Like the last time, I'll only be covering the narrative DLC. No extra weapons, no multiplayer, etc. This is just for the stuff that gives you more content to play and experience. I won't cover the Extended Cut DLC though, since that's free and really should just be considered mandatory. Let's get started!
5: Genesis 2
Like the first one, this is an interactive comic that allows you to make choices for what happened in ME 1 and 2. The coverage of 2 is a step down from the coverage of 1, with some odd parts set in stone as to how the Suicide Mission is handled. Again, it's not really that useful now unless you don't want to play the first two games. But that's a pretty small niche.
4: Omega
The gangster leader of Omega, Aria, was ousted sometime before the main story of ME 3. Now she plans to take her home back, and she needs Shepard's help to do it. This mini-campaign is decent, but largely disconnected from the main story. It was the first time we got to see female Turians, but that's hardly the biggest draw when the next game in the series lets you have one on your squad. Overall the campaign is fine, but a little underwhelming.
3: Leviathan
The Extended Cut of the ending answered a lot of the questions posed by the original version of the game's endings, but not all of them. So to continue the efforts to quell the fanbase's ire, BioWare released this DLC that looks into the species that created the Catalyst and inspired the Reapers. There's a heavy Lovecraftian influence over the whole thing, with an undercurrent of dread constantly building as you try to solve the mystery of the Leviathans. The final meeting and confrontation with them is pretty interesting, although the info they give you still doesn't fix the thematic problems of the ending. Still, it's a creepy, suspenseful, and enjoyable time.
2: From Ashes
A return to Eden Prime brings us the third DLC squadmate of the series, this time an actual Prothean named Javik. The mission to recruit him is good, but the real reason to get this is for Javik himself. He's much more fleshed out than Zaeed and Kasumi were, and was clearly meant to be a part of the base game before being shifted to Day 1 DLC. I would consider this to be the most essential piece of ME 3 DLC, as Javik's perspective and character interactions are some of the highlights of the game. That said, he should never have been DLC in the first place.
1: Citadel
While From Ashes is more important to the game and story, Citadel is easily my favorite piece of ME DLC. It's a fun, silly, heartfelt epilogue that sends our favorite characters on one last crazy ride before putting the trilogy to bed. Someone is trying to steal Shepard's identity, and it's going to take your entire crew (plus Wrex if he survived) to stop them. After that you get the chance to explore a new section of the Citadel with arcade games, a casino, and a combat simulator that blows Pinnacle Station out of the water. It all ends with a massive party that you can invite every living squadmate to, plus some NPC crew members. Citadel is completely unnecessary for the plot, but that's not really a problem. It's here to be one final celebration of the characters you've come to know and love. It's complete fanservice, but it's made with the sense that the creators are doing this as much for themselves as for the players. Personally, whenever I complete ME 3 I like to skip over this and go to the ending before backtraking to a previous save and treating this as the true ending of the game. It may not be the greatest, but it is the best ending ME 3 ever got.
DLC Mini-review
Like the last time, I'll only be covering the narrative DLC. No extra weapons, no multiplayer, etc. This is just for the stuff that gives you more content to play and experience. I won't cover the Extended Cut DLC though, since that's free and really should just be considered mandatory. Let's get started!
5: Genesis 2
Like the first one, this is an interactive comic that allows you to make choices for what happened in ME 1 and 2. The coverage of 2 is a step down from the coverage of 1, with some odd parts set in stone as to how the Suicide Mission is handled. Again, it's not really that useful now unless you don't want to play the first two games. But that's a pretty small niche.
4: Omega
The gangster leader of Omega, Aria, was ousted sometime before the main story of ME 3. Now she plans to take her home back, and she needs Shepard's help to do it. This mini-campaign is decent, but largely disconnected from the main story. It was the first time we got to see female Turians, but that's hardly the biggest draw when the next game in the series lets you have one on your squad. Overall the campaign is fine, but a little underwhelming.
3: Leviathan
The Extended Cut of the ending answered a lot of the questions posed by the original version of the game's endings, but not all of them. So to continue the efforts to quell the fanbase's ire, BioWare released this DLC that looks into the species that created the Catalyst and inspired the Reapers. There's a heavy Lovecraftian influence over the whole thing, with an undercurrent of dread constantly building as you try to solve the mystery of the Leviathans. The final meeting and confrontation with them is pretty interesting, although the info they give you still doesn't fix the thematic problems of the ending. Still, it's a creepy, suspenseful, and enjoyable time.
2: From Ashes
A return to Eden Prime brings us the third DLC squadmate of the series, this time an actual Prothean named Javik. The mission to recruit him is good, but the real reason to get this is for Javik himself. He's much more fleshed out than Zaeed and Kasumi were, and was clearly meant to be a part of the base game before being shifted to Day 1 DLC. I would consider this to be the most essential piece of ME 3 DLC, as Javik's perspective and character interactions are some of the highlights of the game. That said, he should never have been DLC in the first place.
1: Citadel
While From Ashes is more important to the game and story, Citadel is easily my favorite piece of ME DLC. It's a fun, silly, heartfelt epilogue that sends our favorite characters on one last crazy ride before putting the trilogy to bed. Someone is trying to steal Shepard's identity, and it's going to take your entire crew (plus Wrex if he survived) to stop them. After that you get the chance to explore a new section of the Citadel with arcade games, a casino, and a combat simulator that blows Pinnacle Station out of the water. It all ends with a massive party that you can invite every living squadmate to, plus some NPC crew members. Citadel is completely unnecessary for the plot, but that's not really a problem. It's here to be one final celebration of the characters you've come to know and love. It's complete fanservice, but it's made with the sense that the creators are doing this as much for themselves as for the players. Personally, whenever I complete ME 3 I like to skip over this and go to the ending before backtraking to a previous save and treating this as the true ending of the game. It may not be the greatest, but it is the best ending ME 3 ever got.