The new map looks very impressive but requires an effort to master

Apr 19, 2012 23:51 GMT  ·  By

Without a doubt, the online mode in Mass Effect 3 has gotten a massive boost in terms of popularity last week, when developer BioWare released the Resurgence DLC Pack for free across the PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 platforms.

We’ve already talked about the characters introduced by the add-on, namely the Krogan Battlemaster Vanguard, the Geth Infiltrator and Engineer, the Batarian Soldier and Sentinel, and even the Asari Justicar Adept.

Now, it’s time to discuss one of the two new maps included in the expansion, Firebase Hydra.

While all six regular maps in Mass Effect 3’s multiplayer are quite impressive, Hydra takes things to a new level, offering a gorgeous environment that wasn’t seen in the game’s single-player campaign.

The map unfortunately retains the mostly gray-brown color palette seen in a lot of games these days, but does offer some great views, including an impressive waterfall coming through a dam located nearby and the stunning lake formed by this water.

You wont’ have that much time to enjoy the view, however, as most of your time spent on Hydra will see you face off against the different enemies in Mass Effect 3’s multiplayer mode.

In terms of actual gameplay, Hydra is a pretty balanced map, but its array of open areas aren’t that great when you’re trying to stay in cover, although snipers will certainly enjoy them.

While most teams usually prefer to stay in the location they were spawned at the start of the match (the harbor), I found that it’s much better to go to the other side of the map, inside the actual Operations center, as you’re in a closed room with only two access paths.

Enemies are then forced to approach on these two paths and a team of four players can keep them at bay even on trickier difficulty levels like Silver or even Gold.

Teamwork is key, however, as you need to coordinate, especially on the objective waves. Veteran players, however, won’t have that many problems on Firebase Hydra.

How was your experience with the new level? Did you like it or have you returned to the regular maps in Mass Effect 3’s multiplayer?