Welcome to Respawning’s new regular feature, Club Articles! These articles have been created as a way of all us guys getting together every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday, and generally waffling on about whatever takes our fancy! Today to extend the Christmas spirit, we’re talking about big presents… Bigger boxes… And even bigger statues… On top of the games we’ve been playing a ton of recently, we’re looking at our favourite collector’s editions! Be them big or small, every gamer has at least one favourite!
Joe
Recently I’ve been playing a hell of a lot of Morrowind; something about just delving into the complex and intricate world of Vvardenfell just warms a soft spot in my heart – I always try a different build every time I play, from two-handed berserker builds, to ranged combat, assassin builds… But this time I’m trying something a little bit out my comfort zone… A mage build – For years I’ve always been confused by Morrowind’s extensively complex spell crafting system, but it’s about time I learned dagnabbit!
In terms of my favourite collector’s edition, my pick has to go to the Persona 5 Take Your Heart Edition Collector’s Edition – The somewhat slim box fools you with it’s compact form factor, tucking away a fully-sized bag, art book, select soundtrack, Morgana plushie and the steelbook version of the game! A close runner up in this regard would be Xenoblade Chronicles 2’s collector’s edition, just for the way the box slides open like a set of sliding doors to reveal that juicy, juicy art book…
…If you couldn’t tell, I’m a sucker for art books.
Javier
So I’ve finally started Shadow of War and man am i impressed! It’s more of the first one, which is exactly what i wanted. There’s something about this combat system, famously designed for the Arkham games, which just trumps any other combat system I’ve used. It provides and endless amount of fun, for me anyway.
For Christmas I did mention a few VR games I’d like to get. I would also like a couple of new beat em ups. I still haven’t got round to owning Tekken 7, despite being an avid fan, so I’d love to own it. I also want to get the Injustice 2 season pass, or an ultimate edition if it’s available. I have played and enjoyed the game but now want all the extra characters, especially the Turtles!
I’ve never really been one for collector’s editions so it’s actually a hard one for me to answer. I’d love the Tekken 7 collectors edition which has an awesome Heihachi and Kazuya however! I have a few bits of memorabilia from games such as my nice Skyrim map and a cool Arkham city steel case (somewhere….).
Salman
I usually buy into the hype of collectors editions pretty early. I had a really close run in with buying the Destiny collector’s edition where you get the DinkleBot and stuff but then I realized that the game was garbage so I basically saved myself a ton of money. Just like Joe I am a huge sucker for art books, I only have like four, one is the Persona 5 one, one came with the Metal Gear Solid Legacy Collection on PS3 and one came with the Duke Nukem Balls of Steel Edition which is still probably one of the better CE’s I’ve gotten. I think the CE I regret buying the most has to definitely be the MGSV since I have to look at Venom’s hand as it mocks me that the game will never be good or finished for that matter.
As for what I’ve been playing, I’ve mostly just picked up Rainbow Six Siege a couple of times here and there and I got to check out the Monster Hunter World Beta which was pretty fun and I can’t wait for the full game. I’ve also been paying loads of Tekken as always since you can just pick it up and play almost any time.
That’s about it for me! Oh and if someone would like to buy the NieR Automata CE for me that’d be great thanks!
James
I’ve finally got round to playing Yooka Laylee recently which I am really enjoying. Most of the games I’ve been enjoying this year have been quite dark and gritty, so its nice to have something as colourful, vibrant and easy going as this game. The game really doesn’t stray from the style and mechanics of classic titles such as Banjo-Kazooie, which I guess is as great as it is a shame. There could have been room for some experimentation with the format, but overall I’m having a great time playing the game, and it is filled with plenty of genuinely funny jokes and moments.
As collectors editions of video games go, I actually don’t own any and its not really something I look for. I find video games expensive enough as they are without adding another £40 on top for an 8” model or a map! And I am yet to see the appeal of a steelbook cover on a Blu Ray or a video game. I think I could be swayed though, I am a sucker for concept art books and making of documentaries, so if something like that came out for say Shadow Of The Colossus or The Legend Of Zelda I’d be more open to spending some money.