Over the last couple of years, most predominantly over the current generation of video game consoles, there has been a massive introduction of special or limited editions of video games on the market, with big titles such as GTA IV, Metal Gear Solid IV, Devil May Cry 4 and Bioshock all bringing their own to the view of the video gaming public. These come in multiple shapes and sizes, from collectors tin cases, to bags and even action figures of characters in the game.



I myself haven't had the best luck with limited editions, mainly due to either short supply or the fact that I am located in the UK. either way, my luck with collectors editions has been abysmal. Halo 3's Legendary edition had me watering at the mouth with its life-size Mater Chief helmet, and additional DVD with documentaries from Bungie themselves, and i was sorely disappointed when the man at my local GAME said all preorders had been filled.



Walking away from the Halo 3 release with my slightly lesser Limited Edition was slightly disappointing, only worsened by the amounts of online stories and posts over people securing their helmets at midnight.

Devil May Cry 4 was then on the horizon, and after the announcement of a US Special Edition, I soon became hopeful for a UK one too. This was again brought to an abrupt halt, when i found out the British version only came with a tin case and an art book, whereas the American version came with much nicer box art, the first 4 DMC Anime episodes on DVD and an extra DVD in the case. Again, I stuck to the only limited edition I could get, and felt disappointed after flicking through the art book once.



Finally, the same occurances happened with Rainbow Six Vegas 2, with the US getting a far superior Special Edition to us Brits. However, again, our version came with much less, making me feel a little cheated once again. I still however bought the special edition.



I now find myself in the same predicament as all the above cases. Metal Gear Solid 4 is to be released in a few weeks time, along with another Limited Edition offering which consists of the Game, a Solid Snake 6" Figure and a Making of Blu Ray disc. This all comes in at £79.99, double that of the standard game.

TL; DR? My question is this; Is the MGS4 special edition worth the extra cash, and what are your thoughts/opinions on special/collectors editions overall?