsights.com