Awakened Collector - Mass Effect 3 Multiplayer Character Discussion and Review

Awakened Collector

I can't believe it's been nearly half a year since I wrote my first Mass Effect 3 multiplayer character review and now here I am, about to start my last one! It's a bitter sweet moment, on the one hand I'm now free to leave the world of ME3 MP and start going through my backlog of unplayed games but on the other hand, I am going to miss putting new characters through their paces. There's at least two more ME3 MP articles in the pipeline but those won't be character reviews (obviously) and will probably be my last for the Mass Effect franchise (until ME4), that is unless something major happens in the future for ME3. Anyway, this week I'll be discussing the final Reckoning DLC kit, the Awakened Collector; classified as an Adept and he brings to the fight two new powers in the form of Dark Sphere and Seeker Swarms, with the standard Dark Channel being the third. You know it's sort of funny how things work out, when I first started playing Mass Effect 3 I wasn't big on using powers to rack up kills, preferring instead to just shoot everything with my gun/s. Weeks and months later, I finally got a taste for destroying enemies with crazy exploding power combos and it was good *nods*. These days I can happily go through a match barely shooting my weapon but still doing some serious damage to the enemy in the process. Adepts as a class have been a true surprise to me, I'm not usually into all this science fiction lark but there's just something incredibly satisfying about using Biotics to obliterate enemy spawns :D The question is, does the Awakened Collector increase my options when I'm selecting kits for Biotic Explosions or is he a disappointing dud?

Unlike last weeks character review of the Geth Juggernaut and the Talon Mercenary before him, who both took a bit of time to figure out, I think the Awakened Collector is a much more straightforward kit to play. I'll go into much more detail later on of course but as always, we start by covering the powers. First up is Dark Channel, it's exactly the same on this kit as it is for the others that have access to it, namely the N7 Fury and Asari Huntress Infiltrator (AHI). Just in case you don't know what it does I'll give you a quick run down, basically when you use the power, it will hit an enemy unit with a lingering Biotic field. This field can not be dodged by enemies because it's an instant affect power, it will do steady damage over a set amount of time and best of all, if it kills the afflicted unit, it has the ability to "jump" to a nearby target. By default it's not that lethal (on Gold+) but if you choose to spec it for full damage, it can kill basic troops within a few seconds and it's also great for weakening bosses. If I'm busy clearing up crowds of low level troops I'll usually hit a boss with DC, so that when I'm done dealing with said troops, I can then take on the boss and already have the first layer of defence dealt with i.e. Phantoms and Banshees will have most (if not all) of their Barrier destroyed. DC suffers heavily against shields and isn't soo strong against health either but it is very devastating to Armour and even more so to Barriers. So in light of this, you'll want to strip enemies of their shields before using the power and perhaps land a few shots with your weapon to just speed up the killing of unprotected troops. Unlike other Biotic powers, DC can only act as a primer, that is to say you can detonate it with another Biotic power for a Biotic Explosion but you can't use it to detonate another power for a combo.

New 'Mob of the Dead' Zombies Trailer Released - Call of Duty: Black Ops 2

Following on from the initial Uprising DLC reveal trailer and then the behind the scenes video of the new zombies map, Treyarch have released a new trailer, dedicated solely to the 'Mob of the Dead'. In the trailer we are shown some of the new Zombie types (possibly just aesthetically different but who knows?) as well as given glimpses of various locations and features within the new map. There's a couple cool new traps in the form of an acid sprinkler and circular saw blades, then there's at least one new bonus pick up item (I assume dropped by Zombies) and then the trailer ends with a sneak preview of one possible ending for the map. It could be that this new map is the first ever Zombies map with an actual plot line, which if followed all the way to the end, could result in an actual escape from the un-dead! [No more getting bored and committing suicide XD]. Official trailer after the break.

BioWare Asks For Feedback On Mass Effect 3 Multiplayer Maps

While this piece of news isn't classified as important, I still think it's worth a mention. As the title of the post indicates, BioWare have created and released a questionnaire on all the maps featured in Mass Effect 3 multiplayer. Ever had a complaint and wished to air it to the developers? If yes, well now is your chance to do so. If no, well maybe there are some maps that you think are fantastic and would like more of in any future titles, again now would be a good time to voice your thoughts. Speaking of future titles, I think the main reason behind this survey, is that BioWare are indeed planning and/or currently working on the next Mass Effect game. I might be reading a bit too much into it but I mean, it kinda makes sense, otherwise why else would they care soo much about a game that they've now officially ceased resources for? I've quoted the exact post after the break and that includes the link to where you can take the survey.

Hello, Mass Effect 3 multiplayers!

Behind the Scenes Video of 'Mob of the Dead' - New Zombies Map (from Pack 2) - Call of Duty: Black Ops 2

In the previous article I shared with you the new trailer for Black Ops 2 Uprising DLC (map pack 2), which contains four new multiplayer maps and one new Zombies map. Following up from this trailer, Xbox have posted a special behind the scenes video, which has developers talking about the new map and what it has to offer. Set on the notorious island of Alcatraz and inside the now defunct prison off the coast of Calfornia, you'll play as one of four new characters as you try and find a way to escape the rock. I'll let you watch the trailer before I list some of the things that I noticed.

The Replacers - Uprising DLC Trailer - Map Pack 2 - Call Of Duty: Black Ops 2

 
If you're starting to get tired of the maps on Black Ops 2, you'll be glad to hear that map pack two is on it's way. Dubbed 'Uprising', it will contain 4 new multiplayer maps (Magma, Encore, Vertigo and Studio) and 1 new Zombie map, called 'Mob of the Dead'. In this funny new trailer featuring the popular 'Replacer' character and his new partner, you don't really get to see much of the new maps, just some scenes flashing by quickly near the end of the video but it's still definitely worth checking out. Apparently one of the new multiplayer maps (Studio) is a remake of the popular Black Ops Firing Range map but until it's released we won't know how similar it will play, if at all. If you want to learn a bit more about the new zombies map, check out this other article for a behind the scenes special on Mob of the Dead video.

Geth Juggernaut - Mass Effect 3 Multiplayer Character Discussion and Review

Geth Juggernaut

The penultimate new kit from the Reckoning DLC is the Geth Juggernaut and he might just be the most unique character ever to be introduced to the Mass Effect 3 multiplayer. If you've played online at all since said DLC went live, I'm willing to bet that you've already seen quite a few Geth Juggernauts in action and will know what makes him soo "special". On the off chance you're one of the very few people who don't yet know, the GJ is the only character in the game that can not be sync-killed! This means he won't be picked up by Banshees/Atlases, stabbed by Phantoms, eaten by Praetorians or slammed by Brutes/Scions. Funnily enough the title "Juggernaut" is actually a pretty accurate description of the character itself, he's nearly twice as tall as any of the human kits and moves as slow as an elderly Krogan, the only discrepancy is the fact that depending on how you spec him, he's not really that tanky. Speaking of Krogans, the GJ moves even slower than the Krogan Warlord and also can't vault or use cover. The Geth Juggernaut brings two new powers to the game: Hex Shield and Siege Pulse, with the existing Geth Turret making up the third. Unfortunately like last weeks character, the Talon Mercenary, the Geth Juggernaut is one of those kits that the majority of players (that I've witnessed), don't quite seem to know how to effectively utilise his skill sets. Readers of previous reviews will know my views on slow moving characters but it might surprise you to hear that despite the fact the GJ moves at a snails pace, I managed to have a bit of fun while testing him out.

I'll get around to explaining in more detail later on but as always, I'll begin by covering the powers. First off is the Hex Shield, as the name suggests it's a deployable shield that takes the shape of a hexagon (i.e. it's six sided), I believe it's based on the ones that were in ME1 campaign. By default it's pretty durable (at 2000 health points) and will soak up a fair amount of damage before it break, it's as tall as the Geth Juggernaut and is just wide enough to block any shots fired directly at him. The Hex Shield should block all incoming enemy ordinance, whether it's small arms fire from foot soldiers or power attacks from bosses, I think it also stops grenades but those tend to bounce around after landing, so there's always the chance it can still hit you. Currently I've specced my Hex Shield with: Pulse, Duration and Damage Synergy. I think picking Shield Strength is unnecessary because the cooldown time is pretty fast, so if I need another it's not that big a deal to plonk a new one down. While the Pulse evolution might not be really damaging (400 at base value), it does have it's uses, for example if you start to get swarmed you can back up and place the shield, the electric pulse that is then generated can stun several enemies and buy you that extra second or so to recover. On smaller maps and in particular at choke points, you could spam the Hex Shield to take advantage of the electric pulse, if you've got a low enough cooldown time it's actually pretty good for keeping small crowds of enemies pinned down.