My Own World

27/11/2013

Controllers everywhere

Just a small update with two bundles that took me some time to get (because their prices took too long to drop :P), both for the 360: the Halo ODST Special Edition bundle with the green controller (not a big fan of that controller...) and the Sega Rally Online Arcade Wireless Speed Wheel bundle.

What? Another PC game? No way!

Yup, I've bought another CE for PC, for a game that I actually don't know that well - Total War: Shogun 2 Collector' Edition. For a reduced price of 20 euros, I've decided to get it. I know there's a bigger one out there, but not being a huge PC collector this was a good purchase :)

And the second reason why I still haven't updated the blog...

... yup, it's Pokémon. With almost 400 hours of game and a complete pokédex, I seriously wasn't expecting to spend such a long time with this game. The last game I played before this was Ruby. I've just made a huge comeback. Pictured bellow are Pokémon X (sealed), Pokémon Y (currently playing) and the preorder bonus Pokkeball cart case, still in the official plastic bag. One of the coolest preorder items yet :). I didn't change the background on this one because it's troublesome to deal with the pokéball's plastic bag.

The first reason why I haven't updated this blog in a while...

^... is because this beauty came out and I couldn't resist to play it on day one. I even bought a regular copy of the game for the PS3 to play the game before the CE arrived at my door. GTA V is a beast of a game, seriously, it's so huge and so impressive that it's impossible not to be surprised. It's been a long time since I was so surprised with a videogame - not just with its graphics and quality, but with the huge amount of work, complexity and detail behind this game. Even now, after beating the game and attempting to get 100% (damn collectibles...), I am still impressed with it.

I could have died that day

Not too long ago, I left home and went shopping after dinner. As usual, I walked around the shopping centre visiting the regular places where you can usually find games. Every now and then it's possible to spot a bargain so I visit these stores once in a while. This time I was absolutely surprised to find something I wasn't expecting - at all.

I visited that particular store two months ago when it was being remodelled, so half its area was closed at that time. This store is just one in many around the area I live at because it's part of one of the biggest multimedia stores' chains around the country. On this day, the store was fully remodelled and working normally. I walked in and rushed to the videogame section, ignoring everything else just like I always do most of the times. I looked at the showcase behind the information balcony, and to my surprise, I found this baby sitting there, without a price tag. I immediately asked how much it was, expecting to hear an exorbitant price, but since there was no tag the employee had to find out first. So I came back a few minutes later and once I heard the price there was no way I would leave this over there: The Last of Us statue, exactly the same statue you get when buying the north-american Post Pandemic Edition. I knew it was available separately but I seriously never expecting to find one for sale over here, much less in that particular store for only 50 euros. No brainer! The inserts even have space to hold the game and the artbook :).

It's been a while :)

Yup, it's been a while. It's not the first time I take a break from updating this blog, but I usually don't take so long. I'm still unemployed but thankfully I have quite a few things to do to keep me busy. I seriously need to get a job soon but things over here are quite messy and I don't intend to emigrate just yet, unless I really don't have a choice...

I recently switched rooms and now I'm in a room a little larger than the previous I had. I've managed to gain some extra space and bought two new bookcases to place most of my regular retro games. It's looking better than ever and I am quite happy to see some evolution in the way I store and display my games. A new bookcase will be coming soon to store regular DVD-sized game cases from the last 2 gens (mostly PS2, PS3 and Xbox games). Hopefully all regular games will be stored in this room and my old one will be used exclusively to keep and expose the larger boxes, collector's edition and press kits.

This is just a small picture of how it looks like now, I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. Not everything's finished yet, but hopefully it will soon...

I don't know how some of my posts have so few views...

... and others get so many. This is probably one of those getting the biggest number of views, because it's a well known and sought after The Last of Us UK press kit. I must thank Jacob for making me an offer I couldn't refuse. My press kit is actually signed.

I've played the game from start to end and I absolutely loved it. I think there was space for certain improvements so I wouldn't consider it a 10/10 game, but definitely a remarkable videogaming experience and I enjoyed every bit.

And yet another country exclusive

It took me quite some time (several years...) to finally get something I've been wanting to buy for a long time. It's not rare or expensive, but for some reason I couldn't bring myself to buy it. Then suddenly a factory sealed copy appeared before my eyes and I though that was the moment to finally get it. Sorrym don't get too impressed, because it's nothing that special. It's just the french version of Gran Turismo 2 with a slightly different cover, double CD case and bonus disc with extra content. Totally worth it, since GT2 is still one of my racing faves out there. It's still factory sealed with a couple tiny cracks on the case that don't worry me that much.

Back to the purples...

Some time ago I wrote a few messages about the purple Master System games only released in Portugal. It's been a while since I've completed the full set of these with the console included, so I decided to take my time and make yet another group picture with all the titles and the console. Hope you enjoy it.

The Last of Us is finally here.

This was the latest game I've finished and I seriously need to say - what a masterpiece! The reviews were definitely not exaggerating. I loved it. The only thing I didn't like was the ending, but that's my personal opinion. The game by itself is truly amazing. There are many good action games out there but this one is just one step ahead. I've made quite an investment on this game: bought the two special editions released over here, Joel Edition and Ellie Edition, as well as the Amazon IT exclusive Ellie Collector's Edition. I loved this game so much that I've decided to spend more money on this franchise. The Press Kit should be on his way to me, and I will hopefully get some other editions from different regions!

Italy does it again

Just like several countries in Europe, Italy is at the top of the list when it comes to exclusive stuff. We've seen extremely limited editions of Mass Effect 3 and later Halo 4. But among those editions, there's also one less known for Tekken Tag Tournament 2 called the King of Iron Fist Edition. Limited to about 1200 units or so, this editions comes with just an Alisa figure (which is sold separately) and a copy of We Are Tekken edition. To be honest, these don't feel like official stuff even though they probably are.

I managed to grab the King of Iron Fist Edition for a rather cheap price, but without the "We Are Tekken Edition" (which I plan on getting later). It also came with a Tekken Hybrid Collector's Edition (NTSC) without the regular game, which was a nice addition to my collection as well.

Now I just need the games :)

Cute and fluffy

Yep, since it was limited to 1000 pieces and so cheap, why miss the limited Edition of this MMORPG from Playasia? I think I took the right decision, especially because this edition looks cute. I can't tell much about the game because I didn't Play it - I'm a sinner, not knowing what I'm buying :/

Zelda Collection approaching its end

I'm not a hardcore collector of certain series or franchises, so I'm happy as much as I get each individual game or special edition released in Europe, excluding variants and budget lines. Now that I've managed to get Spirit Tracks Limited Edition, I'm just missing the original Link's Awakening game for the original Gameboy and the Wind Waker slipcase on the GC. I will probably never get the Gold Pack for the SNES or that Ocarina of Time pack with the t-shirt from Germany. Those are two items people bid the sh!* out of them and the final prices are ridiculous, so I'm not even counting those. AfterI get the missing game and that slipcase, I think I'm done with Zelda. I wish I could say the same about Megaman :P

Injustice: Gods killing each other

The newly arrived game from DC studios combines Mortal Kombat gameplay (sort of...) with DC characters of all sorts. This Collector's Edition is quite decent. The statue is actually pretty cool, looks very good IMO and it's much larger than I originally expected. It's not top notch, but far better than I first expected and that's good to know. I played the game for a little while and I enjoyed it, but still doesn't beat my favourite fighting games gameplay-wise.

How many are there?

This is yet another one of the dozens of different Dead Island Riptide editions released around the world. Another Polish exclusive, very similar to the Survival Kit from the previous game which I didn't manage to get as I was mostly concerned about the Treasure Edition. Includes all sorts of bonus items but nothing particularly impressive. What makes it cool is the quantity of tiny items and bonus altogether that form this edition and the fact that it comes from a country with a language that makes it hard for foreign buyers like me to get this stuff. Dead Island is roughly a new franchise that only received two different games so far and yet there are almost 20 different editions for both games. Damn!

Not just in the US after all!

Mortal Kombat Ultimate Edition was originally announced as an NTSC exclusive only release in America. I wasn't much interested in that edition mostly because it was too big and expensive to import. But then I found out that a PAL version exists. France received its own 'Edition Ultimate' which is certainly better than the crappy and over-expensive Collector's Edition we got over here.

And then the price dropped to less than 60 euros and I got it. I'm actually happy that I was able to get this edition for such a good price and arrive in perfect condition, still sealed.

Temporary insanity

I remember when the first game came out: it looked great and it was amazing. So I preordered the second game, but it was pretty annoying to play.

And now here we have the 3rd game: Far Cry 3. I wasn't expecting to buy this so soon, but the price was too good and the reviews and screenshots looked great as well, so I was really tempted. I might give this game a try when I have the chance. It's not a bad edition at all. I'm glad it's not huge like so many others.

Oh, those country exclusives...

This time, good ol' France received this particular boxset for the PSP: Metal Gear Solid Peace Walker with the accessories made by HORI if I am correct. These accessories were available as a separate bundle, but GAME in France received it as an exclusive special edition pack that comes with the game, which makes this an exclusive collectible.

A little love to Forza

I guess I won't take too much time talking about Forza, a great driving sim created for the Xbox. The latest games were pretty good, but I didn't have the chance to give Horizon a try. Unfortunately, unlike the previous games, there was no Portuguese release, so I just took my chance of getting the Collector's Edition from Game UK as soon as the price dropped to something I was willing to spend on it. And so here it is: Forza Horizon Limited Edition. Edit: Actually, I don't know what happened to the picture so I'll update this post later :o

And now something a little more special... Well, actually, not really. It may be rare, but it's not that great: the spanish exclusive Forza Motorsport 3 Press Kit. It barely comes with anything else but a larger outer box and a promotional copy of the game. I think it also came with a key chain but I believe it's missing. I need to confirm this.

Not sure how this fits in my videogame collection...

Found a Forza 4 Car wash kit. It doesn't come with the game and it's probably just a promotional item but I found it quite amusing and it includes a booklet with information. The price was appealing too, so I thought "hey, why not?" and bought it :)