Instead, Omega is most comparable to Mass Effect 2's Arrival, a disappointing expansion that saw Shepard leave his team behind and embark on a meandering quest to bridge the story between Mass Effect 2 and 3.

Yet where Shadow Broker offered up new locations, plot progression and a nifty new base to hang around in, Omega offers none of the above. Both campaigns are hinted at within the main game and both feature a well-known character on a personal mission. Omega is perfect DLC fodder, on the surface similar to Mass Effect 2's Lair of the Shadow Broker. A different version of T'loak's quest to regain control exists in an early version of the game's script, despite BioWare's protestations that work on this downloadable content was not started until Mass Effect 3 shipped. This may be why BioWare ultimately decided not to include a planned Omega mission in the main game. There's nothing wrong with that, of course - except that when it's over, everything feels exactly the same. This is a side-story, a complete digression. At no point does anyone else you've met throughout the game's 40-plus hours matter a jot. Whether you'll be interested really depends on whether you like the character - this add-on is an entirely separate four-hour diversion from Mass Effect 3's main arc.

She's on a mission to reclaim rule following a Cerberus coup (for full details, read the comics). Omega's story centres on angry asari Aria T'loak. It rambles, it gets lost, and it ultimately feels weightless. Omega is a dark, hard-fought slog through the belly of the dingy Mass Effect 2 space station. After Leviathan, a story-fuelled race around the galaxy that wrapped revelatory new lore around dazzling locations and likeable characters, Mass Effect fans get the opposite. BioWare is trying something different with Mass Effect 3: Omega.

Mass effect 3 omega