Mass Effect 3: Take Earth Back

Awesome trailer, but couple of things bothering me about the upcoming release of what will surely be this year's most epic gaming experience.

Now I'm not normally one to spend money on finicky little extras games choose to include in their Collectors Editions unless it's something really worth shouting about. But even Mass Effect 3's CE is somewhat taking the piss at an RRP of £70. Doubly galling on account that GAME have exclusive rights to distributing the hallowed tin box.

Deciding to bite the bullet, I trundle over to GAME's online store today to get extorted by this preorder deal on account that I'm a purest and own the CE's of Mass Effect's 1 and 2, only to find that they have sold out of the 360 version. I have never, EVER experienced this before.

So now I'm angry. Angry that I won't have access to content such as extra squadmates and bonus levels which should come standard in the original version of the game. As Mass Effect is an experience for me, this 'rationing' of the CE locks off what I consider to be 'vital' content, something that I was willing to begrudgingly pay for but now cannot because of Bioware's Molotov-Ribbentrop pact with GAME. Not only that, but due to GAME having 'exclusive' rights to the CE it means that there is no pricing competition which allows them to charge more for a product which would otherwise fall in the realms of around £60 max.

It's actually ridiculous that customers are expected to pay for content already written. But then why would they release a final version with everything in it when there's money to be made by pawning bits of it off as 'bonus content'? Oh right, they do - a year later when the last shmucks have caved into the marketing ploy.

As such, as much as I do love Mass Effect, I will be holding out this year until I can get a decent priced version of the CE. And only then because the completist in me compels me to ignore logic. Fuck you, Bioware. Fuck you, GAME. Fuck you, EA.