#Skyrim Legendary Collector's Edition Guide!

Soo, earlier this week Prima Games released it's Legendary Edition Guide for Skyrim (4th June 2013) three days ahead of the Legendary Edition of the game's release here in the UK.

I happened to be looking for some Skyrim merchandise or something physical i could display or use when the game isn't being played and was looking at the guides available, i like having guides for my favourite games, it seems a bit silly in one sense because usually i know a LOT about the games I like most. But i like reading different perspectives and seeing if there's anything i didn't know or hadn't thought of yet. Anyway after looking around, i found a few older versions of the guide & didn't know whether to bother with them or not. I sat there pondering it for a while, after a little while Danielle (my fiancé) started asking me about the Legendary Edition of the guide, so i had a look at it on Amazon & before i knew what had happened she told me that she'd got me the Hardback Collector's Edition!

I can't thank her enough!

This Guide is truly EPIC. It arrived this morning via Royal Mail & straight away i could tell it was huge. The package was very weighty & large in size.

The guide is very well put together & the hardcover looks fantastic, the only thing that very very slightly disappointed me was that from the pictures i thought it was a textured front & back cover but it's totally smooth, however it does look amazing & in a way i think it's quite cool that even now it can fool you into thinking it is textured when it isn't.

The guide itself is very, very thick. But then that is definitely expected considering the gigantic scale of the game. On the inside of the front & back covers you can find the extras such as the very large double sided map and the poster of Alduin's Wall and at the back of the guide (between the back cover and the shrink wrap) you can find your code to access the online guide & maps on the Prima Games website, found HERE.

It's too early for me to comment on the content of the guide but i have flicked through it & it looks EXTREMELY detailed, the index itself is about three pages long & there are extensive appendices at the back. I can't wait to sit and read some of the content in it, it's sure to be incredible. Put it this way, reading the guide is a daunting enough prospect so i can't imagine how much time and work went into making this!

Here is the amazon description for the guide i have:

COLLECTOR'S EDITION BONUSES INCLUDE-
EXCLUSIVE POSTER - 24" accordion style poster displaying Alduin’s Wall and signatures from Bethesda Game Studios!
RIBBON BOOKMARKS - Use premium ribbon bookmarks to keep your place in this massive guide!
HARDCOVER BOUND - This keepsake is protected by a stylized protective hardcover for collectors and fans.
UPDATED eGUIDE ACCESS – Use the interactive world map, which now includes Solstheim and additional Dragonborn™ content.


• MORE THAN 1,100 PAGES – Complete, accurate, and Bethesda approved content covering all game add-ons.
• LARGE 2-SIDED MAP POSTER – All Hold Capitals, Strongholds, and important locations labeled.
• MORE THAN 500 ENEMIES and 2,000 ITEMS DETAILED – Exhaustive Bestiary and Inventory chapters detail critical data.
• MORE THAN 350 QUESTS - All possible quests revealed with best outcomes highlighted.
• MORE THAN 250 COLLECTIBLES GATHERED – Explore the main and hidden locations across Skyrim and Solstheim.
• 3,000+ HOURS PLAYED – Expert advice on character creation and tactical knowledge for the most difficult battles. 

Here is the Bethesda Blog Entry interviewing the lead writer of the Guide David Hodgson which gives you a much clearer idea of how vast the guide is and the effort that went into it, i would highly suggest giving this a read, it's informative & funny too! Link: Writing the Skyrim Legendary Edition Guide on the Bethesda Blog

Anyway here are a few pictures of my Guide! I would definitely suggest buying this if you love Skyrim! Truly Epic!

Final Fantasy VII - Vincent Valentine - Play Arts Vol.2

At Last!!

I've been looking for Vincent for a while and kept coming across nothing but Advent Children Versions, don't get me wrong i like Advent Children but i would much prefer to get the original game versions of each character first, plus the packaging for the Advent Children characters is pretty poor looking. Anyway other than the versions i mentioned, the few times i did come across this figure, everyone always charged rediculous prices for him. So i either couldn't afford to get him or just refused to pay that much.

Anyway, i struck Gold the other day and found an amazing seller who sold me this figure for a mere £14 and that's incuding the cost of posting!

This has to be one of my favourite looking character figures. Just like the rest of the Play Arts series this is a vinyl figure & is fantastically detailed! I don't think i could fault it at all to be honest. Everything about the figure just looks stunning. It is highly accurate and replicates the game version of Vincent. As with the other figures made by Play Arts/Kotobukiya, he comes with a different hand & a gun. It has a good weight and feel to it & doesn't feel like it'll be easily broken (i wouldn't risk it however) this definitely feels like a quality figure. To be honest I think that all of the figures I have (with the exception of the smaller Bandai ones) are exceptionally beautifully detailed and well made.

He is around the same height as the other figures i have, which is probably around 8-9" and comes with a stand to be able to keep him in the pose of your choice. As i have mentioned in previous reviews about these figures, i love the stands that comes with the figures. It has an adjustable clip which slots into a black oval base, this holds the figure very securely and allows for you to pose the figure still, the only drawback is that if you want a more outlandish pose or something a bit more extreme looking, the base won't allow for a whole lot of movement in you're figure. I tend to use blu tac on the bottom of their feet to hold them in place, but this is mainly to save space on my shelves.

The packaging is very nice, it is a matt black colour and the lettering on the front is silver coloured and is reflective. It looks great. The box itself is quite sturdy & definately not cheap feeling. I wish they had kept this packaging for the advent children characters. It's a lot more professional, clean and sturdy looking. As with the other figures, there are pictures on the back of the box. Funnily enough the pictures on the back of this box are of the only 3 figures i need to complete my Vol.1 & 2 set. So if anyone is feeling generous.... haha.

Anyway as usual, words are one thing, seeing the figure is another.
(i think my picture taking is getting a little better with my fancy new camera, let me know!)

    

 

Bioshock Infinite PS3 Premium Edition & Limited Edition Guide

Well, i got a bit of money for my Birthday and hadn't purchased myself a new game for a while. I had a couple of games in mind, I wanted to get Star Trek, but i read a really bad review about it and saw some video, the review seemed to be quite correct. So i decided to wait until it's a lot cheaper.

That left me with Dead Island Riptide (which i got a normal copy of) and Bioshock Infinite. I could have purchased this brand new for around £35 from Amazon, but i decided to get the Premium edition for an extra £15. The premium edition contains (description following stolen from Amazon)

ART BOOK
This 64-page collectible mini-edition of The Art of BioShock Infinite provides a substantial look at the full version, published by Dark Horse Comics. This special-edition art book offers an exclusive peek at the development of the game’s unique art style, and features a handdistressed linen cover, early designs, and concept art.
DOWNLOADABLE CONTENT
Digital Soundtrack: Downloadable soundtrack features music from BioShock Infinite and is exclusive to the Premium and Ultimate Songbird Editions.
Gear Pack: Start the game with three exclusive Gear power-ups:
• Bull Rush: Melee strikes from a sprint have a chance to knock the
enemy down.
• Extra! Extra!: Audio logs also grant a bounty of “Silver Eagles” – ingame
currency.
• Betrayer: Killing your possessed enemies causes them to explode in a fireball that deals damage.
PlayStation 3 players get BioShock Infinite themes.
LITHOGRAPHIC PRINT
A real-life piece of propaganda from BioShock Infi nite’s world of Columbia, this heavy-stock lithograph print, an ad for the Devil’s Kiss vigor, was designed by Jorge Lacera, concept artist at Irrational Games.
HANDYMAN FIGURINE
Get ready to play the upcoming BioShock Infi nite board game, BioShock Infi nite: The Siege of Columbia, created and published by Plaid Hat Games. With this exclusive, 25mm resin-cast Handyman figure, you’ll have a head start.
MURDER OF CROWS KEYCHAIN
This follow-up to the highly-demanded, full-size Murder of Crows replica bottle is an exclusive 3” keychain. It is fully 3-dimensional, hand-painted and distressed, and features a sturdy brass ring.

Well when it came in i was a little underwhelmed by the packaging, even though it was sealed up, the box was slightly mis-shapen due to no care being taken handling the box (i think) with a few scuffs and creases and one side being bent outward.

 
Aside from the outer packaging, the contents were a little better. The handyman figure is very, very small and not particularly well detailed, but i didn't really expect anything different. I like the box it comes in though.

 The Keychain is not bad, i don't use keychains so i personally just kept it in it's individual wrapping. Looks quite nice though. Definately plastic.

 
The lithographic print is pretty cool and you see the very same poster much bigger in the game. I have mine blu tacked to the side of my games tower (which sits right next to my seat), so i can see it all the time.

 The PS3 Theme is not too bad as themes go, but i tend not to use them because there's usually something i don't like about the theme. At the moment I'm using it, but only because I've technically paid for it!

I've downloaded all the extra content, some of it is quite helpful (especially "Extra! Extra!" this is quite useful, i put it on just before i pick up a voxophone and take it back off for something more combat worthy after picking it up), the other items I've not really taken much notice of.

 
The soundtrack has also been downloaded, it's nothing special presentation wise, it kinda feels a little bit un-organised, i've not listened to it yet but i'm sure it'll be good.

My favourite part is the Art Book, it feels really well made and the glossy pages inside show some lovely high quality artwork from the game. Although I've not looked all the way through it yet because I don't want to see anything I've not already seen in the game. Also (like other artbooks) I'm scared of opening it out too much haha.

As for the game, I'm really enjoying it, however like an absolute fool,  i went for Hard mode straight away and it's quite a challenge, mainly because I'm learning everything on Hard instead of already having knowledge of the game's weapons, characters, powers, levels and enemies having played an easier difficulty. But aside from going straight in at the deep-end it's really fun and looks amazing. I've just started going through the hall of the heroes with Elizabeth, on my way to get Shock Jockey. Also, before i forget, the cover for the game is reversable, so if you don't like the original cover you can change it to the reverse side.

I also purchased the Limited Edition Strategy Guide, the guide is Hardback and looks awesome, the pages are glossy/smooth with great information, maps, tips and tricks and pictures to help you navigate your way through the game. It's helped me a great deal so far, especially having gone in straight on Hard. It comes with a small playing Card and a Bird/Cage Key which is a replica of the key used in the game to free Elizabeth. The card is nice (but i'll have absolutely no use for it) and the Key looks great! It's a decent size and is sat it it's own housing that comes with the guide. Although I've not removed it from it's packaging because i have no reason to.

I'd definately reccomend getting this if you love the Bioshock games & it's a hell of a lot cheaper than the Songbird Edition. For only £15 more than the game itself, you can't go to far wrong with this! The guide was around £12 or something so that's also a bargain!

Final Fantasy XII - Mateus the Corrupt - Master Creatures 2

To continue with my Final Fantasy Master Creatures statues I'll now show you my Mateus the Corrupt figure from Final Fantasy XII, I'm ashamed to say i don't remember anything about Final Fantasy XII and i mean to dig it out soon and play it again. I have absolutely no idea why I don't remember anything about it but I'll have to remedy that.

Anyway, my wonderful fiancé purchased this statue for me as a surprise and i think it's absolutely fantastic. I actually think it looks better than the Diabolos statue that I have already reviewed. The colours on this statue are amazing and the detail is wonderful! I actually think the detail on this statue is even better than Diabolos, but i suppose there is more going on in this statue than with the other one.

I love the way the statue is positioned and how it comes out of the base. It looks like giant ice spikes have come out of the ground below it and it's hovering above them. The staff is removable, it has a small stopper at the base of the staff to make sure that it doesn't come out of Mateus' hand, not that it moves when slotted into the hand anyway. The base of the figure is around 3" at it's widest point and the actual statue at it's widest point is around 6". Mateus stands at around 8" tall, i measured this to the tip of the staff, as you can see in the pictures below, this could be taller depending on where the staff is held. I like it held where i have it (as pictured)

Again (as with Diabolos) the statue feels fragile and i would make sure it is positioned where it won't be knocked over or anything like that. It's very lightweight is a more accurate way of putting it, i mean it probably wouldn't break at the slightest knock but i think it wouldn't take a lot to snap something off of the statue.

The packaging for Mateus is the same as the Diabolos figure apart from the picture/s on the back and the nam on the front. In case you haven't read the Diabolos review, i basically said that i very much like the packaging, it is a Matt Black, professional looking design. There's no clutter on the box and it feels sturdy. It's not flimsy and cheap looking like the ART FX Advent Children packaging. On the back of the packaging are some pictures of the statue and some of the other ones in the series Diabolos is featured too.

Overall, once again i would reccomend this to any Final Fantasy Fan or collector. It looks absolutely amazing, the colours and the detail are stunning and i especially like the detail of the bound woman. It's a great piece and I'm very glad i have it! The Staff is awesome too! I nearly forgot about it, it looks great and isn't bendy, it's a sturdy one. Anyway, as i've mentioned in other reviews, the pictures will explain everything a lot better than i ever could! Take a look!