Difficulty:

Just Right

Time Spent:

100 or More Hours

The Bottom Line:

"All it's cracked up to be"

I've been playing mp for many months and knew I'd want this DLC as soon as it came out. It turned out to be even better than I had anticipated. MAP EXPANSIONS: I got an pleasant surprise to find expansions to some of the main maps. New hallways added help with navigating and provide extra escape routes/enemy flank points. HAZARDOUS ENVIROMENTS:There are hazards that will rotate weekly, two at a time. So far, the first ones are "CORE MELTDOWN" and "SANDSTORM". As long as you are not in the wrong place at the wrong time (there is a warning that sounds of to tell you it is imminent), you can avoid a meltdown death (which is fortunately reviveable). Hopefully, at least one squadmate is outside the area should you become trapped inside the reactor and incinerated otherwise, hope you have some medi-gel on hand. My team experienced a reactor core meltdown during an escort mission. While on a mission on Firebase Dagger, my team was met by a vicious SANDSTORM that decreased visibility tremendously. There's nothing like hearing the Banshee shriek and have no idea how close she is. At final extraction, it was just a matter of searching for a glimpse of red to indicate an enemy beyond the sand and just blast away. COLLECTORS: I guess not all of the Collectors were at that base we destroyed in ME2. Their version of husks (called Abominations) are basically husks on fire, so if you are overrun, your shields will drop really fast, even on bronze. Praetorian bosses are not that threatening (just avoid the lasers), but take a while to wear down due to heavy shielding. Just watch out for baddies that will flank you while you focus on the boss. CHALLENGES: It doesn't matter if you are an N7 2300 or N7 23, with Retaliation, all the challenges start at zero (so no retro rewards). There are challenges for each map, weapon, power, and characters, as well as solo extraction awards. All hail the solo Platinum survivor!! GET IT! With so much added, EA could have charged for this expansion pack, but it's FREE, so there is no reason not to get it. :D