! ATTENTION ! Be careful when opening the seal of the music CD envelope! The music CD is located in the upper portion of the envelope. The problem? The envelope is only open at the top, and sealed with a circular transparent sticker. The music CD is held in place so closely to the top that the circular sticker that seals this envelope makes contact with an edge of the CD. I call attention to this so that the reader does not damage the CD when cutting the seal to remove the music CD.
Like many other reviewers, I had been fortunate enough to get early access and into the beta. I like the game a lot and I think the quality of the game itself is 5 stars, as designated in the "fun rating" for this product. Star Wars: The Old Republic (SWTOR) is not perfect, and the pros and cons are discussed in reams of detail from numerous outlets.
I am placing this review to discuss the physical observations of the SWTOR Collector's Edition. I've broken this up into comments on the PACKAGE and the CONTENT VALUE associated with this product.
THE PACKAGE
... BOX ...
The SWTOR CE arrived in a box that was just a bit too long, allowing the product box to slide around with about 3 inches of play within. Amazon staff did not pad the box within with the typical plastic air bubble packes they normally use. Whoops!
To their credit, they placed a thin sheet of brown wrapping paper on top. You know, in case Darth Malgus got a bit cold within the box during transport. Wasn't that just thoughtful? Yes, I thought so, too!
Amazon already publishes the dimensions of this package, but for those who have difficulty visualizing geometry, the size can be described as follows using a CD for reference:
The SWTOR CE box is roughly:
2.25 - Two and a quarter CDs from left to right
2.10 - A fingerwidth more than two CDs from front to back
2.25 - Two and a quarter CDs tall
I have uploaded a photo to Amazon for reference.
The wraparound slip cover to the cardboard box is thick, transparent plastic. This slipcover is attached to the product box using four roughly 2 inch diameter transparent stickers as the seals on top and bottom. Removing the seal stickers will rip the printed surface of the box, so to avoid damage would likely require action to warm the adhesive of the seals first. I do not recommend actually trying this, because the reader might cry if box is accidentally scorched. Please, think of the children!
The plastic surface oriented to the front of the package has printing with the parental guidance rating (T for Teen), PC DVD-ROM platform designation, requirements in brief small print (valid credit card, internet connection), benefit in brief small print (30 days of playtime included), and Bioware/EA logos. The plastic surface oriented to the back has text explaining the content within the box complete with photos/3D renders, a paragraph or so to convince the buyer why purchase of the game would be so intensely gratifying, no actual game screenshots, long list of system requirements, and a sizeable dollop of legalese.
The North American edition has nothing on the left and right panels of the plastic surround slipcase. Based on what I have seen on the Internet, the international editions have all the information I mentioned above, repeated on those panels in other languages.
The official photos of the SWTOR CE product should give the reader some indication of the appearance of the box, but I will attempt to describe it in more detail. The actual box itself is a heavy/dense gauge cardboard, coated mostly in a soft matte printed surface. The package is a bit like 3 incomplete boxes. Two shallower "boxes" on top and bottom enclose over an inner "box" in-between but do not meet in the middle. This exposed strip of the inner box shows the SWTOR logo on the front and back, the Republic logo on the left-facing side, and the Empire logo on the right facing side. The top panel of the upper box or upper cover has a larger rendering of the SWTOR logo with embossed lettering. The bottom panel of the lower box or lower cover is blank, and it is affixed to the inner box.
The 4 sides of the overall product box have semi-glossy renders of the major characters from the previously released trailer/teaser 3d rendered movies, one character per side. Each pair of characters is rendered in a heroic and debonair action pose, facing off each other. Darth Malgus facing the green-clothed, dual saber Jedi (Satele Shan) and the Republic solider (Jace Malcom) facing off the bounty hunter (Shae Vizla). These pictures are continous from the upper cover to lower cover, but not on the exposed strip of the inner box, in between.
The promotional pre-release photo of the box shows Jedi Master Ven Zallow, from the 2009 teaser trailer where Darth Malgus and associates attack the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. As this character was not on the box I received from Amazon in contrast to the original promotional photos, it seems that the design of the SWTOR CE content was in quite bit of flux before being finalized. The components within the box also changed quite a bit in appearance. Put down the pitchforks and torches... the promotional photo has the disclaimer "Work-in-progress art".
The upper "box", or upper cover, is a slipcover over the inner box. The plastic surround slipcase, though attached to the upper and lower "boxes" is just loose enough to allow a thin, sharp instrument to cut open the seals without scuffing.
Removing the top exposes the contents sticking up 2-3 inches from the inner box, held in place with a matte black cardboard surround. A similar matte black cardboard surround is affixed on the inside of the upper cover.
... SECURITY KEY ...
The "Custom Security Authentication Key" code generator is up front, tightly packed into a sized, plastic depression that holds it in place, embedded in the cardboard. The authentication key looks just like the promotional photo, with a yellow metal-appearance motif, a tiny SWTOR logo, a small keychain ring (not robust, don't haul the key around), and a button to generate a code. If you have any experience with the Blizzard Authenticator used for World of Warcraft and Starcraft II, then the form factor is very close to the same. The codes that this key generates are 8 numbers long, and appear whenever the button is pressed.
... STATUE ...
The Darth Malgus statue is housed within it's own box in the center of the outer package box. It is, in part, held in place with the cardboard surround, and at the bottom with a thin plastic tray.
The statue box is also matte black, but the quality of the print is a step down in quality from the outer box itself. The statue box is not sealed. Mine arrived with a heavy crease horizontally across two sides, embedded there by the horizontal surround that held all the content together in the outer box. The Empire logo is on top, rendered in color but not metallic. The front of the box shows frontal photo of the statue with the SWTOR logo / "COLLECTOR'S EDITION" above the photo and "DARTH MALGUS STATUE" below. The Gentle Giant logo is in the lower right corner. The sides show the left and right sides of the statue, and the back shows the front of the statue again. The bottom of the statue box has a disclaimer from Gentle Giant (English and French) explaining their guarantee on the quality of the product, but not the packing materials or box, explaining that these would not be replaced. There is also the bevy of company logos, legalese and also "MADE IN CHINA" and "Adult Collectible. This is not a toy."
The statue within is held in two vertical halves of styrofoam, held together with transparent packing tape wrapped around where the edges of the styrofoam halves meet. Gentle Giant is imprinted on the bottom of the styrofoam. The tape also holds in place a small card with a photo of the statue, about the size of a baseball card. This is the certificate of authenticity.
My statue was exactly like the pre-release official photos. The statue was wrapped in plastic with an accompanying small silica bag to collect moisture. The light saber "blade" was separate inside the styrofoam, enclosed in white tissue paper.
... BOOK ...
To the left of the statue box is a hardcover book entitled "The Journal of Master Gnost-Dural. This book is sealed in heat-shrink plastic wrap. The book binding is rough cloth with text in metallic bronze/gold and an embossed metallic logo of the Republic. The book is an inch wider and an inch and half longer than the metal game disc case, so it's still a little smallish.
The book has no legalese on front or back. I will update this review later with comments on the book content.
... METAL CASE ...
To the right of the statue box is the metal case holding the game discs, the poster of the planets in the game (Old Republic galaxy map), and a thin envelope containing the music CD.
The metal case is matte black with the same bronze/gold lettering, and does not resemble the pre-release promotional photo The front has:
Embossed SWTOR log
COLLECTOR'S EDITION
Empire logo
The rear has:
Republic logo
Legalese in English
Legalese in French
Inside the metal case are two plastic, dual disc trays holding the 3 game DVDs. The 4th tray is empty. This is in contrast to the promotional photo that implies there are 4 game discs. Why didn't the soundtrack go inside here if there was room? Perhaps international editions of the game need a fourth disc for the translated audio... this is speculation on my part.
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