Unboxing Day: Skyrim: The Elder Scrolls V Collector's Edition

Contents of: Skyrim: The Elder Scrolls V Special Edition

Final Verdict: 8.5/10

Keep it in your pants kids- I'm going to review the contents of the special edition version of the game, not your precious little baby itself. Not yet. That will come later. (You could at least notice I changed my hair color. Geeeeez.)


But it's been done, Aerie, Skyrim is practically old news.

Leave me alone and let's get on with this!

I came to own Skyrim's Collectors Edition pretty late because of 3 very good reasons. 1. I was broke. 2. I refused to get anything but the Collector's Edition and it's expensive and 3. A friend of mine had to go and buy it for me so I'd shut up about it.

If there is something I am more then a gamer, it's a collector, and I love when publishers make the little extra effort to supply their fans with something cool to come with their long-awaited games. Though; I understand the lot of you who see this as milking the franchise for as much cash as possible, but truth is, if you're not into it, don't buy it, it's as simple as that. The fun of collector's editions are that it's optional, so if you don't like it, then shut up and let me sink my own money into them.

This came as a going-away/Valentine's Day/etc gift from said friend, so it was unexpected and treasured beyond my own purchases of course, but that doesn't mean I can't put the gushy emotional crap aside and get into this nitty-gritty.

First of all, the box it came in is a little overwhelming. For your convenience, I even stole this picture from Google to help you understand:

The size is impressive, but the box itself isn't a "plus" to the loot. It's really just packaging, unlike the Bioshock 2 Collector's edition box which was meant for display, but I digress; this thing is far too big to fit on any of my damn shelves anyways.

Upon opening, the first thing you pull out is the art book. I have a LARGE collection of video game art books, from special edition exclusives or just store-bought. I really love seeing the evolution of concepts and the gallery of art work, and the creative integrity put into all these games. I have to admit, I am -really- impressed with Skyrim's included art book. The size of it, the included works, make it all a worthy candidate for my favorite art book to date, but what truly pushes it to the top is it's magnificent leather cover. My American McGee's Alice: Madness Returns art book is of comparable size/style/etc and retailed for about 40$ at Chapter's, which would probably price this book somewhere in the 50$ range, which we'll discuss more of at the end of this review.

Now comes the game. It comes in a cardboard style box with 2 discs and a sleeve which holds a DVD and a texture-paper printed map. The peak of my annoyance has to be the cardboard box. While it does fit aesthetically with the rest of the merch, it's cardboard. It's weak. For anyone with any intention of boxing/unboxing this game a gazillion times while going through a 100-hour playthroughs more then once KNOWS that thing doesn't stand a chance of remaining mint. Why not a steelbook or a neat leather-bound case to match the art book? It was certainly possible to come up with a better idea, and the final outcome feels cheap. However, I must move on. The DVD is something that any geek interested in the production or games would enjoy watching, but it was far from being what attracted me to the collector's edition. DVDs and movies and such always end up being ripped and thrown online for everyone to download for free, so it's not something I'd truly feel I'd missed out on.

But the dragon.
Oh baby.

It's big- a lot bigger then I had originally expected, even with the ridiculous box size. It makes a really great piece to display and I'm proud to have it sit in my collection. The dragon felt like the best choice for a sculpt, since your dovahkiin will always look different from your buddy's, it would have kind of made a "Well, that's really cool, but it's not really me." kind of reaction. The dragon is made of a hollow plastic material, which I know surprised a few collectors. From the advertisement images it looked solid, heavy, like a typical porcelain-type material that the dragon sculptures fantasy/medieval stores sell. Your first impression might be "cheap" but the fact is, it looks great, displays beautifully, and that's truly all you need out of a sculpt. Think of the original Big Daddy sculps that came with the original Bioshock's special edition. They were all heavy, porcelain-like sculptures, and they nearly all shattered at distribution. This dragon is sturdy, and could probably survive a fall (though I beg you not to try). The best comparison I can think of is of Halo: Reach Legendary Edition's Noble Team sculpture. The same material, the same style. Would actually make a great perch for this dragon!

The collector's edition originally retailed for approximately 149.99$ upon release. Since I got it some time later, it was picked up at Toys R Us for about 109.99$. This is where the price breakdown happens and you can decide whether it was worth it in your books or not. At 149.99$ you paid 60$ for the game, which kicks it down to 90$. Out of 90$ I say you subtract anywhere from 40-50$ for the art book's value. So that would leave about 45$ for the dragon, the DVD and the map. At 110$ the break down remains the same, but that leaves 5$ for the dragon and co.

The less pricey the best in any and all cases, but the manner in which you price your collectables is left to your discretion. I love having something to sit on my bookshelf, but you might think it collects dust. Overall, I think Skyrim: The Elder Scrolls V's Collector's Edition is of good value and good quality, even more so now then upon release, and I bestow upon it 8.5 arrows to the knees out of 10.