Except if you’ve really been out in deep room fighting a threat from beyond the galaxy, you probably previously know that Mass Effect 3 came out this week. Thanks to a fantastic blend of action and a thrilling story that reflects the player’s alternatives, it’s 1 of the finest video game franchises of all time, and a massive part of that comes from the distinctive character styles and the memorable environments that you encounter through the series.

For me, seeing them in the game just wasn’t sufficient, but fortunately there is support for that: Dark Horse Comic has a rather extraordinary book featuring the notion art of Mass Effect, with the characters, the places, and even the guns. Examine a lot more for a couple of of our favorites!

Commander Shepard:

I was fairly stunned that it took 3 games to get an “official” take on the female version of Commander Shepard, but apparently some people in fact desire playing it as “MaleShep.” Weird.

For these of you who are not conscious, Garrus is a renegade cop on the edge turned deadly vigilante turned weaponry obsessed military specialist, which essentially makes him the Mass Impact equivalent of the Punisher. If he by some means managed to beat space-Dracula to death with a surprisingly nicely-calibrated whip, he’d be the single biggest video game character of all time.

Speaking of awesome concepts, Tali is an engineering genius who is also the secret pirate princess of a fleet of exiled robot-hating hypochondriacs. With all that going on, it really is probably for the very best that they didn’t go with also creating her a ribbon dancer, too.

In the game, you don’t really get a fantastic appear at Jack’s tattoos, so it really is quite neat to see the thought that went into them and the meanings they have. Personally, I am partial to the outer area equivalent of the black teardrop.

An additional thing I’ve constantly been a sucker for is an RPG mission the place you have to infiltrate or escape from a place without having your weapons, so I was rather thrilled about Kasumi right from the start. What really gets me thrilled, nevertheless, is the fact that her hood was intentionally created to resemble “a medieval thief” which is 1 far more piece of proof in support of my theory that Mass Effect is secretly set in the same universe as Assassin’s Creed.

The Citadel:

I adore the design and style for the Citadel. The thought of a huge ring that can close in on itself in times of trouble is excellent, and the reality that it provides you the potential to search up and see one more “city” floating above you is a fantastic use of what you can do in room that gives you a sense of vertigo. Plus — spoiler warning for a 5 year-old game! — seeing the bright, shining, super-clean proscenium in flames and rubble when Sovereign attacks can make for a quite great contrast.

Speaking of contrasts, Mass Effect 2′s Omega station is a great counterpoint to the Citadel. The place every thing on the Citadel is vivid and open, to the point in which you can search up although strolling about and see area, Omega is dark and claustrophobic even in its most open areas, lit by red neon to create the excellent setting for shady dealings.

Weaponry:

As my complete run of Punisher Armory will attest, I am quite fascinated by drawings of guns. As a result, it’s fairly neat to see all of Shepard’s weapons laid out, with a breakdown of how they collapse for ease of carrying. Now if only they’d clarify why they decided to get rid of the ones with unlimited ammo.

The art book retails for $ 39.99, and also incorporates a bunch of spoilerific art from Mass Impact 3 — a much more substantial edition of the bonus materials that came with the ME3 Collector’s Edition — and if you’re a fan, it is nicely really worth checking out.