The immediate thing of note about this Collectors Edition is that the overall package doesn't quite fit in the protective plastic sheath, with a lot of wasted room which has the potential to burst when squeezed into a collection which is lacking in display space. The external sleeve is neither good quality nor robust. In all honesty, providing a rather sketchy opening to this review, which is rather a shame, as the steelbook case is a nicely embossed piece of work with a piece of exclusive cover artwork which is well-done and perhaps worth the slight extra price almost by itself!
Two exclusive in-game items are granted by a code included within the Edition: a 'Deak Starkiller character skin', and 'Pale Yellow Lightsaber Crystals'. Dependence upon knowing the Canon and events of the Star Wars universe and the controversial and checkered history of the character is not necessary, and even dampens somewhat the ability to appreciate the cool looking skin with a Cthulhu-esque mask. Purists, just enjoy it for what it is - a fun little bonus. The piss-yellow lightsaber colour, however, is an unusual and rather garish choice, looking more like a piece of broken neon strip lighting than something you'd wish to actually admire or even simply look at. In addition to these, three exclusive Challenge Maps are also included. Love them or hate them, in such a plot heavy game, these modes are the easiest to offer new content for, and these maps amount to a horde mode 'Core Destruction', 'Tower of Death Trial' and 'Trial of Agility' - none of which offer anything uniqely special, and are perhaps even upstaged by the preorder trials offer which was available from Amazon.
Physical content-wise, this Edition is fairly... unusual. which is a surprise, given the amount of space left in the packaging leading me to mistakenly assume something big had been left out. The most interesting goodie is a 2gb Mimobot USB flashdrive designed in the shape of the game's central character, Starkiller. Alongside this is a DVD containing a number of additional bonus fatures, including a number of themed wallpapers, a digital artbook and a copy of the game script. The first of these features could and should have been made as promotional material, rather than slotted into this Edition as bonus content. The digital artbook is a lazy approach to providing the standard material expected in Collectors Editions, as a physical copy would have been much more appreciated. The game script is a strange bonus which could have been much more interesting had it shown the revisions and original ideas implemented, but it doesn't. All in all, the DVD appears to have been quickly and cheaply hashed together rather than any serious consideration for creating a worthwhile bonus feature. Rather disappointing.
All in all, if you really enjoy the franchise, the bonus digital content isn't much but barely salvages the worth of this Edition. Is it worth the full RRP? I don't think so, and several UK retailers were stuck with a lot of stock, resulting in them selling it off for less than half of what was expected just a couple of weeks after release. Take from that what you will.
Price (New): £59.99
Box: Steel book case; plastic cover sheath; exclusive artwork.
In-game Content: 7 - nice little bonuses, which won't be missed, but still appreciable.
Physical Content: 3 - Could do better. A LOT better.
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