The survivor edition however, currently listed on GAME/Gameplay contains a little less and takes the form of the bog-standard steelbook with a handful of multiplayer maps.  Given that this edition is only a fiver cheaper than the Hunter edition and comes with far fewer trinkets, sensible money would be on the Hunter…especially if you like facehuggers.  Who doesn’t?

Details of the Survivor edition, such as they are, follow:

Aliens vs Predator Survivor Edition

• The Game
• Steel Book packaging
• Exclusive Map pack containing:
  Docks – The caustic alkali waters of BG-386 put an end to Weyland-Yutani’s planned shipping activities. But this dockyard soon became an historic battleground
  Outpost – The site of the original Weyland-Yutani colony on BG-386 was abandoned, and soon reclaimed by the planet’s voracious jungle plant life. It is now the perfect hunting ground for all manner of wildlife.
  Machine – As well as processing exotic ores, the BG-386 Refinery provided electrical power to the colonists at Freya’s Prospect. The lights may still be on, but nobody’s home. Yet.
  Hive – Deep in the heart of the Freya’s Prospect Refinery lies the Xenomorph Hive. Beware all who enter here.

Coming housed in the now almost traditional steelbook packaging, the box of goodies contains a few token trinkets such as a fancy postcard and sew on patch, but the real prize is the fully articulated Facehugger model in all its Yoni, Giger-esque glory.

Could do better...nice hugger though

As is usually the case, one territory is left on the naughty step when the goods are doled out and this time only the US get the sexy sounding ‘hardcover special edition’ of the original AVP comic from Dark Horse Comics.  However, if those of us in Europe and Australia think that we are being hard done by, then we should all hold hands a moment and give a minute’s silence for our German friends who won’t be getting the game at all, whether in special edition or vanilla format.

Sega are avoiding falling foul of the fearsome USK – the German ratings board, by not even submitting the game, fully expecting it to receive a fat ‘nein’ and have avoided even splashing the cash on localisation, knowing that it will certainly not pass, thus sadly leaving the Germans little option but to attempt an import.  Sega did however, take the gamble with Australia’s similarly draconian gaming board and promptly got the game banned.  However, after a stubborn appeal in which the game remained unchanged – (go Sega!), the ban was overturned.

The full list of features are as follows:

• Steelbook packaging
• Game Disc
• 4 exclusive multiplayer maps (before they are released to the public) which are:
  DOCKS: The caustic alkali waters of BG-386 put an end to Weyland-Yutani’s planned shipping activities. But this dockyard soon became a historic battleground
  OUTPOST: The site of the original Weyland-Yutani colony on BG-386 was abandoned, and soon reclaimed by the planet’s voracious jungle plant life. It is now the perfect hunting ground for all manner of wildlife.
  MACHINE: As well as processing exotic ores, the BG-386 Refinery provided electrical power to the colonists at Freya’s Prospect. The lights may still be on, but nobody’s home. Yet.
  HIVE: Deep in the heart of the Freya’s Prospect Refinery lies the Xenomorph Hive. Beware all who enter here.
• A fully articulated Facehugger model
• Weyland Yutani sew on patch badge
• 3D lenticular postcard 
• US only: Hardcover AvP graphic novel from Dark Horse Comics featuring the original comic

Whether or not you think that the set, Facehugger aside, is a tad disappointing or a wasted opportunity, it may be worth picking up for collecting’s sake – on the other hand if it pumps your nads, you should be happy.  The real surprise is that the Hunter edition does not currently seem to be listed on any of the usual UK gaming retail sites.  Indeed, if Play.com have snapped up any UK exclusivity, as they often seem to, they are keeping it remarkably quiet and with only a few months to go, pre-orders should be going in, especially since there will be several hotly anticipated releases in the first quarter vying for cash.

In the US, the Aliens Vs Predator Hunter Edition is retailing at $99.99, which means that in the UK, if they don’t decided to skin us (no Predator pun intended, we can expect it for around 75 odd quid.

So, if you are one of the happy souls who doesn’t care too much about getting everything or simply want the Facehugger, then snap up the UK release.  If, on the other hand you are Magpie minded and a completion freak, you’ll be eyeing up a US import…good luck with that.

I may be excited now to buy a new release or console, but there is something a little soulless about it.  As a child, savouring the wait, watching time slowly eat the calendar, and smoothing the wrapping paper for a hint of what lay beneath were all part of it – they all counted towards the moment when you got to play the game or fire up the console (after your dad had rigged it all up).  It was like powering up a special move before unleashing it.  Now, I’m just mashing buttons and hoping something happens.
 
Game purchases were neither common or cheap back then, meaning there were less of them, so they had to be good to make it count.  Strict instructions were issued months in advance, catalogues left open at the requisite pages with the chosen things heavily ringed in case my parents had suddenly developed myopia, and studying the game in the shop whenever one of them was looking were all vital.  Looking back, it was all fuel for the slow burn up to the frenzy of Christmas Day.

As an adult, part of me still yearns for the euphoric delight that Christmas used to mean for my hobby.  When I’m standing browsing the shelves or importing an overpriced limited DS, the thought of what I am doing and what I no longer have, gives me pause.  I may be better off than a ten year old, with the freedom to buy what I want, when I want, but I feel that it has come a price.  That may be non-existent to others and most of the time I can even ignore it, but as the months creep on and I look through my dusty collection of consoles past, I feel a twinge of sadness for the way it is now.

Having everything on demand as much as my creaking credit cards will allow, has robbed the build up until all that is left is a brief burst of pleasure followed by a metaphorical cigarette as you put it aside to go and make dinner or bicker over the last strawberry Quality Street.  The foreplay of anticipation is all but gone, and I suppose no one is to blame but me.  If I didn’t have to get myself everything because it is out now, if I just waited, let it build toe curlingly slowly, perhaps that old lightning could be re-captured in a small way.  Perhaps then, the sad clanking chains of that Original Game Boy among others, wouldn’t make sigh rather than smile when I switch the tree lights on this year.

Christmas time...

A thoughtful piece and it’s nice to know that I’m not the only one who has been in that situation.

Rocky wealth just at the back of our own home!

After work we spent the evening on the outskirts of town, snooping around a mosquito ridden shack where we found a couple of other samples.  We didn’t get very far however, since we were forced to stop and rest while Renna complained about her feet.  If she will wear stupid heels while out hunting for minerals it serves her right, no matter how good the boots look on her. And I told her as much.

Yes, I couldn't give two fucks about your needs if you wear inappropriate (albeit sexy) footwear

I ignored her and caught up on my evil comic book reading while she sat and fumed.  Renna eventually calmed down after she sulked off and destroyed some property, so we were able to gather several more interesting rocks, though we were chased off by the irate owner of the Flamingo which Renna had vandalised.  I would have caught an arse full of buckshot if I hadn’t run as fast as I did.  Interestingly, Renna ran faster than me, despite her aching feet and stupid boots.  Irksome woman.  *note to self…dip all tampons in the house in white pepper*

Sulky wench

Flamingo abuse rampage

Still, something good came from the evening.  Our initial explorations and discoveries have been such that we can afford to move to a more agreeable location not far from the Mosquito pit place.  It is still small and hovel-like but at least we are closer to the fringe of town and away from do-gooding prying eyes.  We are also closer to work which is good because I refuse to car pool with my work colleagues any longer…Cindy’s putrid Yellow Magic Tree has caused me to vomit on more than one occasion, much to everyone’s merriment.  Oh how you will all suffer when my house of evil is finally constructed.

New temporary hovel

Features:
Bioshock 2 game (yep)
12″ Vinyl LP with the orchestral score of the original Bioshock game
Audio CD with Bioshock 2 orchestral score
164 page hardcover art book
Three vintage Rapture advertisement posters (rolled)

For the UK market, it seems that Play.com have snapped this one up, since as of yet, sketchstone.com have failed to find it listed anywhere else.  So whether Play have once again grabbed the UK exclusive remains to be seen, but it is highly likely.  It seems, according to 2K Games’ ‘Cult of Rapture’ news that this set is limited to a single production run, though it hasn’t been stated how many units this actually consists of, so in all honesty, you could be seeing it in bargain bins the world over until the end of time, or else going on Ebay for ridiculous sums within a month of release and sell out.  At this point it is still up in the air as to whether this set is ‘Special’ or ‘Limited’, but safety conscious collectors will no doubt quietly be adding it to their pre-order list regardless.

As far as standard offers go, GAME are offering an exclusive pre-order bonus of two extra multiplayer characters when you pre-order the standard edition:

“Experience Rapture’s Civil War in Multiplayer Mode with exclusive downloadable in-game characters. Play as two of the city’s most revered citizens, Zigo the Fearsome Fisherman and Blanche the deranged actress.”

In all honesty, the special edition looks too damn good to pass up for the standard fare and a couple of extra characters, so if dark and retro appeals to you or the allure of vinyl has pricked your nostalgic nerves, then it would be a top purchase.

http://shop.gameplay.co.uk/webstore/productpage.asp?productcode=XT1338&title=bayonetta_with_preorder_bonus_scarborough_fair_gun_model!

Anyone looking to snap one of these up needs to move fast since it is a very limited offer and unless you want to be paying over the odds on Ebay in a few months time, you’d be wise to invest in a pre-order now.

Sexy.

The original and stunning cover

Any Amiga fan who remembers the Alien Breed series with a wide smile and nostalgic flutter will be champing at the bit for December 16th after the release date of the remake was finally announced.  After teasing fans with news for months, it seems that Alien Breed Evolution – Episode 1 from Team 17 will be blasting its way onto the Xbox LIVE marketplace for a worthy 800 MSP in the next two weeks and personally, I can’t wait.

As someone who adored Alien Breed and who has fond memories of finishing the second one with her father in multiplayer all those years ago, I have been looking forward to snapping this one up for a long time.  As with any remake, there is always that lurking terror that they may just have fucked everything up…that the alluring computer voice when you access the satisfyingly futuristic green terminals will be gone, that the triple laser or the Boomerang weapons will have been thrown out for something more resembling what the youngsters today are used to with their new fangled Halo nonsense, and that Team 17 might have pissed all over the hallowed memory of a superb game.  Time will tell though, and luckily that time is but a few weeks away…

So with an action stuffed single player mode, along with LIVE and local multiplayer, Alien Breed Evolution looks set to send pulses racing as you are pitched once more against crawling beasties in the eerily lit corridors of some fear-stained, overrun facility.  Two weeks and counting…

Suddenly, the patching wouldn’t work and the most recent and much needed one was throwing up an invalid file error.  After using the Delphy log checker recommended by several forums, I found the name of the rogue file, replaced it with the fresh one from the Sims 3 disk and sat back with fingers crossed and apoplexy held on a loose rein.  Nope, the patch still threw up the same error about the same file.  So I replaced it again.  And again.  And again.  Nothing.  After scouring more forums and finding folk crying over their keyboards about the same thing, it seems that my only option (since clearing the cache files didn’t solve it), was to MANUALLY uninstall and then reinstall.  A  manual uninstall, are you fucking serious?!  Picking through the registry files and goodness knows what to comb my system like a squirming five year old’s nit infested scalp…joy.

...but EA support are all too fucking serious, unfortunately

Why did this happen?  I can’t perhaps lay the blame firmly at the door of the game as much as I want to.  Indeed, if I had done nothing wrong, these errors would be more worrying,  however, as it is, I suspect that shamefully, some of the fault lies with me.  You see, Sims 3 doesn’t like mods apparently.  If you have any installed when it comes time to run a patch and update it, it can throw a stealthy tantrum, discreetly knackering your efforts in any number of areas that it chooses.  Or not, such is the temperament of this creature.

When I installed Sims 3 World Adventures recently, the game asked if I wanted to update and so, without thinking, I accepted.  Only then, as the progress bar swelled like a teenager in Chobot’s presence, did I remember my recent raft of saucy mods, cocks, see-thru undies, and sundry items.  Bugger.  I crossed my fingers and hoped for the best and to its credit, the game ran fine, but for one annoying glitch where one character couldn’t access the grocery shop.

So, if the game runs fine, why the problem ?  Well, my launcher, as already mentioned won’t update the game due to its eye-rolling insistence that I have no memory left on my vast and funnily enough, vacant drive.  So my only option is to download patches and manually install.  Which I now can’t do because of this file error.  So the upshot is that I have reached endgame now and can’t update the game at all from this point.  Not a great state of affairs with a game as notoriously buggy as Sims 3.  With each expansion will come many updates, so if I want to continue my Sim gaming and give Devon fodder for his evil intentions, I have little choice.  However, this time, I should pay attention and do the ‘fiddly as arse’ manual uninstall as recommended by EA.  I feel another weekend is about to be lost to a mist of anger, obscenities, and PC rage.  It is the little things in life that make it an excruciating pleasure really.

The Australian exclusive ‘Bayonetta: Climax Edition’

It features (aside from the game, obviously), premium slipcase packaging, a 36 page hardcover art book, premium Scarborough Fair gun collectable, and a CD soundtrack.  The main difference between this set and the UK Play.com exclusive edition, apart from the gun, is that the picture features a stunning, large black outer box which appears to be in addition the regular slip case.  It should be noted that the replica gun is pre-order only and there is limited stock available, so get your skates on if you are planning on snagging one.

However, anyone from the UK leaping onto the net to find an import site may feel like staying their credit cards a moment because all is not lost.  The waters are a little less clear than first thought…it seems that the Climax set has been broken up and pieces of it scattered between UK retailers, so your alternative to importing rather depends upon your priorities.  Play.com have snatched the exclusive, pictured below:

Play.com ‘Bayonetta: Climax Edition’ UK exclusive Limited Edition set

It features the game (natch), Limited Edition slipcase packaging, art book, and the CD soundtrack and looks reasonably smart, though next to the Aussie edition, seems a touch lacking, since the stunning big box appears to be MIA.

However, anyone eschewing the rest of the set and merely lusting after the replica gun will be happy to note that developer Sega has revealed that anyone fast enough to get their pre-orders in for either the Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 version through the game.com website would get the rather gorgeous, detailed replica of Bayonetta’s Scarborough Fair gun which comes with its own display stand.  So far, I have seen nothing on Game.com or Gameplay.co.uk which indicates a pre-order bonus of the gun, so if you are going down this route, it may be worth contacting Game directly to confirm before you decide.

So if the gun is your sole priority, order from Game.com.  If you want the nifty set and can live without the gun, go for the Play.com exclusive, and if you simply have to have the lot, including the smart outer box, then import it.  However, since it is supposed to be exclusive to Australia and New Zealand, many sites will not ship it to the UK, with a few exceptions.

http://dvdcrave.com.au/ViewProduct.aspx?Id=2a9a2a0f-b2f7-4e5f-bbe8-3591bc438ae0

http://www.mightyape.co.nz/product/PlayStation-3/Bayonetta-Climax-Edition-includes-Scarborough-Fair-Gun/3692662/

Personally, my money is (literally) on DVDCrave since it works out at half the cost of MightyApe, mainly down to the shipping, but the choice is yours.  Happy hunting.