Bioware continues its tradition of high quality DLC targeted to its most passionate fans with Leviathan for Mass Effect 3. The content is targeted at fans of Mass Effect and its complex lore and will delight those looking for more insight into the Reapers and their history. More lay fans of the series get a few new missions to blast through and two new weapons and a new ability to blast with. Overall Leviathan is a little light in the content department, players hoping for a new character to add to their crew, as is usually the real reward of Mass Effect DLC content, will come away disappointed.

The universe is in trouble again and only one man (or woman) and their crew of lovable misanthropes can save the day (whether they do or not is questionable as well). Sheperd and the Sherperdettes of the good ship Normandy are back in action for another mission. While travelling through outer space the team is contacted by the Admiral and told to meet up with one Dr Bryson, a scientist who may have uncovered evidence of an ancient alien called Leviathan that may be a viable threat to the Reapers.

We're gonna need a bigger boat... load of space machine guns

With the clock ticking on universe wide annihilation Shepherd is naturally pretty keen on finding an ally that may be a match for the Reapers. Unfortunately the Leviathan isn’t keen on being found and is able to use an aggressive form of Indoctrination to control anyone near one of their artefacts, mysterious objects that are the focus of Bryson’s studies, to stop Sheperd hunting it. On top of that the Reapers themselves are hunting Leviathan and dogging the Normandy’s every move in its hunt for the mysterious alien intelligence.

Overall I found the Leviathan missions a little sedate with few standout moments. The initial detective style mission that opens up the quest line is a little cumbersome and amounts to wandering around Bryson’s lab and clicking on everything until you’ve amassed enough clues to pin point the next location. From there the whole adventure runs in a fairly straight line as you battle Reaper troops on your way to locating Leviathan. A few memorable moments include the creepy investigation of a research lab filled with blank faced indoctrinated scientists, defending a repair drone during a hairy fire fight and using a Titan mech to blast a few baddies. None of the missions leap out as a level above anything you’ve all ready done in the main game and there’s no aspect of Leviathan that really sells itself as adding to the overall Mass Effect 3 experience. If all you’re hungry for is more Mass Effect 3 then Leviathan will please you well enough but if you were looking for a compelling reason to come back to the game this isn’t quite the DLC you were after.

The ocean world environment adds a few nice visuals

The new weapons available, an assault rifle and a shotgun, offer you a little more variety in the gun stakes but aren’t particularly overpowered or game changing to have much of an impact. The new ability you unlock at the missions ending however, Dominate, is particularly useful in the rest of the game. It’s basically an AI hacking ability that works on none AI enemies. Very handy for setting large groups of enemies on each other.

As I said before the real draw is the lore aspect of the missions plot.  The things you learn in the Leviathan story are pretty exciting in terms of implications for the larger universe of the game and the history of the Reapers. It fleshes out a lot of their mystery and answers some outstanding questions so if you were keen for answers in that regard, or you’re just keen for more Mass Effect and its great gameplay and amazing universe, you’ll definitely enjoy what Leviathan has to offer.