Games: Mass Effect 2 Collector’s Edition

Mass Effect was one of the first games I played on Xbox 360 and remains, in my opinion, one of the finest reasons to own the console. The sequel – the middle of a planned trilogy – has finally arrived, and this morning I picked up the collector’s edition. It is somewhat more modest in content than other recent collector’s editions (such as the impressive Assassin’s Creed II Black Edition), but more than makes up for that with its exceptional presentation.

Inside the box – which features a much nicer, more subtle and more appropriate cover than the standard edition – you’ll find a copy of the game in a steelbook case, codes for various downloadable content, a 48-page art book, a making-of DVD and a copy of the first issue of Redemption, a comic book from Dark Horse that takes place between Mass Effect 1 and 2.

The steelbook case for the game itself is very nice – certainly much nicer than the regular edition – but suffers somewhat by having Commander Shepard on the front. I understand that he’s the main character and therefore belongs on the cover, but this is a role-playing game and that is not my Shepard. I would have preferred a different character or, better yet, that excellent art from the front of the collector’s edition box. Doppelgangers aside, the case is beautifully printed with shiny images on more matte black metal, and it’s great to have a different case from the standard edition. This is something that was missing from the last two collector’s editions I’ve bought (Assassin’s Creed II and Bayonetta): when all the download codes have been redeemed and the art books and whatnot have been shelved, it’s nice to know that the game case itself will proudly boast that it came from the collector’s edition.

I love that the bonus DVD fits in with the two games discs. Often, bonus discs come in either a case or sleeve that would fit in line with regular DVD cases or a small cardboard sleeve that isn’t really conducive to shelving at all. The former is not really ideal because I don’t particularly want these bonus discs shelved with my movie collection, and the second is even worse for obvious reasons. This is the perfect solution, and is an example of the thought that went into all aspects of the packaging for this collector’s edition.

The first two flaps open to reveal an access card for the Cerberus Network. The Network is actually just Mass Effect 2’s DLC portal, but activating access – free with this card, otherwise demanding a fee – opens up some free stuff right away, including an extra character. This is part of an attempt by Bioware and/or EA to combat piracy and pre-owned sales using the same techniques they employed with Dragon Age: Origins: buy the game brand new and you get a bunch of extra content free. Download it illegally or buy pre-owned and you’ll have to pay. Whether you see this as adding content for early buyers or removing content for late buyers is up to you, but I certainly have no issues with it.

Beneath another two flaps behind the Cerberus Network card are the comic and art book. The whole design of this little extra content package is very nice and features a consistent aesthetic. At the end of the day it’s still just cardboard, but I prefer this approach to just shoving everything in a box. I may even keep it all, as it is quite convenient for keeping all the content together and it looks good enough.

The comic is obviously not printed at full standard size (it wouldn’t fit in the box if it was) but does feel pretty good: slightly glossy paper, not too thin, with a thicker cardboard cover like you get on some “event” comics. I’m yet to read it but the art looks decent and true to the in-game characters designs and the cover boasts that it is “from the lead writer of Mass Effect 2” so it should be a decent read. Offering a single issue of course leaves with the choice of either buying the rest of the series or not finishing the story, but it also lets people decide if they want to collect the series or not so it’s a welcome inclusion nonetheless.

The art book once features plenty of nice concept art as well as some minor insight into the design process, and is presented well. It’s the same size as most other art books coming out with collector’s editions at the moment, which as I’ve mentioned previously is a very welcome standard. At 48 pages it’s probably just the right thickness in terms of cost-to-value for this collector’s edition and feels fairly well-balanced and complete in its own right, which is at once satisfying and teasing. After flicking through this little book I certainly wouldn’t mind Bioware releasing a larger one, and I’m sure they could: such is the promise of creating such a large and rich world of fiction.

While the pre-order and collector’s edition exclusive DLC are presented as the expected code on a flyer, the Cerberus Network access code is actually an access card, the same size, thickness and general quality of a regular bank card. Once again, it’s the small details about this collector’s edition that show the thought that went into designing a cohesive package rather than just a box full of content. Sure it’s still essentially a cardboard box at the end of the day and it’ll end up being either thrown away or stored on a shelf or in a drawer, but as the old saying goes: it’s the thought that counts. Beyond that, the Mass Effect 2 collector’s edition has plenty of extra content and a much nicer case design that the standard edition. Thank goodness they didn’t give me a figure of that weird guy pretending to be Commander Shepard.