70 replies to this topic

[Shoko86]

I was looking forward to the LE artbook too but yeah, I do have to agree, $80 is expensive. Especially for something that's limited to 1.5k copies and is still in pre-order stage. I would like to know more about what I'm getting if I'm going to spend $80 on it, so looking forward to more info. Hopefully sooner than later.

[DukeOfNukes]

Still no word on if this is even different than owning the ME1 art book, the ME2 "art book", and the upcoming ME3 art book.

[Jaene]

Before I buy the Art of the Mass Effect Universe: Collector's Edition I'd like to know if it will feature unique art.
There's a 70 page art book in the Collector's Edition packet. Since I already bought that I don't want to pay the 80 dollars for a book half filled with art I already have...

Please answer Bioware

[Twilight_Princess]

I also would like to know if this will be shipped in a box (with bubble wrap or something)

[DukeOfNukes]

Still no answer. Very disappointing. If I had opened a customer service order and it took 3 weeks to get an answer, I would leave and take my business elsewhere. I've already cut back the amount I come here drastically. At this point, I'm most likely going with a purchase off of TFAW.

[Hellhawx]

I'm unsure which to go for right now. The Collector's Edition sounds nice at $80, but the money I've dropped on Mass Effect merch is ridiculous (probably going to sell a lot of my lithos soon to clean out some space). But the Slip Cover is also tempting at $40. The Amazon copy is about $30 as well is on Things From Another World. Decisions decisions decisions... good thing I have a few months to make a decision though.

[steamboy]

My very own and very personal about that shiny 80$ CE artbook : A huge commercial FAIL lol. I think people go CE because they get something the regular edition doesn't provide. The % of people buying the CE specificaly to possess something that is rare is low, really low I think. In that case, the CE doesn't add any content. So anyone buying CE for the added content will simply not buy it. People going for the CE here are hardcore... and rich, collectors that collect for the sake of collecting. I'm not one of these.

[Jonwes]

I LOVE art books. I have the first one and the second one and they are great. My ears perked up about the CE edition... but I went with Amazon too. unless the clamshell just knocks it out of the park it's hard to see $80 being justified. The worst part would be if it's some clunky thing that can't fit next to other books on your shelf like some clunky deluxe DVD packaging. In the long term those things can just be a pain. I have it pre-ordered on Amazon... but we'll see. I am kind of considering the slipcase version as that would be nice, though.

[orionshield]

I bought one already and im super excited t get my alien hands on it!!! I will spend a whole day examining each page with my N7 ball cap and N7 coffee mug listening to the Mass Effect soundtracks! I love Mass Effect!


"Do you have something Flashy? I want something that says I own this room. I own you!" Volus Merchant in Mass Effect 2 on illium

[FreezaSama]

In case anyone hasn't caught it, Dark Horse posted a 5-page preview of the artbook interior here:

http://www.darkhorse...verse-hardcover

I am aroused. Sexually.

Edited by FreezaSama, 20 January 2012 - 05:12 AM.

[thepowell]

Good grief!! Finally, a (relatively) straight answer RE: reused content from previous books:

"Some of the material is duplicated from Prima’s The Art of Mass Effect, but there is a wealth of information not carried over from that book. In particular, the variety of designs for both Sovereign and the Normandy are lacking in the new Dark Horse volume, which is unfortunate as there was some interesting work done there."

"The art assets presented in the Mass Effect 2 portion of the book focus primarily on characters and locations. Some of the data is recycled from the art book packaged in the Collectors Edition, but not all."

So there you have it.

Some concept art is carried over from previous artbook releases, but where some has gone missing, some new stuff has been added.  Since I never bit on the ME2 Collector's Edition, I think I'll get it.

So guys, do I get a prize?

A bit more from the final review notes (no spoilers):
"Frustratingly, it is not a completely comprehensive collection of the art behind the series. As seen in other sources, there are many more assets related to the Mass Effect Universe than are presented in this codex. Hopefully additional editions to this range of reference material will be released to fill in the gaps. Some of that may come in the form of a limited edition of the Art of the Mass Effect Universe offered from the BioWare store that will contain an additional 24 pages dedicated to the comic books (which may feature unreleased design material) not presented in the general issuance of this volume. The Collector’s Edition of Mass Effect 3 will also contain an art book, with presumably even more designs, so there is more on the horizon from the fine folks at BioWare"

Source

[FreezaSama]

^I actually don't mind if some content is carried over from previous books. They had some awesome pieces in them, and it'll be nice to have a sort of "collected edition" of the artwork up to this point in the series.

Edited by FreezaSama, 27 January 2012 - 05:01 AM.

[fatalist.remix]

I bought the $80 Collector's Edition from the Bioware store, but I'm more than a little peeved that there's a DLC promotion through Barnes & Noble. Is there any other way to get the collector rifle? I don't want to buy two copies of the book.

Link: http://www.darkhorse...-download-codes

Edited by fatalist.remix, 27 January 2012 - 09:13 AM.

[thepowell]

Just got mine in the mail today
I took a brief look at some of the ME1 stuff, but I'm deathly afraid of spoilers so I'm setting it aside for now.

[SenseiZZ]

I just received my Collectors Edition today and I'm super impressed. While I'm not certain it's worth $80, I'm really glad I purchased it.

Two things I just wanted to mention:
1. The book was perfectly packaged for shipping. The book was securely wrapped in bubble wrap and placed in a durably large cardboard box. Also I was impressed that UPS delivered the shipment instead of their usual UPS to USPS hand-off which is a load of crap and adds an extra day to my 2 day shipping that I paid for.

2. I have to admit that the clam shell is really impressive and it takes the book from being your average hardcover art book to a display worthy collectible. Even my wife was shocked at how cool it was. The clam shell is very solid & heavy and really makes the book almost like a piece of furniture.

Overall I'm super happy with it and it will be given a spot of honor in my Mass Effect collection.

[Vault101 survivor]

I got my CE art book too. They definitely made an attempt to improve the way they pack stuff for shipping; however, they still didn't get it right. They wrapped the book in bubblewrap, but only on 4 of the six sides of the book! My book slid out of the bubblewrap while in transit and the corners got dinged up. If they had just wrapped the the two ends (the end that sits directly on the bookshelf when setting the book vertically on the bookshelf, and the top end on the opposite side of that aforementioned end) the book would have been perfectly safe.

This isn't rocket science Treehouse! Do it right, or don't do it at all.

[OniEdge]

I just don't understand why they keep getting cheap on the packaging. It's utterly ridiculous and unacceptable. Just make SURE it's safe. It's not hard.

[AlphaJarmel]

So are the 24 pages of art from the comics worth it?

[______]

I perused one of the non-collector editions at a local book shop today. I must say, it just got much higher on my list of things to buy!

However, I noticed a certain lack of discussion about some confirmed characters in ME3, in the ME3 section of the art book. I'm wondering if the choices had to do with importance of characters to ME3, or just a lack of any new design details, since some characters that were in ME1 and ME2 (and in those sections of the book) were also again discussed/showcased in the ME3 section.

[chemgear]

Just to echo some of the earlier comments - the Collectors Edition of this Art Book is well worth the money (imo). Here's a review that was linked to me about it:

http://thegamefanati...edition-review/

Understandable that it's not affordable for everybody but there was certainly some angst earlier on the forum/thread about the price of this edition versus the "plain" one via amazon and such. With less than 20 left out of the 1,500 it looks like the market has received it well.

Regardless of which version though, all fans should get one!