CoV Collector's Edition

So my CoV Collector's Edition box arrived today. It contains:

CoV/CoH Art Collection book
CoV Game Manual
CoV DVD
CoH CCG Demo Deck ( Positron 2005 Preview 2 deck w/ Statesman hero card from Preview 1 )
Poster / Rogue Isles map
2005 NCSoft Product Catalog
Ad for CoV Time Card
Ad for CoH Novel "The Web of Arachnos"
Coupon for Top Cow comics website, expiring at the end of Jan 2006
Quick Reference Guide
14 day free trials of CoH for myself and a friend
Seven Hero Clix figures ( Positron, Manticore, Statesman ( w/ cape ), Lord Recluse, Black Scorpion, Captain Mako, Ghost Widow )

When I register the game code, it should also unlock a couple in-game items, the Arachnos chest-emblem and cape costume item.

My impressions of it... The Art Collection Book is cool, but I am a geek like that. Had some cool art in the CoH side showing Stateman's previous costumes in the past, his 1930s and 1950s style costumes, as well as some neat concept art for some of the CoH villains.

The Game Manual sucks. Not too surprising, but it does. It isn't even useful like the CoH one is in listing powersets. While the CoH one was out of date almost before the game was released, they didn't even try to list the powerset info in the CoV one. Plus, where CoH had "Statesman Sez", CoV has "Lord Recluse Intones" and even worse then that he refers to himself in third-person in at least one of them. Ugh.

Actually, the best parts of the manual is the flavor-text talking about the three PvP zones and the part talking about bases ( I hadn't realized I could adjust floor height in them, will have to try that ).

The Poster / Map isn't bad. The map at least shows which CoH zones you can use to get to the new PvP zones ( Steel Canyon door to Siren's Call, Steel Canyon helicopter to Bloody Bay, King's Row helicopter to Warburg? ).

The CCG demo deck is uh.. Interesting. Game comes out in November and I am sure I will pick it up, but the demo deck... Got a Positron demo deck and it is just awfully setup. I can't actually ever put one of the cards in play because the demo deck doesn't include the needed pre-requisite card. The part that bugs / perplexes me more is that the little instructional manual that came with it mentions "Most exciting will be the opportunity for players of the online game to get access to special promotional cards though completing in-game goals, and for players of the card game to unlock special in-game items in the online game by competing in card game leagues and tournaments." Part of me thinks "Neat!" and the other part of me ( the insane completionist ) thinks "Aw fuck, going to have to nag a game store owner nearby to setup a league for this game now...".

Either way, I think the Art Collection Book alone made it worth my extra few bucks for the Collector's Edition.