In a panel at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con, a couple of new details were dropped regarding the latest chapter in the Gears franchise. Firstly, the game will feature a system called “Linked Achievements”. What does this mean to you?  It means that all the hours you put into getting a perfect Gamerscore in the first Gears title might actually be worth something more than just a slight boost to your self-esteem. Depending on how well you’ve done in Gears, you will be granted access to premium content (multiplayer characters, weapons, etc) in the sequel.

Secondly, the game will be getting a collector’s edition (surprise, surprise). However, this is not your everyday, shiny-packaging-and-a-keychain kind of collectors edition. No, this one will feature a replica of everyone’s favorite fictional weapon, the Lancer. How much would you be willing to pay for such a bundle? $2,000? $5,000? Well you’re in luck, because you can get your hands on your ticket to Gears of War heaven for just $130 US dollars. Yup, for slightly more than the cost of two regular Xbox 360 games, you’ll finally have a weapon to defend your home from invading locust.  What will they think of next?

Yeah, I know, the topic is a bit far-fetched, but I still applaud my creativity! Maxis has announced the limited Spore Galactic Edition, which certainly will please all devoted Spore fans out there. The special edition will contain a “Making of Spore” DVD, “The Art of Spore” hardback mini-book, a fold-out Spore poster, and a premium 100-page Galactic Handbook. It will also feature a DVD documentary from the National Geographic Channel called “How to Build a Better Being”.

According to Patrick Buechner, vice president of marketing for Maxis, the Galactic Edition will be something unique, “The Spore Galactic Edition is the ultimate backstage pass for the Spore universe. The Spore Galactic Edition is an incredible collection of art, video and behind-the-scenes access to the development team for fans, along with some of the coolest, most collectible packaging in years.”

We all know special collectors editions are serious business these days. The amount of people wanting more than just a DVD case is growing constantly, so why not take it to the next step? How about getting a real golf club if you buy a special edition of the Tiger Woods series? Why not a gasoline driven go kart for the next Mario kart game or why not a working Zealot psionic blade for Blizzard’s StarCraft 2? Of course the price would have to go up, but talk about a slice of gaming history if you came cruising down the street in this!

But, for now, gamers will have to settle with this. Spore, along with the Galactic Edition will be available on PC, Mac and Nintendo DS on September 5th.

[See also: Spore gallery]

A call for all those die-hard Fallout fans out there — Bethesda and Amazon today announced that the Fallout 3 Survival Edition is now available for pre-order exclusively through Amazon.com (and its regional derivatives). It would seem that a simple Collector’s Edition just doesn’t cut the mustard. What’s the point in getting a Collector’s Edition if you don’t live to tell the tale, right?

The Survival Edition contains everything in the Collector’s Edition plus a life-size replica of the Pip-Boy 3000, the wrist-mounted device worn by characters in the game. While this version of the Pip-Boy 3000 doesn’t have all the features of the in-game device, it does make a very dandy digital clock. Story continues..

Once upon a time, the words “special” and “collector” meant something when they came attached to a videogame release. Back then, special releases were still few and far between, and something that seemed to attract only the diehard fans, the hardcore gamers, and the uber-collectors in the world that had extra cash to spare. Nowadays, everybody and their mother has a collector’s edition and even some game developers — like Japan’s Atlus — have resorted to releasing some of their games exclusively in special release format. A great example of this is last year’s RPG hit, Persona 3, a PS2 game which was only purchasable in a $40 box set.

Inclusion of the phrase “Collector’s Edition” usually mean a couple things, and game publishers tend to mix and match the various options in the hopes of providing a special edition with its own flavor.

• It will come in some crazy box. Whether the box is made of some sculpted, light-weight aluminum alloy or is huge treasure crate large enough to carry a small child in, this option seems to be a must for special releases across the board. Holograms, bling, crazy box art, embossed pleather — you name it, a collector’s edition somewhere has got to have it.
• It will come with an artbook of some kind, packed full of background art that you will not want. Where are the chapters on character design and creature creation? Where’s the storyboard that gave birth to all that hot alien-lady love? That’s the concept art you know we all want to be checking out more. Because of the deceptively weighty addition to paper to the bundle, this will subliminally convince you there is more awesomeness in the collector’s edition than there really is.

Story continues..

In a move I wouldn’t have seen coming from many, many, many, many, many miles away Capcom is actually going that extra mile to please its Okami loving, but watermark hating, patrons. Via the Okami website Capcom is actually trying to make up for the whole IGN watermark showing up on their box art fiasco. And they’re doing a damn good job of it.

If you go over to that site you can order one of three box art covers - two are new, one is the old one without the watermark - for your Okami game for free. Capcom says they are doing this because they would “like the outside of the box to match the beauty contained within.” So just so we’re all caught up here: Capcom releases an amazing game that doesn’t sell well, they then release it again so more people can experience the amazing game, they then release three sets of amazing box art because of an insignificant problem that no one really cared about. I know which gaming company is getting my vote for throwing support behind their creative games this year. Oh, and for all you collectors out there you better find a way to get two more watermarked copies quickly cause you know this will be selling well some day.

What are you going to be grabbing? I’m kind of digging number one.

Capcom shot out a message today letting us know that the demo for Devil May Cry 4 will be arriving this Thursday on both Xbox LIVE Marketplace and the PlayStation Store. Promising to run at a constant 60 frames per second at 720P, the demo features the coastal city of Fortuna and its surroundings in “exquisite detail, such as the port and the snow-capped mountain ranges.”

The demo introduces gamers to the gothic-inspired supernatural world of Devil May Cry 4, new protagonist Nero and the awesome power of his Devil Bringer. The demo consists of a sampling of sections from the full game, chosen to showcase Devil May Cry 4’s varied locales, allowing gamers to familiarize themselves with Nero’s unique abilities. Players will receive instruction on the various new actions that the Devil Bringer bestows, such as the ability to slam creatures to the ground, cover great distances in a single bound or even grab enemies while on the ground or in the air and pull them towards Nero to continue an attack combo. The Exceed system allows Nero to “rev up” his sword as if it were a motorcycle throttle and unleash devastating attacks. Players will need to master all these techniques before the end-of-demo showdown with the mighty Berial.

While you wait for tomorrow, check out our Devil May Cry 4 gallery for the latest screenshots. The full game, along with the CE, will be released in February, for both systems.

Update: It seems the street date has been broken somewhere and some lucky chap is already enjoying the full game. The persons gamertag confirms it.

Another one of the character spotlight videos from Mass Effect has been released. Be sure to also check out parts one and two if you’ve missed them. Mass Effect, a.k.a. a definite RPG and game of the year nominee, is still on track and will be released next month, on November 20th. If you’re a hardcore sci-fi and RPG fan then you might even consider getting the Limited Collectors Edition.

[See also: Mass Effect gallery]