Those who purchased the Codex Edition of Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood have just lost a little something that makes that release special. Ubisoft announced that they will be offering “The Trajan Market” content free to uPlay members; which is pretty much anyone with a Ubisoft game released in the last year and an internet connection.
While the Codex Edition still has a lot more going for it in terms of collector’s appeal, it’s always disheartening when you spend the extra money up front for bonus content only to have it given away to everyone after the fact.
I will say that I do like the uPlay feature, if you haven’t signed up, it’s worth doing so. Basically you get to spend your achievement points on additional content. Of course this announcement comes after i just blew all of my U points on some new Multiplayer characters and costumes for Ezio last night.
Epic Games has recently announced an “Epic Edition” of their upcoming game Bulletstorm. The Epic Edition probably wont be of much interest to collectors, it is a “First Edition” type release that will cost the same as the Standard Edition. Included will be 25,000 bonus XP, as well as a bonus weapons and in-game armaments.
What might be of interest to gamers in general is the inclusion of access to the Gears of War 3 Beta. It seems that Epic is taking a page out of Crackdown’s book by trying to encourage sales of this new franchise by bundling it with beta access to a much more popular and established franchise.
Gears of War 3 is scheduled for release sometime in September 2011 but if you can’t wait that long you will be able to pickup Bulletstorm on Feburary 22nd. Currently the Epic Edition has only been announced for North America on the Xbox 360, but speculation suggests a European release may be announced soon.
Earlier this year North America got a limited Edition release of the Japanese arcade shooter Death Smiles. In “Early 2011” Rising Start Games plans to bring the Cave shooter to Europe, complete with their won “Deluxe Edition”
No much is known about the price, or exact release date but they have announced that it will include the original soundtrack, a “desktop accessory pack” as well as the Mega Black Lable DLC which provides and extra stage, character and level 999 difficulty.
Like the North American release it is Xbox 360 exclusive, also like the standard Xbox 360 release it includes both the original arcade mode as well as the console exclusive v1.1 variation of the game.
By comparison the North American Limited edition also included the soundtrack and the DLC but instead of a “desktop accessory pack” it featured a faceplate. Chances are this was changed due to the release of the slim Xbox 360 which doesn’t feature a removable faceplate. I’d venture a guess that we wont be seeing faceplates included as pack-ins for CEs anymore.
Kotaku recently posted up a good article detailing the Joystick included in the upcoming Mortal Kombat Tournament Edition. While not manufactured by the usual accessory makers instead it was designed by design firm PDP who wanted to make a fight stick more geared towards American arcade goers as opposed to the other available sticks that are more Japanese style.
“MadCatz did some good work with the Tournament Edition (Street Fighter IV) sticks, but those are Japanese style sticks for a Japanese game. We thought it would be a lot of fun to respond with an American style stick for an American fighting franchise.”
Many of you might not realize this but I worked in arcade repair for a good number of years. I also am the proud owner of an actual Mortal Kombat Arcade machine that I pieced together myself from several other machines. I can tell you that the electronics shown in the product images are in-fact THE REAL DEAL. Both the buttons and joysticks are those made by Happ Controls with Cherry micro-switches and slide-on spade connectors. This is essentially the defacto for any real arcade machine with a stick and buttons made during Mortal Komat’s heyday in the arcade.
As can be seen from the photos the stick opens to store it’s own cable, a copy of the game and other things, it opens with a nice looking piano hinge and a sturdy latch. What might not be so obvious are the features on the underside of the stick
The bottom of the stick is overlaid with memory foam wrapped in velvet, making it a bit more comfortable to play with on your lap. There are also little feet jutting from the sides of the stick that won’t touch your lap while playing, but will prevent the stick from sliding around when it’s on a table.
As a fighting game fan, a Mortal Kombat fan, an arcade fan, and fan of well built controls, I’m super excited for this release. Coupled with the fact that the TE will only be released in limited capacity (20,000 units) this is looking like it could be one of the best CE’s of 2011.
In recent EA “tradition” the upcoming release of SHIFT 2 Unleashed will be available as a “Limited Edition” to those who pre-order. Like other “Limited Edition” releases from Ea this includes a fairly standard package with a few token in-game bonus for day one buyers. So what do you get?
Early access to 3 cars:
Nissan Silvia spec.R Aero
Alfa Romeo Giulietta QV
Lamborghini Murcielago LP640
40 new career events including:
Single-Type events with all racers in the same car
Old vs. New events with classic and modern versions of the same car
Manufacturer Showdowns with different car makes and models
No official release date has been set but it’s scheduled for “Spring 2011”. While most of these LE releases are nothing special for collectors, at least the price is the same as the standard edition release for those who sleep on the pre-order.
Not long ago Warner Bros announced a New Mortal Kombat game by a whole new developer (don’t worry, Ed Boon is still part of the team). Earlier today they announced that not only will there be a “Kollector’s Edition” like past MK release but a very limited “Tournament Edition” as well.
The Kollector’s Edition is stated to include both Sub-Zero and Scorpion figurines, as well as an Art Book and DLC Content codes for “Klassic” costumes and avatar outfit.
The Tournament Edition is stated to include a portable fight stick as well as the DLC content codes from the Kollector’s Edition. The Tournament Edition is also said to be limited to 20,000 units in North America
In addition to the two editions there are 3 different pre-order bonuses available depending on where you pre-order.
GameStop will provide a code that unlocks a classic Scorpion costume as well as an additional “classic” fatality for Scorpion.
BestBuy will provide a code that unlocks a classic Sub-Zero costume as well as an additional “classic” fatality for Sub-Zero.
Amazon.com will provide a code that unlocks a classic Reptile costume as well as an additional “classic” fatality for Reptile.
Pre-order bonuses will be available for all editions of the game (including the regular edition). No word on pricing for either of the CEs. Mortal Kombat will be released in April 2011 for Xbox 360 and PS3.
UPDATE: According to BestBuy’s website the game will be released on the 19th of April. Also, according to GameStop The Kollector’s Edition will run you $99 while the Tournament Edition will fetch $149.
Square Enix has recently unveiled an “Augmented Edition” of the upcoming Eidos game Deus Ex Human Revolution.
For $10 over the regular edition this includes a 40-page artbook, a bonus DVD with behind-the-scenes footage and something called a “motion graphic novel”. The packaging looks decent, but we’ll see for sure once it’s released. Release date is March 3rd 2011 on PS3, Xbox 360, and PC. Currently this is US only but I wouldn’t be surprised this makes its way to Europe in some form as well.
Destructoid has a video up showcasing an unboxing of the upcoming European CE for Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood. Somewhat different than the North American version of the CE but here’s hoping all will look as nice.
Destructoid recently posted up an unboxing video of the upcoming Fable III Limited Collector’s Edition, along with some photos of the contents.
So far it looks much better than the Fable II LCE. Also, is it just me, or are playing cards the new favorite pack-in for Collector’s Editions these days? Both Fallout New Vegas and Dead Rising 2 included decks as well.
Bioware recently announced the “Bioware Signature Edition” of their upcoming game Dragon Age II.
They’re boasting $20 worth of additional content including:
A Secret bonus playable character with missions
downloadable soundtrack
exclusive in-game digital armory with 4 weapons
Apostates’ courage
Seeker’s Bulwark
Adder of Antiva
Might of the Sten
This will be a “First Edition” release meaning anyone who pre-orders before the January 11th release date will automatically get this CE at the cost of the regular edition game. No word on whether Europe will be getting this.
