The Title: Mass Effect 2: Zaeed – The Price of Revenge
The Premise: Zaeed Massani is one of the baddest sons of bitches in the galaxy. Survivor of countless incursions as the co-founder of the Blue Suns mercenary group, then later, after being shot point-blank in the face, took to mercenary work on his own, gaining a steady clientele of the shadiest individuals in the galaxy, including The Illusive Man.
Upon joining up with Commander Shepard in order to aid in stopping The Collectors, Zaeed informs the recently-risen from the dead Commander that Cerberus has promised to help the mercenary find and kill his former partner and co-founder of the Blue Suns, Vido Santiago.
Is It Good?: Absolutely. On a personal level, I like Zaeed Massani quite a bit, finding him incredibly useful in a firefight with his assault rifle and sniper capabilities, but the actual mission itself is also incredibly enjoyable. From the moment Shepard, Massani and a third crewmember land on the planet Zorya (home of the primary Blue Suns facility), Massani, like Shepard is dedicated to the mission wholeheartedly. His sole focus is the elimination of Vido Santiago, which, although his motivations are deeply personal, is a greater good for the galaxy as a whole. Chopping the head off the Blue Suns’ leader is a huge deal, and Massani practically salivates at the prospect.
There are a lot of great moments where Massani expounds on the formation of the Blue Suns, but there are also some major moral decisions that go into this loyalty mission, as well. The Blue Suns use civilian workers to staff their facility, which means that there’s potential for civilian casualties, depending on how Shepard reacts to situations, Paragon or Renegade.
Once inside the facility, all hell breaks loose. Shepard and his team engage the full force of the Blue Suns, which include Batarians, Turians and Humans alongside various types of mechs and robotic defenses. The fights inside the facility are often drawn-out affairs, especially on the Insanity setting, but they’re all well-paced and exciting in their own ways from close-quarters action to long-range engagements.
Once the mission is accomplished, Shepard can speak to Massani on the Normandy, and while there are no dialogue options, Zaeed’s stories are typically brutal and funny in equal measure. It helps that veteran voice actor Robin Sachs is able to bring quite a bit of charm to a character that, on paper, is rather one-note. Especially if the player opts to recruit Zaeed early and get his loyalty mission out of the way, hearing the mercenary’s quips in certain situations is gold.
Length: About an hour to an hour and a half.
Moment To Savor: The Renegade option, where Zaeed exacts a gloriously horrific revenge upon Vido Santiago.
Worth it?: Hell yeah. From a great loyalty mission (which could potentially run a tad shorter than Kasumi’s) to a great character, Zaeed – The Price of Revenge is worth every penny. This is another piece of DLC that comes with the Cerberus Network, so it’s technically free.