Say hello to Kasumi Goto, the galaxy’s notorious thief who is decides to join Shepard’s ragtag group of misfit toys on a whim. Without much deliberation, she and Shepard are off on a journey to find a greybox of her former love’s memories that were stolen by his murderer.
Many Mass Effect 2 fans may scoff at the entry point for Kasumi – Stolen Memory. It’s priced at a cost of 560 Microsoft points; or in real world money, $7. The question is whether or not the DLC is worth the price point and the short answer is no; not by a long shot.
Capable of being completed within 30-40 minutes, Kasumi – Stolen Memory is a light that flickers with bright moments but ultimately dims far too quickly. Players are tasked to meet up with Kasumi at The Citadel in concerns about joining the squad. Without much delay, she joins and players are whisked away to complete her loyalty mission that has them crashing a party.
For a woman with trust issues, Kasumi doesn’t need to be recruited – with a smile and a wink, Shepard earns her confidence and begins their trek to search through a rich man’s vault for Kasumi’s fallen comrade’s greybox. It may not sound exciting, but the heist does a fantastic job at delivering a new experience that doesn’t heavily revolve on gunplay in the first 15 minutes. The last 15 minutes though, Stolen Memory falls back into the trap of nonstop firefights.
Kasumi – Stolen Memory has enough fan service to keep fanatics at bay while they journey to complete the loyalty mission. There’s new loot, the discovery of an ogre from Dragon Age: Origins in statue form, and new powers, such as Kasumi’s stealth attack that is off the charts in power. On top of that, Kasumi is, of course, a female addition to the roster that is completely unique in her own right in comparison to the rest of the women found in Mass Effect 2. She may be hooded, but her looks are charming enough to win people over.
This title is an absolute disappointment when compared to the expectations that are attached to DLC packs that are this expensive. Kasumi – Stolen Memory needed to be longer and provide more back-story to the troubled thief.
Sadly though, her loyalty mission is done and over with before players can become comfortable with her superb powers. Her back-story isn’t the most fleshed out of the party members; once she joins, she’s just another pretty face occupying a room on the ship. It’s too bad that this DLC is short-lived; it had potential to be an outstanding addition to Mass Effect 2. Instead, Kasumi – Stolen Memory is nothing more than overpriced piece of content that does nothing more than shed off glimpses of brilliance.
