Welcome to Dust Collectors, Player Affinity’s new feature where we investigate whether the Collector’s Edition of a new game or DVD is really worth the extra money, or if you’re just buying some cheap plastic crap that will be gathering dust. This time we’re taking a look at the bonus materials that come with the Fallout: New Vegas Collector’s Edition.
For an extra twenty dollars you’ll get a hardcover Fallout comic book, a deck of playing cards, a stack of poker chips and of course, the obligatory “Making of” DVD. Is all of this worth the “Caps” as they say in the Fallout Wasteland?
The comic book is a hardcover edition of All Roads written by Chris Avellone, one of New Vegas’ designers. The cover art is by Geof Darrow and interior art is by Jean Diaz and Wellinton Alves. It tells a prequel story with a cliff-hanger ending, and this ties in with an in-game storyline. The writing and art are on par with what you’d find in most things put out by Marvel or DC, and it’s forty pages long, so it will keep you amused for about half an hour. It’s also a full-sized print, the same dimensions as any other graphic novel (Not a min-comic as I had feared). Considering that a typical 22-page paperback comic book costs 3-4 dollars now, this is definitely worth a few dollars simply for being a hard-cover 40 page comic, and it’s exclusive to this collector’s edition.
There is a deck of cards as well. A typical deck of playing cards would cost 99 cents, but this deck is a custom one with illustrations of characters from the game on each card. Best of all, when you flip them over, you’ll find that they are mismatched, with logos from the fictional casinos within the game. This, plus the fake scuffmarks all over them creates the appearance that the deck was assembled by some wasteland wanderer who picked up random cards until he had a full deck.
The poker chips are surprisingly sturdy. My main concern was that they would be flimsy plastic disks with a little sticker. It turns out that they are of the same caliber as what you’d find in a real casino, and each has the logo of one of the in-game casinos. They also have little scuff marks, making them look like they survived the apocalypse.
My favorite thing in the Collector’s Edition is the “Lucky 38” platinum chip. It isn’t made of platinum, but it is made of some kind of metal instead of plastic. Heavy, solid, and bigger than a silver dollar, it makes a nice little desktop ornament (There’s an ordinary quarter in that picture to show size). Unlike the other things in this set the Lucky 38 is in pristine condition, not deliberately made to look like it’s been through a nuclear war.
Finally there’s the “Making of” DVD which runs about 50 minutes, and has the standard features, including interviews with Obsidian’s staff. It also has a lengthy section about the voice actors who worked on the game, and it is rather entertaining hearing Matthew Perry vigorously maintain that he has “Gone on dates and stuff” despite being a Fallout fan. Wayne Newton speaks about his perfectly-cast role as “Mr. Las Vegas” the New Vegas DJ. Of course the developers gush about working with nerd-goddess Felicia Day who has an interview that will be relevant to many gamers’ interests.
All in all, this collector’s edition is surprisingly well made, and definitely worth the extra money. Fans of the franchise will enjoy the sturdy knick-knacks, and it is highly probable that a true collector would be able to sell these items for profit in the years to come. It also comes in a nice box suitable for display.
