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Mass Effect 3: OMEGA DLCIn Omega, the new downloadable add-on for BioWare's science fiction role-playing shooter Mass Effect 3, two never before playable characters steal the show.
Sure, Shepard is the main man/woman, but fans will be most interested in the two new party members you get to control.
The first of these is Aria T'Loak, the frowning asari mob boss who, in her view, is the rightful owner of Omega, the space station last seen in Mass Effect 2.
Aria is a powerful biotic - one of the most powerful, BioWare Montreal producer Fabrice Condominas tells Eurogamer. And her abilities, created specifically for her use, reflect that power. Flare is “probably one of the most powerful” biotic explosive attacks in the game and is great for clearing groups of enemies. Lash sends a biotic lash out onto the battlefield, attracting enemies to her and doing heavy damage. Lash is particularly useful against shielded enemies - a single attack can drop a shields in an instant. So powerful is Aria that BioWare had to rebalance the combat gameplay to cope.
But it is the second new party member that will attract the most attention. Her name is Nyreen Kandros, the turian leader of the Talon mercenary group and the first female turian to be seen in the Mass Effect video games.
Nyreen is ex-turian military, but, despite this, she is a biotic (turian military hierarchy prohibits biotic powers). Her powers aren't as devastating as Aria's, but she's still useful in combat. Her Biotic Grenade ability does exactly what it says on the tin, and Biotic Protector raises a magic shield, useful for keeping her alive when the chips are down.
Condominas said designing Nyreen was quite a challenge. While a female turian did pop up in one of the Mass Effect comics, there was no video game reference point (and there are female turian soldiers in the game, but they're background soldiers who go unnoticed, apparently).
“We wanted to make sure the first time you see her you realise she's female and not a male turian, so we had to do a bit of work. We changed subtly some shapes to give her a smoother face. I can't wait for the players' feedback!”
Loved it.
