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.
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.
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.
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.
The case consists of a paper wallet with a transparent disc holder inside.
Behind the transparent plastic are the same artworks as the ones on the metal box.
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.
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.
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.
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).