This Omni Tool is made from laser-cut acrylic, which was then heated and manually shaped until it resembled something you could slide onto your arm and stab someone in the face with.
The colours, the texture, all of it, if you just glance at this without knowing the story, you'd think it was a piece of Mass Effect concept art of something. So good.
Brian Sum is a concept artist who has worked for Canadian developers BioWare since 2007. Before that, he'd been at Sierra and Microsoft's FASA Studio.
As a senior concept artist working on Mass Effect 3, Sum has produced some stunning vistas for many of the game's galactic locations, ranging from the inside of alien starships to futuristic gardens to space nightclubs.
He also worked on some of the unit design for the game, as well as many of Mass Effect 3's new weapons.
Fine Art is a celebration of the work of video game artists. If you're in the business and have some concept, environment or character art you'd like to share, drop us a line!
The Mass Effect 3 Datapad is a free iPad and iPhone app that lets people read about the game's alien races and other lore while they are on the go.
It also lets them raise their Galactic Readiness in their Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 or PC versions of the game via a simple mini-game in the app—without having to play the main game's multiplayer!
That's not all.
It has a news feed. It has a news feed that the people behind the Mass Effect 3 Datapad might want to re-think. When I downloaded the app on Sunday night and saw there were at least 10 pieces of news waiting for me to read, I found what you can see in the image above. (Click it to enlarge it.)
Do the makers of the Datapad really want me to think that their game's latest news is that they're a punching bag for people who are pissed about Mass Effect 3's ending? And that they're fielding possible bug reports?
I'm thinking that defining "Mass Effect 3 News" as "the stuff that the person who runs the Mass Effect Twitter account just Tweeted" isn't such a hot idea. We don't even do that.
This was once Édouard Manet's controversial work "Olympia". Now it's this.
So how does this work, do you folks choose the 1,000 words, or do I throw out a few to get you started, like "What" or "The" or maybe "Fudge". It's probably best if you just choose your own.
Discovered via a NSFW website you really, really don't want to go to. Seriously. This we can post, as it is at least a work of classical art. The other bits? No way. There's not a Kotaku compromise fish big enough.
With all of this focus on Mass Effect 3's more human failings, it's easy to overlook the true heroes of this epic space adventure: the pigeons that traveled to the farthest reaches of the galaxy, spreading their universal message of "give us food or we'll poop on you". How did these brave birds make it to the Citadel?
Some would have you believe these space-faring fowl aren't real pigeons at all. They'll point out the majestic crest atop the creatures' heads. Perhaps they'll suggest that these are a form of quail. To these people I say poppycock. Who ever heard of space quail? That makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.
No, these are pigeons on the Citadel, the massive piece of ancient technology that serves as the central hub of the various galactic governments in BioWare's Mass Effect series. They flock where the humans, Asari, Greglocks (might have made that one up) and Tauren (wrong game) gather to eat and shop, eagerly pursuing any stray bits of food that might drop their way. I've a feeling that even if the Citadel were to suffer some sort of massive attack they'd still be there, warbling away.
In order to understand where these pigeons came from, we must leave the safe and secure realm of fact behind and travel deep into the realm of illogical speculation. There are several schools of thought on the matter.
The Romantic Adventure: The most popular theory is that Earth's pigeons were driven by enhanced sanitation protocols to leave the planet, setting off on an epic journey across the universe in search of a space town as filthy as, say, Philadelphia or New York. Scholars envision great flocks of these glorious creatures floating through space, heads covered with tiny helmets, each linked to the helmet of another in order to facilitate noisily regurgitating food back-and-forth between each other's mouths.
Humanoid adventurers speak in hushed tones about the alabaster trail, the legendary undulating mass of linear pigeon droppings floating in the void, marking the passage of the great pigeon pilgrimage.
The Practical Joke: Smuggling pigeons onto the Citadel seems to be the sort of thing a character voiced by Seth Green would do.
What's his motivation? I'd wager he got tired of the alien races of the floating city in space comparing him to the Samuel L. Jackson character from M. Night Shyamalan's Unbreakable.
Science Gone Awry: More likely than the previous two theories, ancient Earth records indicate that humans enjoyed putting these proud pigeons into zero gravity situations, giggling to themselves as the birds became disoriented and attempted to fly upside-down.
These scientists unwittingly brought about the proliferation of pigeons throughout the universe by training them how to function in weightless conditions. What about airless conditions, you ask? What are you, a scientist now? Sit down and read the story, Einstein.
Pigeons Happen: The final theory isn't so much a theory as it is a universal truth: Pigeons will happen. The how, why, or when doesn't matter; they'll be there when they are unneeded.
This theory is perhaps best illustrated in DeviantArtist Eddbeard's masterpiece, "Space Pidgeon".
BioWare's Take: Sadly BioWare did not respond to my inquiries before this issue went to print (editor's note: We're a website, Fahey). I suspect that there might be pigeon-related DLC in the works. It might even be on the disc. You'll probably hate the ending.
As promised, we've updated our Mass Effect 3 review to include a discussion of the online multiplayer features, now that they've been available to experience.
The Microsoft Store is offering Mass Effect 3 for the Xbox 360 for $39.99, with free shipping. Next best deal on this version is $57. Add the item to your cart to see the price. [via Dealzon]
The developer posted on Facebook today to say it is "collecting and considering" fan feedback about the controversial ending. BioWare did not mention whether it will be going to the FTC to complain about its fans. [Facebook]
There's the usual hours logged and enemies killed in this multiplayer stats report from BioWare, but the most interesting - percentage of players only playing in the first place because they felt they were forced to - seems to have been left out.
Which may sound awfully ungrateful, but as robust as it is - the mode is surprisingly solid and competitive - there's not a chance I'd have even thought about multiplayer by now if it hadn't been for that damn "Effective Military Strength" business.
It's a shame I couldn't have been left to explore it after I'd completed the singleplayer. By feeling mandated to interrupt my singleplayer progress to sink 4-8 hours into it, I didn't enjoy a single second of it.
Cosplay specialist Chris "ammnra" Myles, who knows a thing or two about amazing Mass Effect costumes and props, has commemorated the release of Mass Effect 3 with another piece of incredible craftsmanship.
There's the usual hours logged and enemies killed in this multiplayer stats report from BioWare, but the most interesting - percentage of players only playing in the first place because they felt they were forced to - seems to have been left out.