Surprisingly one of our top selling mini figures this season is:

HALO 3 Kubricks MASTER CHIEF 4 Figure LEGO Boxed set

This set of Kubrick mini figures measures 2 inch each.  The set consist of 4 different Halo figures.   We still have a good supply of these left in stock.  You can pick them up online at www.cmdstore.com

We don’t really know anyone we could interview about games, so we decided to interview ourselves. Rufus and Ben go at it about Halo 3: ODST.

Rufus: So Ben, it’s really great that you’re taking the time to sit here and talk with me about Bungie’s newest addition to the Halo series, Halo 3 ODST.
Ben: No problem, you know me, I’m a big fan of the HALO 3 series.
Rufus: Now first off, why is it called ODST? Why did they have to put the 3 in the title?
Ben: Well as you know, ODST (Which stands for Orbital Reconnaissance Drone: Tactics) is essentially the same game as HALO 3, with a different story. The 3 in the title is simply a “shout out” or “raise of the roof” to the HALO 3 team for doing all the work to make the previous game.
Rufus: So I understand that in this one, you play as an African-American. What’s it like playing as one of the first African-American characters in a video game?
Ben: It’s a mind-blowing experience, to see what they go through on a daily basis. But for all those racists out there, don’t be discouraged! You get to play as at least two different people in this game. Neither of which are Master Chief, but he could come later! Who knows!!
Rufus: So there is no Master Chief this time around?
Ben: Maybe! I would say more on that, but you know… Spoiler alert!
Rufus: Yeah, I definitely don’t want to ruin the game for other players.
Ben: Definitely!
Rufus: So I have to know about one of my favorite characters from the original, The Flood. Are they returning?
Ben: Of course! Do you think Bungie would make a game without including one of the most beloved characters of all time? The Flood are back and better than ever. But you’re probably going to have to wait until like halfway through the game to see them again!
Rufus: Probably?
Ben: Yeah well you know I can’t say for SURE, but we’ll see!
Rufus: Why can’t you say?
Ben: Spoiler Alert!
Rufus: What about the Covenant? Are they still the main enemies that you fight? Are the brutes back?
Ben: Yes, all your favorites are back in this latest HALO installment. We got your grunts, your elites, your brutes, your shield guys, and there’s even a NEW type of enemy you’ll be facing for the FIRST TIME! My roomate tells me they’re really badass so I hope you’re ready!
Rufus: What’s the new enemy?
Ben: I would tell you, but I don’t want to give anything away!
Rufus: Hm…ok. That’s fair. What about the Needler? That was my favorite gun. Is that in this one again?
Ben: Oh, definitely! I can absolutely confirm that the needler IS in fact in this game. I’ve used it myself, and it’s AWESOME!
Rufus: Now I know a lot of people usually complain on the ending of the Halo games, but how was this one’s?
Ben: Oh man, well, the ending, you know, those HALO games. They all seem to have an ending of some sort don’t they? Am I right??
Rufus: Yeah, I suppose. So how was this ones?
Ben: Now Raul you know I can’t tell you that! Humongous spoilers ahoy!!
Rufus: You could just say whether it was good or not.
Ben: I could see how SOME people might say it was good and SOME people might say it was bad! You know, different strokes for different gamers!!
Rufus: So overall, did you enjoy it? And did it feel like a welcome addition to the Halo series?
Ben: Oh, totally! I liked the whole thing… the beginning, the middle and the end! It’s definitely a HALO 3 game!
Rufus: What’s your favorite part?
Ben: Gosh you know that’s a tough call
Rufus: How long did it take to beat?
Ben: Hey who really keeps track of that sort of thing anyway? Not this guy!
Rufus: You didn’t play it, did you?
Ben: I feel like I played ENOUGH of it to get the whole ODST experience!
Rufus: And how much was that?
Ben: Well there’s this part in what im pretty sure is like ALMOST the end of the first level. And you’ve got to fight two hunters at the same time.
Rufus: Jesus Christ.
Ben: I’m like, “Fuck that!”
Rufus: Why didn’t you tell me before we did this interview?
Ben: Dude, also Borderlands just came out!! That game is the shit! We shoulda done this about fuckin’ Borderlands!
Rufus: Yeah, I know you keep talking about it. I thought you said you were going to play Halo! You bought it!
Ben: Speaking of which, I gotta go Chong this B-load and get down on some more Borderlands. Why are you even interviewing me about ODST anyway? I said you could borrow it.
Rufus: I don’t like Halo. Well thanks for the interview Ben.
Ben: Hey, anytime! Maybe next time you can pick a game that one of us actually wants to play!

Alright, alright, so the jig is up. I didn’t play the new Halo 3, and neither did Ben. In fact, I couldn’t find one person I knew who played it, and the more people I talked to about this new entry mentioned how they slowly grew less and less interested with the franchise with each new release of a game.
So I didn’t review this game. Is that my fault, or Bungie’s?

You make the call.

Changed the ‘Indentification’ page into a page about my Xbox 360 failures and experience.

More updates will come :]

Hey everyone! I have found a really cool Halo 3 forged map that you should download to your Xbox360 Console! It is called The Crypt of Doom. (If you do not know how to download forged Halo 3 maps click here) It is by far the most impressive Halo 3 Forge ever! Check it out:

 This map is an Indiana Jones type of game where you can your friends go through a maze built in sandtrap that have switched doors, footstep triggering traps and wall jumping stepping stones activated by touch. It is used with the Indiana Jones game type in Oddball. The object is to get to the skull with the help of your teammates. You will definatly enjoy this map!

Here is a video showing you the Crypt of Doom map:

Click here for  the Crypt of Doom map.

Click here for the Indiana Jones Gametype for the Crypt of Doom map.

Hey everyone! Once you have your Xbox 360 connected to the internet with Xbox live Silver or gold, lets take Halo 3 Forging to the next level! (If you don’t know how to connect your Xbox 360 to Xbox Live click here) Yes, you can forge your own stuff and make your own games. Or, you can select millions of maps that other people have created and download them straight to your Xbox 360! Here is a picture of where you can download the games from:

All the boxes you see are maps that you can download! Simply click download and you will have the map. Not to mention you may also download gametypes! You can have hours of fun by just a click of a button! But how do you do this? I will show you.

1. Go to the following URL:  http://www.bungie.net/online/communityfiles.aspx?tags=&filefilter=4&sort=1&page=0
2. This is the bungie site where you can make your account to download the maps!

1. Select Sign Up Now! and follow the onscreen insturctions.

Your done! Simply log on to your account, and click the download button fro any map varient, gametype varient, picture, video or any other content you want donwloaded to your system. Because your account is connected to your gamer tag, the content you downloaded will be available to you the next time you access Halo 3 or Halo 3 ODST. It will take a few minutes for the content to be availiable. It will tell you on your T.V screen that the content is donwloaded. Then you will obviously beable to use it! Enjoy! 

Once again, the URL for downloading the maps is  http://www.bungie.net/online/communityfiles.aspx?tags=&filefilter=4&sort=1&page=0

Although 18 days have passed since the release date of Modern Warfare 2, I’m happy to say that I got it on the day it was out for a cheap $77 at Dick Smith Electronics. DSE ftw, 1st CoD4 for $47 then MW2 for $77 :]

I got MW2 on Xbox 360, which I also recently bought (the Halo package, which includes a controller, headset, Halo 3, Halo Wars, and JB HiFi kindly threw in an extra Forza 3 Motorsport ). The games were quite enjoyable, and the online experience was completely insanely amazing. The only problem I had with online were the occasional microphone spammers that sound like 8 year olds trying to be cool. Meh, Xbox Live is for the win anyway.

I was Level 51 on Modern Warfare 2 I think when my Xbox Live Gold Trial expired.. it died . That’s the bad point of the 360. You have to pay for Xbox Live Gold, which obviously sucks since on the PS3 and most of the other consoles (if not all) online gameplay with friends and family is freaking free.

Uhmm, back to the topic.

I finished the campaign on Regular when I got it, and then I went straight to multiplayer. I was stunned by the gameplay and the storyline, even though sometimes the plot is a bit hard to grasp. I was suprised by both Soap and Price’s appearance in the campaign. From the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro to Afghanistan to a remote base in Russia.. and then to an oil rig with SAM units and to a “gulag” (a castle of sorts)… the storyline is a thrilling ride with firefights, snowmobiles, and world domination.

As a proud supportor of the ACR + Red Dot Sight + Suppressor in Multiplayer, taking out other players silently and accurately is no longer a problem to me. The ACR probably has the lowest recoil for any weapon in the entire game, no joke. A person on a forum described ‘the ACR has little to no recoil at all, it has less recoil than a burst weapon.’ I agree. Stopping Power Pro, Scavenger Pro, and of course Commando Pro makes shooting and stabbing a lot easier. SCAR H and ACR are my favourite ARs in the game. :]

Oh yeah, my Gamertag is Zenergyx3. Creative isn’t it?

(sorry if parts of my post don’t make sense, I didn’t check it when I published it. sorry! =P)

List Price: $59.99 Price: $39.99 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Ships from and sold by Amazon.com 81 new or used available from $36.95 Average customer review:

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Tons of new videos in the mix! Including an entire album of Machinima Music! 

Follow us on Twitter.com/teamheadkick

www.masonstorm.com

My favourite online first person shooter map of all time, and its no longer there. Well done Bungie for making me not want to play Halo 3 anymore. Heretic is shit by the way.

Retrojc out.

Si queridos lectores, ¡un año mas llega el Xtival! ¿Cómo? ¿Que no sabéis de que os estoy hablando? Seguro que me tomáis el pelo, ¿verdad? Solo por si acaso, os contaré de que se trata esto del Xtival.

Esta pequeña introducción (o guiño a los “tutoriales” que nos obligan a jugar algunos videojuegos) sirve para preparar el ambiente para este fin de semana, porque nos vamos de Xtival.

El Xtival es la oportunidad que todos los miembros Silver esperan; y el escenario para que los Gold encuentren torneos especiales que durante el resto del año no son tan frecuentes. Si os interesa saber mas sobre lo que nos brindará este Xtival, encontraréis la información tras el salto

Lo mas importante del Xtival, y como os mencionaba antes, es la oportunidad para los miembros Silver de ser “Gold” durante 72 horas (las comillas de Gold, son porque en anteriores ocasiones, aunque podían jugar online y descargar contenido para Golds, sus cuentas seguían siendo Silver, es decir obtienes privilegios Gold pero sin dejar de ser Silver. Este Xtival desconozco si realmente serán Golds en toda regla o no, pero por si acaso os dejo con esta pequeña aclaración).

Pero lo interesante no es el nivel de cuenta que tenga cada usuario, ya que al final todos disfrutaremos por igual del Xtival; lo importante es saber que eventos se han preparado para esta edición:

Juegos

• Fifa 10 (Viernes 27 – 18:00): Demuestra tus habilidades con el balón y participa en el torneo que se organizará en el Xtival, la diversión estará asegurada, pero lo mejor de todo es que habrá varios premios para los vencedores.

• Halo 3 & Halo 3: ODST (Viernes 27 – 23:00): Participa en diversos torneos para demostrar que tu equipo es el mejor equipo de Halo de Xbox Live. (Atentos a la participación de Xboxmaniac.es)

• Halo 3: ODST (Sábado 28 – 10:00): A pesar de que el viernes por la noche habrá torneos de Halo 3, el sábado la cosa se pone seria, las sonrisas se convertirán en sudor y el objetivo no será otro que convertirse en el mejor jugador de Halo 3: ODST y poder optar a un buen premio.

• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Sábado 28 – 17:00): El ultimo torneo del Xtival buscará al mejor mercenario de CoD: MW2, ¿te sientes afortunado y te atreves a participar y a optar al premio para el vencedor?

Cine

• Oferta de Alta Definición (Viernes 27 – 12:00): “Durante el fin de semana Xtival, ofrecemos el alquiler de una película muy especial en alta definición al precio de una película de definición estándar”. Habrá que ver que película es la elegida, pero puede ser una propuesta interesante para los que tengan planeada una velada de cine en su casa.

• Oferta de 2+1 películas en alta definición (Viernes 27 – 12:00): La oportunidad de ver tres películas por el precio de dos, ideal para los que pasen de la velada de cine y opten por montar una “maratón”

• Ninja Assassin (Viernes 27 – 12:00): Podrás disfrutar del trailer de esta película de aventuras y artes marciales.

Musica

• Xbox Live Favourites (Viernes 27 – 12:00): Si tienes Microsoft Points de sobra y no sabes en que invertirlos, en el bazar encontraras álbumes de The Prodigy, ZZ Top y Run DMC.

• Tiësto (Viernes 27 – 12:00): Tiësto es el artista invitado de este Xtival y mientras dure el festival podremos descargarnos de forma gratuita (al precio de 200MS la canción) “Adagio For Strings” y “Break My Fall”; además también nos encontraremos con un mensaje especial de DJ Tiësto para los miembros de Xbox Live.

Espero que además de esta cartelera haya mas sorpresas; como un tema Premium del Xtival o ropa gratis para nuestros avatares. Dicen que soñar es gratis, y yo no pierdo la ilusión. Espero que paséis un buen Xtival

EDITADO: Por lo visto la palabra gratis y Xtival siempre tienden a ser malinterpretadas, sobre el papel, las canciones de DJ Tiësto iban a ser gratuitas pero al conectarme a Xbox Live he descubierto que cada una cuesta 200MP…

Nota del redactor: Escribir esta entrada sobre el Xtival no ha sido nada fácil debido a ciertos errores con la pagina web de Microsoft, toda la información podréis encontrarla en la pagina oficial del Xtival en Facebook.

Microsoft Vs The Mods!

No This isn’t Paul Weller releasing his own console, but  Microsoft has found itself embroiled in a lawsuit over its decision to ban some Xbox 360 owners from Xbox Live.

Texas law company Abingdon IP is searching for gamers to join a class-action suit against Microsoft. The problem has arisen since the computer giant decided to ban gamers from Xbox live who had modded their consoles to play pirated games. It is estimated that some 600,000 XBL accounts who cut dead.

The law firm, Abingdon IP claims that the ban is unlawful and that it believes Microsoft is obtaining information from consoles illegally.

They also claim that the timing of the ban is suspect, saying that Microsoft timed the ban “to avoid putting people off signing up for Xbox Live so they could play the recent Halo and Call of Duty blockbusters online”.

It says that if Microsoft had carried out the ban before these releases, sales of both games and Xbox Live subscriptions would have suffered.

The official word from Microsoft has been “All consumers should know that piracy is illegal and that modifying their Xbox 360 console to play pirated discs violates the Xbox Live terms of use will void their warranty and result in a ban from Xbox Live.”

If the law firm, who are actively seeking users who have had their accounts stopped, are successful it will be a landmark day for pirates everywhere!

Tekken It Back!

News arrives that Tekken 6 has gone gold (gone into production) on PSP, with a release date for Europe and UK for December 11th.

With all the features from the console versions Tekken 6 PSP adds ad-hoc wi-fi versus battling.

In addition to containing all 18 battle stages and 40 playable characters in the home console version of TEKKEN 6, the PSP game also supports ad-hoc multiplayer versus battles fought across four additional stages. Battle modes include Arcade, Story, Ghost, Challenge and Practice, while the ad-hoc wi-fi features include the ability to send and receive ghost data allowing fights against opponents’ characters even when not connected with them.

The Screen shots are looking great, we will have a review as soon as we can!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHV7tkuy-7M

LOL. My stupid MixPod Playlist keeps playing You belong w/ me by
Taylor Swift. Anyways watch the video above for details!

DP Productions hasn’t had a contest for awhile, so…
We’re having a contest!

=:=:=:=Rules=:=:=:=
1. You can only enter 3 Club Penguin Music Videos.
2. You must be subscribed to me and P i 3.
Link to his channel: http://www.youtube.com/gikky66
3. No previews

=:=:=:=Prizes=:=:=:=
6th -
Meet us on CP
2 subs
Mod on DP Xat
20,000 coins

5th -
Meet us on CP
4 subs
Mod on DP XAT/Chat
40,000 coins

4th -
Meet us on CP
6 subs
60,000 coins
Owner on DP Chat For 1 month.

3rd -
Meet us on CP
8 subs
80,000 coins
Owner on DP XAT
Full version of NewBlue
[FX and Transitions!]
Be in a CPMV

2nd -
Meet us on CP
10 subs
Owner on my XAT
100,000 coins
Full version of NewBlue
[FX and Transitions!]
Be in two CPMV’s!

1st -
Meet us on cp
12 subs
Main owner on DP XAT
200,000 coins
Full version of NewBlue
[FX and Transitions!]
Sony vegas 9.0 Pro or
Photoshop CS4 full version
And a spot in DP Productions!

A new epic DP Pic will be made
with the winner in it.

The coins will be provided by CPcheats.info.
I swear to god, this will NOT get you in trouble.
I will need your password. I will NOT ban it.
Trust me, I am not some whore on YouTube
who goes out banning random subscribers.
Even ask P i 3, He didn’t get banned or in trouble
for hacking coins.

For the NewBlue and Sony Vegas
I will send you a link to the downloads.
Do NOT tell the link to anyone else.

You will also receive a video tutorial on how to
keygen/hack the codes.

Anyways, Good Luck!

Songs used:
Three Days Grace – Riot
Rick Ross – Speedin’ [Instrumental]

Http://Twitter.com/Dj77440
And remember to subscribe to me and P i 3
If you are entering you must subscribe to us!

- DP Productions

Remember Are Story on Microsoft’s Project Phoenix And the rumored X-Engine

Well if not Here’s the Link

And Here’s Some MW2 screen shots using these features!

Following on from my celebrations of the PS3’s third birthday, I must raise a glass to the Xbox 360 who turned four yesterday. However, the achievements of the 360 are somewhat different to that of Sony’s now-gen beast. Microsoft was able to build on the success of Xbox Live from the original Xbox and launched with a credible online service that, after four years of tinkering, still bests Sony’s efforts. We may have to pay £40 for the privilege but it’s money well spent if stability, decent download speeds and other such niceties are what we’re after. Read on!

Other than a favourable online service, most of the 360’s success has come from the PS3’s failings. Such as the initial difficulty to program for the PS3 and being out a year early. Developers chose the 360 as the lead SKU meaning many cross platform games suffered when porting up to the PS3. What it meant for gamers was simple – Xbox 360 versions looked and ran better. With a year of sales under it’s belt, Microsoft’s little white wonder was already settled when Sony decided to finally launch it’s dip into HD and the difference in price made the 360 look all the more enticing – despite the inferior hardware.

Launch titles were plentiful (18 in the US, 16 elsewhere), but not necessarily a huge leap in video game advances. Take Perfect Dark Zero. This was the most successful first-party title yet played like an early Xbox title. Thankfully, Infinity Ward were able to lend their talents and gave early adopters Call of Duty 2 – my first Xbox 360 game. Graphics were sharp but apart from amazing particle effects (some of the best smoke in a video game) it was still very much a ‘quick we need to get this finished’ kind of launch title. What it did do well if not brilliantly was online play. Such a strong online presence helped solidify Xbox Live’s dominance. That and Halo 2. Yes, while Microsoft had all but killed the Xbox when releasing the 360, fans of Halo 2 still battled hard on their newer consoles. It’s the reason why we only able to have 100 friends on our 360’s. The older architecture of Halo 2 has forced the hand of Microsoft, making us be more selective as to who we accept as friends.

As of September 2009, 31 million 360’s have been sold but unfortunately, a startling percentage would have red-ringed. I’m lucky enough to only be on my second 360 but know people who’ve been through considerably more. So much so that Microsoft couldn’t ignore the problem any longer and increased the warranty from one year to three years. A good move on their part but something that should never need to happen in the first place. Another cock-up/masterpiece was the Core system. Unlike the Premium console, Core – which has been replaced by Arcade – came without a hard drive meaning the firmware powered backwards compatibility was simply unable to happen. Not to mention limiting the size of Xbox Live Arcade titles to only 50MB since they had to fit on a memory card for those Core owners. Thank heavens for the Arcade model with it’s 512MB hard drive and Microsoft’s initiative of selling refurbished 20GB hard drives to Arcade owners. This was mainly because the massive overhaul to the 360’s operating system going from the bladed dashboard to the New Xbox Experience late 2008. With the NXE came Avatars – a feature still yet to find its place for many 360 gamers.

With the demise of the HDDVD, Microsoft now fills it’s Xbox Live Marketplace with HD movies, ready to be rented and streamed onto our systems. It didn’t take long for Netfilx – streaming media company – to partner up with Microsoft and offer their services via the console.

After four years of red-ringing, foul-mouthed online players and leading in the HD gaming genre, Microsoft’s Xbox 360 has been able to offer some fantastic ‘must-have’ titles. Halo 3 concluded the trilogy (for now) and satisfied most of the Halo fans who moved onto its online shenanigans. Cliff Bleszinski’s Gears of War looked beautiful and played even better with its stop-and-pop mechanics. Nothing new to video games but somehow perfected. Gears of War 2 in 2008 bettered the original and became a system seller in its own right. My personal favourite of first party (now third party) titles has to be Mass Effect. Glitchy as hell and arguably unfinished, it still won the hearts of like minded gamers who found the escapades of protagonist Shepard hard to ignore.

Despite being almost the same age the the console it replaced, the Xbox 360 looks to have a lot of life left in it. Next year will see the release Project Natal with its advanced motion capture abilities to either help or hinder upcoming titles and the long awaited Alan Wake is rumoured to have a launch date of around May. It has had a fair share of troubles and some lonely months at the start when games were thin on the ground but join me won’t you as I raise my carton of orange-juice aloft in celebration of the Xbox 360’s fourth year. Well done you.

ODST was awesome!!! I loved the way they design the campaign to wrap around back into it self with the rookie, I also enjoyed the back story with the sound bits from the ringing pay phones. Although it was great I do think it should have been DLC (Downloadable Content) at half the price. To me it felt like it started and ended like a DLC expansion pack, Im not saying its a bad thing though as a matter of fact it was perfect, it just wasn’t meant to be a game all by it self. Bungie the masters, made it all business though which is fine by me, the more power to them! Being I think it should of been DLC is just one fans opinion.

Collector’s editions have become less collectible. In fact, they’ve become bloody common in a way.

A lot can be blamed on the way they’ve been handled in the U.S. The truth is, we haven’t gotten much in the way of Collector’s Editions of games. And when we do, they suck half the time.

Particularly popular these day are the requisite metal cases… which to be honest, I don’t entirely like. It’s largely that they’re unprotected and can chafe far too easily. Nothing worse than a collectible that can get thrashed upon entry. Part of the inherent value of your average CD based game is that the paperwork is transferable- the label, disc and manual can be moved to another case with great ease. These are the parts that matter.

Of course, this is more of a personal sticking point. Having worked in a video game store for quite some time, I see a lot of metal cases come in- beat up, colors rubbed off, dented- stuff like that.

It doesn’t help that these are often poorly designed cases. Halo 3 was particularly notorious as a common problem in shipping resulting in discs becoming dislodged in the collector’s edition of the game, resulting in them becoming scratched while shipping. Because of this, the standard edition or the more expensive legendary edition became the way to go- only a sorry sap ended up buying the so-called collector’s edition.

Another prime example is Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe. With this game, particularly the X-Box 360 version, the game was packaged in a loose, empty case with a cardboard CD wallet from which both the game disc and the bonus disc could not easily be removed, certainly not for repeated usage. What this almost inevitably resulted in was a collector’s disc that was actually far less desirable than the standard edition if only because the standard edition was less likely to be thrashed due to poor packaging.

Often times the bonuses aren’t any better. A common inclusion in games these days are a separate disc including ‘making of’ featurettes and the like. While it isn’t bad to include these features, they hardly constitute a selling point. Only the most die-hard fans are going to want to watch these, and it’s almost certain they’ll only want to watch them once.

Soundtracks, in my opinion, are the way to go. A lot of work is put into a game’s score and often it goes underappreciated. On top of that, soundtracks don’t often enjoy such heavy release in the U.S. To see a soundtrack get included in a game as a promotional item is often a great way to give the music to the fans that can’t get it legitimately any other way. Hell, I preordered Silent Hill: Shattered Memories at GameStop just for the soundtrack. And I hate GameStop!

My wife favors art-books. I’m a little mixed on them myself, as I’m not usually compelled to revisit a whole book of art any more than I necessarily am a ‘making of’ disc. However, I am particularly fond of when art is used gratuitously in the packaging and the manual. In fact, one of my favorite aspects of the PSX Lunar releases (which I’ll speak more on shortly) was the use of concept art in the large, full-color manuals. It made the books utterly gorgeous to look at as one skimmed through them.

In other cases, knick-knacks aren’t half bad either. Resident Evil 5 included a necklace, a patch and a figure, as well as a cloth bag in addition to the metal encased game and bonus disc.

Of course, this was all packaged in a flimsy cardboard box that’s liable to bend at the first sign of pressure. Comparing this on the other hand to the Japanese version which my wife just insisted on ordering, which came packaged in an elaborate and comparatively thicker box with a sleekly designed USB drive disguised as a virus capsule and, well… I feel kinda short shrifted.

Part of the problem in my own experience is that I may be used to shiny packages. I was buying games in the heyday of Working Designs… you know, before they couldn’t secure any major games and were eventually ax-murdered by Sony.

But seriously, their packages were the best. The original Lunar: Silver Star Story when released on the PlayStation included two game discs, a soundtrack, a ‘Making-of’ disc, a hardcover, full-color 100+ page booklet, and a cloth map. Lunar 2 only one-upped this with a whole little box of extras.

And this was standard for their games.

Admittedly, it made the titles more expensive than the average RPG out there (and in all probability this limited planning may have lent to their demised) but from a collector’s standpoint quality condition copies of their titles are worth a lot of money these days, and will likely only be worth more as time goes on.

While the Working Designs method may not be entirely the way to go from a marketing standpoint, the games they released felt special because, Collector’s Edition or not, holding one of their set felt like a lot of work was put into it.

Unfortunately, most Collector’s Editions don’t feel so spiffy. In fact, many feel downright half-assed.

Take the Batman: Arkham Asylum C.E. set released a few months ago. The highly touted batarang included in the set was made of cheap plastic and came out of the box highly scratched up- I haven’t seen a single one that actually looked descent. The game was packaged in a cardboard double-disc case (game and bonus disc) which looks nice in the case but seem endangered on a shelf amidst a collection. In fact, aside from the leatherbound book of inmates (whose info can be viewed in the game itself) the best part of the whole set was the instruction booklet, which was colorful and full of character, versus the standard edition’s paper-thin black-and-white instruction set.

Much of this seems to come from the idea that Collector’s Editions are meant to entice the average mook on principle more than they’re designed to entice average… y’know… collectors. How else does one explain such a poorly designed batarang that seems to be manufactured purely to save money for the publishers?

Part of the real problem this comes around to is coupled with the advent of digital content. Already, it’s not uncommon to see some sort of download or ingame bonus promised to people who preorder at major establishments as a sales incentive.

Hell, a year ago I preordered the new Prince of Persia at GameStop (and again, I hate that place! ) on the promise of a special skin allowing me to use the Sands of Time Prince. When I actually got the game, I was ‘rewarded’ with a little code booklet that I could’ve gotten off the internet two days later.

Now, this is more of an exception than the rule. Often, codes are provided for players to redeem to download their special preorder weapon or some such ilk.

Doesn’t it become apparent that we’re being had?

Particularly upsetting to me personally, recently, was Bioware’s Dragon Age: Origins. Despite my misgivings with Mass Effect (which I may give another chance to one day) I decided to pick up the game. I won’t get to play it until school’s out, but I figured it’d be nice to have it there, waiting.

Then, at my game store workplace, we get in the collector’s edition, and so I read the back. Among the first thing I see is a touting of the ‘complete version of the game.’

Seriously? The complete version of the game? I just paid sixty bucks for an incomplete game?

I know it’ll run from start to finish. I don’t mind downloadable content being released down the line either. But am I seriously being sold something, out the door, which the developers themselves will admit is not all there?

It’s already seldom I see a Collector’s Edition I actually want. In fact, with the exception of Fallout 3’s lunchbox last year, I feel as though the majority of them are worth skipping. But are we now hitting the point where companies are comfortable selling us the bare minimum on release day and charging us money for the meat on the bones?

Part of the problem, admittedly, does come down to digital distribution. Because developers can now offer digital incentives for either preorder or collector’s purposes, it’s much easier to ‘build’ an incentive that doesn’t involve a manufacturing cost. I willing to brush off the Sands of Time Prince as an anomaly as most developers know better than the hand out a cheat code for a preorder bonus.

At the same time though, it begs the question of what the audience themselves really wants. That is to say, if this is all it takes to sell a collector’s edition or a preorder, are they wrong to do so?

To backpedal a bit, I made mention of the various editions released for Halo 3 upon its release. My workplace ordered a mass of Halo 3’s, all shapes, all sizes, upon its release. We had over a hundred of the Legendary Editions. I had to concede, despite my non-Halo fan status, that the helmets looks pretty sweet.

But in the end, we found out that most people didn’t want the helmet. All sorts of people came in, and part of the problem that became apparent is that the average Halo player doesn’t want a helmet or even cares about a helmet. They just want to go into multiplayer and shoot their friends. We weren’t able to even clear out the helmets until they were marked down for as much as the game itself previously retailed for new- and even then, it took awhile.

And it’s not that no one liked the helmet, it’s just that they didn’t want it. Often times when people ask about Collector’s Editions of games, the first thing they want to know is if there’s more game in the C.E. version- if there’s not, they don’t buy it.

Are these the kinds of people Collector’s Editions are meant to cater towards? Or does this suggest an over saturation in the market?

Alternately, let’s take a look at Demon’s Souls, released by Atlus. The game released right away with a C.E. version available- after selling unusually well, Atlus announced they would issue more copies of the standard version of the game, but the C.E. edition- which only came in a special box with a strategy guide- would be discontinued. Already the game has shot up $20 on Ebay.

Mine’s still sealed. Now it shall ever remain so. I shall buy a standard edition when I am ready to start playing the game.

My callous hording of unwrapped goods notwithstanding, this seems to be what a Collector’s Edition is supposed to be about. And it’s not even a great set. But it’s title that is more likely to collect actual collectors and the edition itself was made available at launch but allowed to dissipate quickly pursuant to release.

Part of what makes Demon’s Souls notable is that it’s the polar opposite of the Halo 3 debacle. With Halo 3, Microsoft tried to make sure everyone had an even stab at the Collector’s Edition of the game, without any regard the very terming of such an edition. The “Legendary Edition” became anything but that, turned out to be common as mud and will be fortunate if it holds any long term value at all.

This shouldn’t be confused with cheapening the inherent value of the game itself, but rather the market value. Terming something as being for a collector implies that it is, in some way, collectable. By making it readily available at every corner store in town, it cheapens it for the people who thought they had to scramble to get it and makes it less remarkable for those who didn’t make the effort.

To make a point of example, since the release of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 I’ve had my share of people asking for the Prestige Edition of the game- which touts a set of functioning night-vision goggles in the set. The store I work at was careful to order a considerably small number- the Halo 3 debacle taught us well- but this has also made the set something of a more desired commodity as those who did not get it now wish they had.

At the time of this writing, I don’t know what the longterm value of this set will prove to hold- but it seems to be that the people who really wanted it got it, and those who didn’t, well… they were left wanting.

And cruel as it sounds, maybe that’s the way it should be with Collector’s Editions. They should be things that the people who really want can desperately pursue, not some common commodity anyone can get a hold of.

Part of making them so is making them desirable. Put care into the design. Put things in the that the people who really want to support the game or the series will want. At the same time, don’t cheapen the standard edition in the process (as was the case with Batman: Arkham Asylum’s booklet).

Putting this kind of care into a Collector’s Edition may in fact make it… collectable!

Ominous thoughts, no?

Hey everyone! This is a post that will soon be followed up another post that will teach you how to download forged Halo 3 maps from the computer to your Xbox 360s console! To bebale to do that, you need to be connected to Xbox live! A lot of you at this point is probably saying oh no, I need to pay, of course. Wrong, Gold is not needed, only silver which is what I can help you obtain. It is very simple but this is how you do it:

What you Need:

1. USB Wire or Ethernet Cable (Wire that comes with Xbox 360)
2. An Xbox360 Console
3. A controller
4. A T.V.

What to Do:

1. Take the USB wire or ethernet cord and attach it to the opening in the back of the Xbox360 Console.
2. Attach the other end of the Wire into an internet Jack in thr wall.
3. Turn on the Xbox360 and let the update load.
4.   Create an Xbox live character and enjoy Xbox360 combined with the internet! (Sorry no web browsing!)