Collector's Editions

Mass Effect Limited Collector’s Edition

Mass Effect was released in 2007 for the Xbox 360, and would later appear on other platforms as well. Aside from a standard release, a limited edition was also made available, in the US as a pre-order at certain retailers, and in Europe as a standard release.

The Limited Collector’s Edition comes in a shiny metal box, protected by a colorful plastic sleeve. With the protective sleeve removed, two monochrome images can be seen on either side of the case, each of which representing a side of the battle in the game.

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The front shows a large, frontal close up of Saren Arterius, one of the main villains in the game, and his army of Geth below.

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The back shows a similar close up, but this time of Commander Shephard, the protagonist (his default face, since the game features customizable characters). Below, we can see some members of his team.

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When opened, you will first see the packaging that holds the two discs. It has a handy opening in the corner that can be used to lift the box from the case.

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The case consists of a paper wallet with a transparent disc holder inside.

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Behind the transparent plastic are the same artworks as the ones on the metal box.

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The other side depicts a scene of Commander Shephard and his team, with Saren’s eyes looming above, and on the back a star-filled section of the universe.

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Also included in this edition is an art book titled ‘A Future Imagined’. It doesn’t have a hard cover, but it has a rather nice wide format. It contains beautiful black and white and colored artworks depicting environments and characters from the game.

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Furthermore, there is a small booklet called ‘Galactic Codex: Essentials – Edition 2183’, which is sort of a handbook containing information on the game’s universe, such as the species, a time line, and the different planets the player can visit.

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Though nothing too spectacular, this is a decent collector’s edition. It contains the elements you would expect: a nice presentation, an art book, and some bonus content with behind-the-scenes videos. Not too shabby for its relatively low price at launch (around 70 euros).