Pre-order a Mass Effect artbook for an in-game rifle on PC or Xbox

Three games in, the true meaning of "Mass Effect" is revealed: it refers to the masses of stuff you're tempted to buy for in-game DLC. Joining the recently announced DLC-laden action figures is the "Art of the Mass Effect Universe" artbook, which includes a download code for "the collector's rifle, among other cool content to beat out your opponents" when pre-ordered from Barnes & Noble.

The "collector's rifle" refers to the Collector Assault Rifle, described by artbook publisher Dark Horse Comics as a gun whose "power source appears to be an internal organ with biotic capacitance; its ammunition resembles pellets of metallic enamel that strip shields off enemies with deadly efficiency." Strangely, Dark Horse also specifies that the codes work only on PC and Xbox 360, so PS3 owners will get nothing for their book purchase but the book they purchased.

[Thanks Mark!]