Video game composer Saki Kaskas passed away earlier this week at the age of 44. Kaskas’ work appeared in games including the Need for Speed series, Sim City 4, and Mass Effect 2. The news was made public by friend and collaborator, Rom Di Prisco in a Facebook post. “His guitar work, synth work, audio production…

There's no getting around it: a lot of modern, graphically intense games look kinda same-y. At a glance, it can be hard to tell the difference. But show me a shot of the Mass Effect series and I'll instantly be like, "Yeah, that's Mass Effect." Why? A single shape that's everywhere.

Did you know Mass Effect was originally designed as a Puzzle Quest spin-off? That's not true at all. I'm just establishing a baseline for Did You Know Gaming's video exploration of true Mass Effect facts and Easter eggs.

You don't see this many Mass Effect cosplayers everyday. Still, I'm not sure they'd have a chance against that Reaper above Dragon Con 2013. That Blasto on the right, maybe he can do some damage. But it's clearly a one-sided battle.

We've already seen brilliant costumes from this year's Dragon Con, but we simply couldn't resist this absolutely packed Mass Effect group shot, photographed by one of the attendants, Pam Marotte.

The Normandy SR2, Shepard & Co.'s ship from Mass Effect 2, couldn't get a better memento as far as I'm concerned. YouTuber ultrabrilliant's amazing clip is the latest one in his series celebrating beautiful game worlds.

A high school student built this sexy 4-foot long, Mass Effect 2 replica of the Normandy SR2, and it's simply gorgeous. Ben Caulkins completed this build while preparing for college and taking the SATs. So, it's no wonder that it took him 7 months.

The Hanars and the Batarians are not the weirdest things people have seen in the Mass Effect series. Take these goofy-looking Shepard creatures, for instance. Thanks to the game's deep character customization, people have made some downright freaky Commanders. Let's laugh at these together.

Regular readers of my concept art feature here on Kotaku would know that, yeah, over the years I've shown my fair share of work from the Mass Effect trilogy.

Mass Effect is about a lot of things. Shooting. Flying. Driving. Talking. Space magic. It's also a series about relationships. Life, love, loss and all the wonderful - and terrible - emotions that go along with them.

This article was originally published on March 16, 2011. We're bumping it up for Mass Effect week!

This review was originally published on Kotaku on January 26, 2010. To celebrate Mass Effect week, we're bumping it up!

The Mass Effect series is a true space opera full of interstellar battles, irreversible decisions, sprawling story-lines and so, so many defining moments. The events of the trilogy could fill twice as many games and novels as there already are.

Some PC players of Call of Duty: Black Ops II report that disc 2 of their recently-purchased game is the wrong sequel entirely.

Prop builder Zander Brandt specialises in turning video game guns into real-world playthings. Wonderful playthings. And his latest work is no exception.

We keep hearing rumors here and there about a Mass Effect movie in the works. As much as I love the franchise, I'm not sure I ever really want to see one. My Shepard is, well, my Shepard, and any movie starring someone of that name is unlikely to tell the story I preferred having told.

You may recall that a while back, we held a vote to help the London Philharmonic determine which music they'd include on their follow-up to their first "Greatest Video Game Music" album.

Did you play Mass Effect as Jane Shepard? Or John Shepard? Whichever Commander Shepard helmed the Normandy, there's no doubt the character has made her (or his) mark on gaming.