Mass Effect 2: Kasumi's Stolen Memory DLC First Impressions

BioWare's downloadable content plans for Mass Effect 2 continue to roll on, with the Firewalker pack arriving in late March free of charge for Cerberus Network members. But there's even more content scheduled after that, this time as a paid download. Kasumi's Stolen Memory will land sometime in April, and we got the lowdown from a BioWare rep at GDC 2010 on what gamers can expect from the newly announced DLC.

Kasumi's Stolen Memory will add a new companion to your roster, as well as a few new abilities and weapons. The aforementioned companion is Kasumi, a female master thief that Cerberus recruits, and like all companions, she'll come with her own loyalty mission. If you don't want to know any more, you should look away now, because we'll be going into some spoiler territory from here on in.

When you purchase the download, you'll naturally get a message from Cerberus in-game asking you to pick up your new companion from the Citadel. Once there, you'll first run across Kasumi in the form of a holo ad--it seems like the careful thief wants to check that you're who you say you are before she agrees to join your crew. Once you prove you're Shepard, Kasumi fills you in on a little mission she wants you to help her out on. It seems like the thief needs to infiltrate the home of the crime lord Donovan Hock and retrieve an important piece of electronic memory he stole from Kasumi's partner. Luckily, Hock is about to throw a party, which will give Shepard and Kasumi the perfect excuse to infiltrate the normally heavily guarded house.

This is where the DLC gets a little bit like True Lies. Kasumi's plan is for Shepard--wearing his best formal gear--to pose as one of Hock's business associates and mingle with the crowd to try to find the crime lord's hidden vault. Since the other guests are bringing extravagant gifts for their host, Shepard and Kasumi also come up with a present--a life-sized statue of Saren, filled to the brim with hidden weapons. In our hands-off demo, Shepard was able to infiltrate the party easily, accompanied by an invisible (thanks to a cloaking device) Kasumi.

The mission doesn’t stop once you somehow ascertain the location of the vault, however. After finding the entrance, Shepard and Kasumi find that the vault has a three-pronged security system: voice lock, password, and DNA sample. Our demo rep skipped us past exactly how you're supposed to find all three "keys," but we're guessing you'll need to somehow find them at Hock's party.

The next scene we were shown was inside Hock's vault, where there seemed to be plenty of precious historical items, including several from Earth's history (one particular piece evokes a funny Planet of the Apes reference from Kasumi). You'll soon find the data you're looking for, but when you do, a gigantic hologram of Hock's face appears. It seems that he wanted you to get into the vault all along, as he'd been unable to crack the data box and needed Kasumi's assistance to do so. From here, it's all action as Hock's numerous guards flood in to try to stop you. You'll now finally get to see how Kasumi fares in combat--as a thief, she has a special shadow strike ability. Activate this, and Kasumi will cloak, only to reappear behind an enemy and do a one-hit kill backstab. This firefight also showcased a new weapon, a flashbang grenade that can temporarily blind opponents.

Kasumi's Stolen Memory looks to continue on from the excellent standard already set by Mass Effect 2. Look for more information on this expansion--including its release date and price--in the upcoming weeks on GameSpot.