Mass Effect DLC free on PC at launch

By Robert Purchese Published 18 April, 2008

BioWare brought down the price.

BioWare has said PC owners of Mass Effect will get Bring Down the Sky content for free when the game is released on 6th June.

You will need to register your game and join the BioWare online community to do so.

Bring Down the Sky was the rather disappointing content pack released on Xbox Live in early March.

It had you putting a stop to a Batarian terrorist plot to crash an asteroid station into a nearby and helpless colony.

Despite 90 minutes of fresh content, Bring Down the Sky was largely just another combat-heavy side-quest using the same side mission building layout seen numerous times in the main quest. Only at the end did it brighten up.

Still, it cost GBP 3.40 back then. Now it is free. We'd take it for nothing.

You should know all this by now, but the desktop version is a "conversion" and not a "port" according to BioWare, and is optimised to feature things like hotkeys for less interrupted action and individual squad commands for better tactics.

The loading problems, texture pop-ups and lengthy elevator rides of the Xbox 360 version should be erased here, too.

Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

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Comments (23) Latest comment 4 years ago

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  • Britesparc Verified Creative, ITV #1 4 years ago

    Individual squad commands would come in handy, even if it was just "you shoot this guy, and you shoot this other guy". TBH - whilst I am really enjoying Mass Effect, think I'm about half way through - I preferred the combat in KOTOR.

    As for the DLC being free on PC, that don't bother me, I'm used to that sorta thing! Anyone know if there's more DLC planned though?

  • Razorus #2 4 years ago

    Goddamn it, I HATE it when developers do this. I demand a refund for Bring Down Your Mum. Bastard Bioware and PC players. Frakk you and your "mods" and "free content that I paid £3 for".

    As for future DLC, yes, they SAID it would be episodic content to bridge the gaps betwix the games. Alas, Bring Down Bush was another side-quest rather than a progressing story. Considering Bring Down the House was worth 50 Gamerpoints, I'm guestimating there will be 4 more DLCs, each worth 50 points (and better be free of charge). This will bring the total to 250 extra Gamerpoints, the limit for extra content in 360 games.

  • UncleLou #3 4 years ago

    /facepalms

  • anephric #4 4 years ago

    Does this mean we get it for free on 360? Or did MS change the rules again? I imagine they will rather than give the TF2 DLC away for free too.

  • NthSimulachum #5 4 years ago

    I think I'll be a little more wary of the next "content" pack. For it to warrant a purchase for me, it should feature a more meaty and interesting story; object interaction puzzles featuring shovels; and Insult Biotics.

    /awakes Ron Gilbert from his tomb.

  • anomagnus #6 4 years ago

    :(

    but i suspect that 360 users will get something unique

    bioware have always been good to the community

  • dryden555 #7 4 years ago

    well the DLC should have been free in the first place. Shame on BioWare.

  • Katsumoto #8 4 years ago

    Jesus fucking Christ.

    "We have to pay for everything so why don't they! Boo Hoo!"

    EG sets a new low. It's like you don't want other people to enjoy the game. Why the :(s and "fuck you pc gamers" attitude? It's so childish it's untrue.

    Edited by 1 at 18/04/08 @ 23:22

  • FaceOmeter #9 4 years ago

    Yes, damn us and our superior, free gaming systems. We're total wankers!

    /ignored

  • UncleLou #10 4 years ago

    "EG sets a new low. It's like you don't want other people to enjoy the game. Why the :(s and "fuck you pc gamers" attitude? It's so childish it's untrue."

    Yup. The brain-washed attitude of these kids is like a metaphor for console-gaming as such. I try hard not to be an elitist PC gaming snob, but people like these make it impossible. :p And I bet they would have whined the loudest, if the PC version had been first...

  • evilbert #11 4 years ago

    @ Console owners: Don't feel too aggrieved, it's normal for developers to package new content with a rerelease of a game. Look at the GOTY Edition of COD4, for example, coming packaged with the extra maps that were recently released as DLC. As well as that, the average pc gamer has spent far more on his/her pc than you have on your console so we deserve something for nothing every so often! :)

    @PC Gamers: You guys would seriously want to come down from your high horses, in fairness. There's nothing wrong with people complaining that content that they recently paid for (and still have to if they want to buy it today) is coming free of charge to others.

    (I have a lovely high end gaming pc and a X360 so I am qualified to reprimand both camps...)

    :)

  • UncleLou #12 4 years ago

    Meh, I have consoles as well.

    And comments like this:

    Bastard Bioware and PC players. Frakk you and your "mods

    ...make my high horse grow even higher. :p

    You can't support a closed system that finances its hardware and a platform holder in general with software sales and then complain like this. It's just naive.

  • UncleLou #13 4 years ago

    QED.

  • Nithron #14 4 years ago

    PC gaming is allegedly a lot more expensive than console gaming.
    However, after you add all the money the average console gamer spends on monthly subscriptions to online services, and money spent on DLC that ends up being free on PC, along with the added expense per game... Does it really work out any cheaper?

  • Antros1983 #15 4 years ago

    This is more like a marketing move to promote their product. This is great game, does anyone know if this is comming to ps3?

  • EffEmmGee #16 4 years ago

    The loading problems, texture pop-ups and lengthy elevator rides of the Xbox 360 version should be erased here, too.

    I doubt that somehow, given the amount of plot in spoken word format during the elevator rides.

    I'm sure I read somewhere that they're just as long, so as to keep the whole plot intact.

  • miiiguel #17 4 years ago

    "This is more like a marketing move to promote their product. This is great game, does anyone know if this is comming to ps3?"
    Mass Effect's book says "Mass Effect, Xbox and Xbox 360 are registered trade marks of Microsoft Corp in US and other countries" so I don't think it will.

  • Lexx87 #18 4 years ago

    Bunny

  • JamesG #19 4 years ago

    It's good to see a company taking time to do a conversion properly. I can remember one PC port of a Playstation game which actually asked the player to press triangle. The PC and Console are different beasts, and it makes sense to realise that, and to take advantage of each systems stengths and weaknesses when developing for them.

    As to making the DLC availible fro free, well this is clearly a response to the different markets. PC players have a long history of easily modable games, with free downloadable updates, and there is still a lot of reluctance with respect to purchasing what used to be availible for free. (Just say the words 'Horse Armour' to any PC based Oblivion player for example) With the increased availibility of episodinc content, and the uptake on content delivery systems like Steam, this may slowly change, but some behaviours go deep. I doubt you could ever persuade a PC Gamer to cough up a monthly fee for anything other than an MMO for example.

    There is also the issue of the console manufactures attempting to milk DLC for all its worth, against the wishes of the developers. Just as MS, Sony and Nintendo all profit from the sales of each game, they also earn money on DLC, and so it is in their best interests to charge.

  • Chrono-Kun #20 4 years ago

    PC Gamers are bastards...

    /walks away

  • muscleblade #21 4 years ago

    Whats the big deal. The dlc only cost 400 ms points. Easily worth it imo.

  • hiddenranbir #22 4 years ago

    Crap like this really devalues my "limited edition" tin.

    Still, after Bioware's offensive smugness upon announcing the PC version, can't say I'm surprised.

    And I also look to MS; seriously guys, is there anything there worth having a 360 for?
    Edited by 1 at 21/04/08 @ 12:27

  • Katsumoto #23 4 years ago

    You're right, it really is AWFUL that I get this for free.