Damn...

This is a type of game that doesn't need presentation. Unfortunately I've missed the Prestige Edition because 1. it was very expensive and 2. my preorder was cancelled by Amazon... So I had to get Dark Souls III Collector's Edition locally...

Amazon used to be the best place to order almost anything, but lately it's been terrible with me, so... I just moved to local stores. Seriously, what the hell? I have been building my collection with awesomeness and thanks to some stupid mistake from a store I miss something as important as the Prestige Edition, which I will probably never own? Disgusting!

Read More »

Before the 3rd one comes out...

I spend a long time searching for deals and looking for information on upcoming editions just to make sure I do not miss any of the really special stuff. Suddenly, sh!t happens and, as a result, I only get there too late.

It's been a long time since I've heard of those exclusive HMV covers and slipcases. They had quite a few of these some years ago. And there I was, randomly searching the internet when I suddenly come across this limited, numbered cover for Dark Souls II. Sometimes I'm not in a rush to get one limited item and there are several reasons for that: price, quality of the game, unpopular series, whatsoever. But... damn, this was Dark Souls II. I hardly collect NTSC versions but I even bought the deluxe edition of the first title because I thought it would never be released in Europe. As soon as I learned that HMV released this limited edition cover, I had an urge to get it. At first, I thought that it was already too late and most were gone to collector's hands who would either not sell it at all or ask a ton of money for it. Thankfully, I was wrong.

It seems that not too many people know about the existence of this cover. This even includes those casual buyers who bought it back at release date, which means they appear for sale every now and then without ridiculous prices. After knowing this existed, it took me a few minutes to find one copy on auction and a couple of days to finally win the bid. Unfortunately, it's not factory sealed. Still, I'm more than glad to have it. I know I mentioned above how special and important the Demon's Souls or Dark Souls series is but, to be honest, I never really bothered playing it. I know how hard it is. Since this limited edition was not sealed, I decided to give it a try. After one hour I gave up. I gave up playing it even before knowing how hard it is. The first enemies were easy but I forgot how many times I died by falling off ledges because I couldn't figure out the way or the camera got messed up. What a noob! *spit*. 

Read More »

Another one of these games.

Future Trunks has always been my favourite character in the Dragon Ball series. When I was younger I really wanted to get one action figure of his character but, sadly, those were unavailable over here. The only figurines available at that time were produced by AB Toys and they originated from France. Toys R' Us was the only place where I could find them. The best I could get was a bootleg figurine based on the original Bandai version which had only been released in Japan. I was very happy when I heard a Future Trunks statue was included this time with the Dragon Ball Xenoverse Trunks' Travel Edition. I felt even more tempted to buy it when I saw the first unboxing pictures. That satiny look of the statue makes it even more awesome.

Read More »

Videogame Bushin no Jutsu

I used to like Naruto a lot. I originally started watching the anime and reading the Manga in 2003 and went as far as this game covers from the original story. I skipped the fillers because they're horrible. 

Considering I had already bought both CEs from the previous game and this one is pretty much equal to those, I thought it would be a good purchase. The statues included in these editions are very decent and they look good for display purposes,  although mines are staying inside their sealed boxes -  which doesn't make much sense but you can't expect to find logic within many collectors do you?

 I don't know how far into the Juubi fight this game goes into but I assume that, with so much crap happening in the same battle, they could produce 3 or 4 games that fight alone. The main problem is that they'll continue having these CEs and I will buy them... derp... Anyway, enjoy this new Samurai Edition with a failed attempt at "Super Saiyaning" Naruto on the cover. 

Read More »

Goku hasn't aged at all...

The newest Dragon Ball came out not too long ago and I was fascinated with the statue it comes with. It's much bigger and better than Gohan's Statue included with Ultimate Tenkaichi and it also seems to be pretty scarce compared to the previous edition, so I couldn't resist it and got it. I really wasn't expecting to buy this any time soon.

I still didn't have the chance to watch the new movie but to be fair I don't feel very interested in it... I never liked the Dragon Ball movies that much and I particularly hate when they make up stories that don't really fit in the original story.

Read More »

It's back, merciless as ever!

Dark Souls' sequel finally arrived! With it, an amazing Collector's Edition also came. It's not the only one, another one's on the way. I didn't really expect to buy this. Seriously. I was expecting a small sized figurine but once I walked into a store the day before the release date I was able to see that the edition was quite impressive! I had it on preorder and I was about to cancel it, so I decided to check my preorder price and... 40 euros cheaper than the retail price in stores. And here it is :)

Read More »

Thank you for treating us well, Namco Bandai.

As the big RPG fan that I am, I obviously couldn't miss this game. Too bad that 1. this is a poor conversion of the previous titles with no additional features (it actually had some features removed...) and 2. you can't compare this edition to the NA version. Still, the fact that RPGs like this are still coming to Europe after most people sold their souls to the western RPGs I don't like that much is already surprising, let alone with CEs.

Read More »

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 :)

Read More »

1000 chapters later...

Naruto is one of those japanese series that I love and hate at the same time. The show becomes epic, then boring, then becomes epic again. I stopped watching the anime because the fillers are damn boring, but I love the manga.

15 years ago it was unthinkable for us, European gamers, to see a series receive a game where the storyline goes beyond the anime in Japan. And that's exactly what happened with Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 3. Being a fan of the main story, I am usually disappointed with some of the games that add a lot to the fillers as well. But I really couldn't let pass the newest game

And because I was still missing the previous game, I managed to get a good deal on a near-mint copy of Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm Generations. Unfortunately too many things are missing in the main storyline of each character, but overall the game is still well worth it.

Read More »

Planes and stuff...

Although I have the press kit and the promo copy of the game, I was still missing a retail version of the game. I didn't get this cheap before simply because I wanted a particular version, but now I decided to leave that behind my back and get the regular Limited Edition of Ace Combat Assault Horizon.

After buying this I felt the need to play the game. I used to love Ace Combat 2 and 3 (didn't play the 1st one that much) and I also enjoyed some of the PS2 games, but my favourite one as to be Electrosphere, which was in my opinion a major improvement over the second game. So I picked up my Xbox 360 promo copy and started to playing the game. In a few days I eventually finished it.

I was quite disappointed with this game... Seriously. The storyline is okay, the helicopter missions are a very nice addition and the helicopter control is quite solid, but then they decided to screw years of fantastic aircraft gameplay by adding a rubbish Dog Fight Mode. What the hell is that? I know this game is not a flying sim, but to actually go as far as introducing a mode that creates impossible manoeuvres out of nothing as soon as you enter that mode... and the worst part is that the entire mode itself is, in my opinion, a complete mess! It's so messed up, really!

Then they also added a counter attack manoeuvre that I didn't like... These games used to have some very pleasing gameplay but this one made me so upset... They broke that great gameplay to add some rubbish new modes and features. Oh well... :(

Read More »

They want one piece. I want dozens.

Yet another popular anime-based game released in Europe, this time for One Piece. These CEs are worth quite a bit - well, they're not, but fans pay for it. It was pretty tough to get this for a decent price because I cancelled my preorder. After two failed attempts to get this for a decent price I finally managed to score. This was sold out on Amazon and I believe it wasn't released in the UK, but I was lucky enough to find a remaining copy of One Piece Pirate Warriors Collector's Edition on Amazon.it for a lower price than the RRP. I don't know how that's possible, since the game was sold out and all other copies for sale by independent sellers were not available under 100 euros. I will keep my edition sealed but I saw unboxing videos and the boat replica is actually a pretty decent bonus for fans. I might be wrong but it seems this CE was not produced in very big numbers. The box might not be too big, but the boat is as nearly as big as the box, which is a fairly decent size for someone like me who wasn't expecting much more than some sort of "gashapon" figure. You have to build a fe wpieces of the boat and optionally add some stickers to it - that's the only bad part: the stickers.

Read More »

PC only? It's a lie!

It arrived at last, the sought after Enhanced Edition of The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings and I quite enjoyed the package. It has a 3D effect quite similar to the Auditore Edition of Assassin's Creed Revelations with the  usual wolf logo. This is another one I'm keeping sealed and the main reason why I bought it it's because it suddenly became sold out!

Read More »

'It sucks and it's very expensive', I said. 'No way I'll get it!'

I lied. I honestly wasn't expecting to buy this edition because the price seems very off considering the contents and the quality of the head gear. However, I still made a preorder on amazon to make sure I wouldn't miss it if it really became sold out and hard to get. That never really happened fortunately.

As I was walking around the videogame section of a particular store, I noticed the new Saint Seiya game was on the shelves already. With it I also noticed the myth Cloth Box Edition. That edition is pretty weak... The box is dull gray and not shiny, it has an average size, it only brings a DLC code and a t-shirt and all the items are loose inside the box. What a shame...

Suddenly, the wild Head Gear Edition appears in from of my eyes. At first I didn't eve realize that was the real thing. I can only think of a particular box that rivals the huge size this edition has, and it's the Crysis 2 Nano Edition. Yeah, the Head Gear Edition has almost the same size. And the box looks very good. I must say that the shiny packaging is an irresistible eyecandy unlike the cheaper collector's edition. Still, I resisted the initial temptation and didn't buy it. I came home and tried to find unboxing videos of that edition. I eventually found a french website with pictures. That's when I suddenly realised that the head gear included was made by branpresto and includes a numbered certificate of authenticity. Only 5000 exist...

A couple of days later I visited this store and found one edition for a cheaper price than amazon. That was the final drop. I immediately grabbed it and bought it before I changed my mind. In the end: totally worth it!

Read More »

Soul Calib*u*r V

And the 5th title of a fighting series that started on DC (yeah, PS1 etc, I know...) is finally here! And another edition came with it... This boxset is almost a copy paste of Fable III because it has the exact same size and shape. Content-wise, it's good enough to justify its purchase after the recent price drop. Haven't played the game yet, hopefully will soon.

Read More »

How many Dragon Ball games are there already?

A lot... When I started to see the series at age 13, I never expected to see so many games still being made even 16 years later. That's quite impressive I must say.

I loved the PS2 titles, especially the Budokai series, but I wasn't so impressed with Tenkaichi games. I recognize they are good, but I liked Budokai's battle system most. I didn't play the recent titles for PS3 and Xbox besides the demo of the first Raging Blast but I really did not like the gameplay at all. I'm still missing Raging Blast 2 LE but I hope to find a cheaper copy when the price finally drops (stil waiting for it to happen...)

Now finally a new Dragon Ball game came out and this one has a bigger Collector's Edition boxset. It includes a regular copy of the game and a Limited Edition Gohan statue. The statue looks pretty good and is quite stylish, with enough detail for what you would expect from a Dragon Ball figure. I certainly am not sure why they added Gohan with that suit instead of a different figure, like Goku's. Anyway, I'd rate this edition 6.5/10. It's limited to 10000 copies but it isn't numbered and it's hard to tell if there are really 10000. The price of 80 euros wasn't that bad at all, considering the game's RRP and the price these statues usually cost. But, honestly, it lacks contents. The only thing this has is a statue and nothing else. Thankfully, the statue is good and overal this edition is still far better than Raging Blast 2 LE, that had almost nothing but a cell and a cardbox scenario.

Read More »

Tekken 6 and the hoodie thing

I had the Arcade edition since the release date. I actually OPENED it (WOW... I opened an edition!) and found out the ugliest cover I could possibly find out... WITH ALL AGE RATINGS FROM EVERY COUNTRY in a box that looks like one of those promo copies that costs NOTHING ang a huge manual in every language that doesn't even fit the box. The artbook is nice THANK GOD but at least it should have a hard cover.

Now I got the Limited Edition with the hoodie for the Xbox 360 for a rather cheap price. The box is in near mint condition. The reason why I didn't buy it sooner is because all the cheap boxes I could find seemed like someone chewed them and then pooped them. Yes they were that bad. But thankfully I now own both editions.

Read More »

Enslaved

Well, that's all I can say... I don't know much about this game yet besides the title. I don't have the collector's edition or the talent pack yet. But the press kit is quite something... the complete game plus 2 extra discs (one of them being the soundtrack) and some fancy artwork resembling the Tekken 5 press kit... that was pretty nice! This is another game I expect to play soon!

Read More »

Streets of Ra... er Tekken

The pic above is from a press kit I managed to snag some time ago. It's from one of my favourite 3d fighting games released since the early 32 bits 3d consoles. The game remains loyal to the series but unfortunately the usual "Tekken force" mode, this time called story mode... in my honest opinion it's pretty bad. The game itself is great but I don't think this beats tekken 5, my favourite one so far. I don't like to play online, there's usually too much lag involved not to menting the time it takes to find someone to fight with at least with me. The arcade mode is pretty damn good but you can't score higher ranks if you don't play online and that totally ruind the fun for me. There are some very interesting scenarios in the game and the gameplay remains great but the story mode just sucks, it's like a new verison of Streets of Rage game or something like that with a pretty bad gameplay. I still prefer VS mode above the online.

Anyway, it's still one of the best 3d fighting games around.

Read More »

Picture Rampage

I promised a lot of pictures, but since my camera's battery is done for, I could not take them. So I'll just add some more that I have in my laptop at this moment. Here it goes...

Read More »

Celebration

I did not really want to post this image right now, was keeping it to another time but who cares anyway... Most people don't even care about these items. But to me they are very important and extremely rare. These are the PS1 and PS2 commemorative editions I own. They are mostly available to Sony employees only so it took me quite a bit of time to get all these. First, a Tekken 2 Limited Edition to celebrate production of 10 millionth European Playstation disc. Then it's the Rapid Racer to celebrate production of the 50 millionth European Playstation disc. The first two are rare indeed. The Gran Turismo edition was released to celebrate the production of 100 million European Playstation discs. The last one, Tekken 3, is a commemorative disc celebrating the SCEE conference in Athens. Don't know what happened there to make them release such an edition.

Finally, two other similar editions for PS2. The Getaway celebrating the production of 100.000.000 discs. There are 1000 of these, each individually numbered. As for the Hadware Online Arena, that is quite a treasure. It was released to celebrate production of 150.000.000 ps2 game discs. However, there are only 100 of these and mine seems to be the number 1 edition of all the 100 available since its number is 150.000.001. There are certainly other editions available, I'll keep searching for these like I've been doing for almost 3 years now...

Read More »