Six Underwhelming Limited Editions

Couple that odd decision with the fact that the soundtrack isn’t available separately and game music geeks such as me are forced to torrent it somewhere. I mean, what choice do we have?

Madden NFL 09

Considering that they’re annual releases, it’s unusual for any sports game to receive any sort of collector’s edition. Then again, none are longer lasting or more celebrated than the Madden NFL series, so a 20th anniversary edition made sense.

For Madden NFL 09, the extra $30 entitled fans to an updated version of John Madden Football ’93 with updated teams and rosters, some bonus videos, and a copy of NFL Head Coach 09. This seems like a fine deal until you remember that at no point has the NFL Head Coach series ever been remotely fun. Of course, we use the term “series” quite loosely, as 09 was the second and final version of the game to ever come out.

From left to right: Fun, not-so-much fun.

From left to right: Fun, not-so-much fun.

If you were really itching to play Madden ’93 at the time, your $30 were better left in your wallet as you dug up your old SNES or Genesis.

Rainbow Six: Vegas

Those who have played Rainbow Six: Vegas will know that the game was quite good. Rather than being just another tactical shooter set in boring train yards and warehouses, the game was set in bright and colorful Las Vegas. This was a welcome departure from the usual browns and greys found in far too many games lately.

For some reason, the Limited Collector’s Edition on offer was exclusive to the Xbox 360, but it was probably for the best. For an extra ten bucks, gamers were treated to an alternate game cover, a making-of DVD, and … that’s it. Now, we’re not saying that there aren’t people out there that are interested in seeing how their favorite games are made, but if you’ve seen one making-of you’ve seen them all. It’s a series of video shots of stressed-out dudes in cubicles toiling away while a project lead tells you how hard everyone worked on the game.

At least it looks nicer than Prince of Persia.

At least it looks nicer than Prince of Persia.

The way we see it, unless the game was made by wizards and/or leprechauns, who cares? Either offer us something worth the extra cash or don’t bother.

Did we forget a certain limited edition that gave you buyer’s remorse? Let us know!

Readers Comments (7)

  1. I like the EA Limited Editions. It seems like a good strategy to get people to buy new without screwing over used game buyers like they did with the online pass. I usually only shell out the extra cash if it comes with in-game stuff, and if it’s not too much. I don’t see myself ever spending more than $80 on a Collector’s Edition, unless I can somehow shave off the price by trading in games.

  2. I remember getting the BlazBlue collector edition and although it’s great with 4 discs of content (Game, OST disc 1, OST disc 2, Tips Bluray), it’s stupid to have the tips disc on bluray and in STANDARD DEFINITION. Why not put it on a DVD so you can watch it on your laptop or something while playing? There’s no way to play the game while looking at combo tips because they are on a stupid Bluray which requires a PS3 or Bluray player & most PS3 owners don’t own a stand-alone Bluray player and if they did it’s likely hooked to the same TV as their PS3. So how do they expect us to practice the combos? Watch one and then quickly eject and take 2 minutes to load up the game and pray we remember it by the time we get into training? And it wouldn’t be as bad if it was in 1080p but the stinkin Bluray was in 480i if I remember correctly, WHAT’S THE POINT?!

    And the Assassin’s Creed 2 Master Assassin edition I own has the OST on a Bluray as well. This is REALLY stupid. Just like it was mentioned in the article, you can’t listen to the OST in a car or anything because it’s on the stinkin Bluray. Why do it like that?

  3. @ Reneid — I forgot that Assassin’s Creed II did the same stupid thing with the OST, which hopefully isn’t a trend with Ubi games. I let AC2 slide because it came with such a badass Ezio statue, lol.

  4. I also like the EA limited editions and unlike many other games, it’s exactly what its name implies: it’s limited! I hate some of the other limited/collector’s editions because they usually end up putting a bunch of crap I do not want ALONG with the DLC I would love to get. Dead Space 2, Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood, Black Ops… they all have junk, while maybe cool at first, will just sit there and gather dust after a few minutes and require me to shell out 100$+ which I could instead spend on several games to enjoy. I wouldn’t mind if they kept doing this in the future. Limited edition for early adopters featuring some of the DLC offered in the collector’s edition that’s being sold at a higher price for extra junk I don’t want 😛 Win for me!

  5. TraumaticTighearnan November 16, 2010 @ 10:45

    @Joe
    I LOVE that Ezio Statue xD
    I can’t wait for the map of Rome/ Codex page xD

  6. You should have thrown in Blazblue: Calamity Trigger, Red Dead: Redemption, Dragon Age: Origins (EU edition)

    FFXIII Collectors Edition sucked too, not as much as the game though.

  7. Yeah the Ezio statue is the best thing I got for reserving a game to date. The Alex Mercer figure was cool too but too small.

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