Alistair Reynolds Ate My Mass Effect Glee

Well, no he didn't. But he did write a shit-ton of space opera science fiction that consumed my daily El and Metra commutes. And after having sucked those down, reading the plot description of Mass Effect did not really inspire me to think 'Wow, what a cool RPG!'. I was more like, 'Whoa, what a derivative idea'.

A Spectacular New Vision of the Future
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The galaxy is trapped in an endless cycle of extinction. 
Every 50,000 years, an ancient machine race invades the galaxy. 
With ruthless efficiency, the machines wipe out all advanced organic civilization. 
They leave behind only the scattered ruins of technology, 
destroying all evidence of their own existence.

However, the wikipedia plot summary (which you will have to go see on your own, since it probably has some spoilers) makes Mass Effect seem more reasonable. And the videos look pretty dope. PC should be out soon, so they say.