Halo 4 Limited Edition
But is it truly worth it?
by exterminat
©2012 Nicholas Laborde
Ah, the limited edition. Oh, the collector’s edition! Oooooohhh, the “I have money and be jealous” edition!
I’m a sucker for them, especially if we’re going off of what the Halo franchise has presented to us in this department.
343 Industries has announced the Halo 4 Limited Edition today, detailing everything that will come in the package.
But, I’m not completely sure if it’s going to be up to the high standards that we’ve been shown before.
Take a gander
The official details are below. The Halo 4 Limited Edition will retail for $100USD.
• War Games Map Pack Access
The competitive multiplayer modes of Halo 4 are known as War Games. The Limited Edition includes access to nine maps – three future competitive multiplayer map packs, each including three locations, available for download post-launch on Xbox LIVE. Yes, you read that correctly; you get nine maps in the form of future DLC with the purchase of the Halo 4 Limited Edition. Score!
• SpecializationsEveryone will have access to select Specializations, but those that purchase the Halo 4 Limited Edition will receive the ability to unlock six Specializations early, available at launch on Xbox LIVE. You can use them, one at a time, to achieve higher ranks in your Spartan career. In addition to gaining access to new ranks, Specializations unlock new customization options. We’ll be releasing more information about Specializations at E3, so expect additional details about this particular feature then.
• UNSC Infinity Briefing Packet
The UNSC Infinity Briefing Packet includes a Spartan armor customization schematic, information about UNSC weapons, an introduction to the massive ship UNSC Infinity, and insight into what it means to be one of humanity’s finest warriors: The Spartan-IVs. Story lovers will especially enjoy this in-fiction offering that provides a glimpse into the indoctrination of Spartans aboard the Infinity.
• Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn Special Edition
The Special Edition of Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn is a 90-minute extended version of the live-action digital series which will take fans back to the terrifying beginning of the Human/Covenant war, when the Master Chief inspired a young cadet who would eventually become a leader aboard the UNSC’s greatest vessel ever: the UNSC Infinity.
Digital content also includes in-fiction bonus content that expands the characters and stories of Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn, special featurette Bringing Gaming into Reality, and a behind the scenes look at the making of Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn.
• Bonus digital content through Xbox LIVE
The Limited Edition includes the following bonus digital content through Xbox LIVE: unique in-game Spartan-IV armor skin, unique in-game weapon skin for the Assault Rifle, an exclusive in-game emblem, Xbox LIVE Avatar prop, and Xbox LIVE Avatar Spartan IV armor set.
The good, the bad, and the ugly
I’m eagerly going to purchase this, but I feel completely on the fence with this one.
On the positive side, I love how they realize the fact that the consumer has shelled out extra cash for this, and subsequently are giving them access to all of the DLC (a sort of season pass, but complimentary for the LE audience).
This is something that boggles my mind, because as far as I know it doesn’t happen very often. Gears of War 3 is a perfect example; in the Epic Edition, you paid $150USD for a statue and in-game content, among other things.
Yet even at that hefty price tag, we weren’t treated to a Season Pass, or access to any of the DLC for that matter. If a consumer is going to pay that much for an enhanced edition of your product, you owe it to them to add more incentive and show that their investment was not just for the short term.
On the other hand, there isn’t much to show off here, which is sort of the point of a “limited edition.”
It’s a packet with essentially some concept art, a bit of digital content and the game in a Steelbook case. It comes nowhere near the high standard set by the Halo 3 and Halo: Reach Legendary Editions, which provided a large physical item, a plethora of making-of content, and more importantly, could sit triumphantly on your shelf for maximum ego.
There’s something psychological about calling content “exclusive” or “limited” when the content itself is purely digital, and is simply an item on your HDD rather than something concrete that you can hold in your hands and share with your friends.
I adore my Halo 3 Legendary Edition because all of the bonus content, making-of and featurettes – besides being absolutely intriguing – I can view them at any time, anywhere because I have them on a physical disc.
Halo: Reach included its developer commentary as a download… on Halo Waypoint, of all places. Just try finding it now: you have to jump through tons of hoops and search tons of menus to gain access to it.
It’s annoying, and makes me feel as if I never truly “got” that content, nonetheless in a “limited” manner.
November 6, 2012
Halo 4 is looking to be a very interesting game, and we’ll have to get our hands on the game to tell whether or not it’s headed in the right direction.
OXCGN will get time with many games at E3 2012 including Halo 4, so make sure to stick around for our exciting, exclusive coverage of all the games you’re anticipating.
Halo 4 releases on November 6, 2012 exclusively on Xbox 360.
What do you think? Is the Halo 4 Limited Edition worth every penny? Or are we being short-changed by the death of the limited edition in a world where people are pro-digital?
Make sure to pre-order Halo 4
Related Reading…
- Halo 4: The Right To Remain Apprehensive – Read More
- Halo 3 vs. Reach vs. Halo 4 Screenshot Comparison – Read More
- The Collector’s Edition Madness – Read More
- Halo 4: Five New Screenshots Released – Read More
©2012 Nicholas Laborde
Filed under: Console gaming, E3 2012, Game Industry News, Microsoft Games, New Game Information, New Xbox 360 Games, Press Release, Software News & Updates, Xbox 360, Xbox 360 News, Xbox 3rd party exclusives Tagged: | 343 Industries, Halo, Halo 3, Halo 4, halo 4 ce, halo 4 collector, halo 4 collectors, halo 4 collectors edition, halo 4 le, halo 4 legendary, halo 4 limited, halo 4 limited edition, halo 4 pre-order, halo 4 preorder, halo 4's limited ediiton, Halo: Reach, Master Chief, Microsoft, xbox live
limited edition of only the most expensive xbox game microsoft ever created by far. imo it’s worth every penny
Your comparing the “limited” edition to the “legendary” editions of he past games.
It’s the only thing offered, and they said there wouldn’t be a Legendary edition. So, it’s logical.
That doesn’t make it logical. It’d be more logical to compare it to collectors editions.
It just seems like a DLC edition rather them a Collectors edition….I mean how is a ton of DLC collectable. Even as a Limited edition it’s way too pricey to be one.