Stolen Memories

There were two DLC dossiers in the 2nd Mass Effect game and I think they were both great. But personally, it was Kasumi’s DLC that I enjoyed more than Zaeed’s.

No disrespect to Zaeed; he’s a badass who desires revenge. But if I had to choose which DLC dossier to write about for ME2, I would choose Kasumi because I love the story behind it.

These short rambles of the Mass Effect DLCs are so easy to write, by the Mantle I think I’ll blaze through them in no time at all!

Sometimes I think she doesn’t even look human.

When I first learned that Kasumi was a master thief, something told me that she would try to steal something valuable the moment I gained her trust. Then again, just because she’s notorious for being a thief, doesn’t mean you should underestimate her; just like with Thane as an assassin.

It’s almost creepy in my opinion about how you contact her through one of those screens on the Citadel where advertisements run. I’m pretty flexible about when I do her loyalty mission; sometimes I will do it right after I bring her on board the ship, or I will recruit everyone else before and after Horizon and the Collector ship, then I do her loyalty mission. There’s really no ideal way when to do it as long as you get everyone’s loyal before you do the suicide mission!

It turns out that her mission is to steal back a greybox from a man named Donovan Hock. Yeah, what’s so important about a little box? Well if it contains the only memories you have of your deceased lover then I can see why it would be so important to get it back.

What makes these DLCs so unique is that instead of fighting your way through to retrieve it, you have to sneak in disguise into Hock’s mansion where he’s holding a party.

I must admit that I like the dress my Femshep wears when she goes to the party with Kasumi, although it’s not as sexy as the one in the third game, still.

It took me a while to get used to not going around guns blazing, but after a few times playing through, the only things I would forget where they were: where I go to sneak into Hock’s quarters, and the statue you pull to enter a secret room.

How did Hock get Lady Liberty’s head? Damn you Hock!

I don’t know why, but I enjoy examining all the stolen goods in Hock’s vault, and I was pretty shocked that even the head of Liberty was there. Jesus Christ. 

After that it’s pretty much just shoot em’ up at Hock’s henchmen for the rest of the game. The M-12 Locust is a solid SMG in my opinion; just give it some upgrades along with an ammo power and it’ll be even more effective. I always choose an ammo power for a bonus if my Femshep doesn’t have one already; mostly incendiary, armor-piercing or disruptor ammo are personal favourites of mine.

I often command Kasumi to use her shadow strike attack if there are henchmen in the far side of the room. Useful to cover a lot of ground and definitely a challenge once I decided to move up a difficulty.

The final battle can be a pain, depending on how you approach it; most of the time I stay in cover at the back until I can open fire on Hock’s gunship. I love my particle beam, but most of the time I don’t have it yet when I go to do this DLC, so missiles or grenades are my friends. I’m sure many of you have different tactics; whatever floats your boat.

In the end, it was so touching to see Kasumi open the greybox and see all the memories she’s had with Keiji; there is nothing more precious than love, so I decided to let her keep the greybox.

After the mission I would sometimes visit her in the room on the ship that she claims her own. It’s funny how she used to leave roses behind after stealing something; just like Kissin’ Kate Barlow would kiss the men she killed. 

So, what are your thoughts on this DLC? Above all I found it to be pretty predictable about what was going to go down; except of course the amount of goods Hock stole, no DNA on the pillow, and a statue of Saren!

-Emily