Most of us folks who can’t afford the Collector’s Edition (heheheh… I still snicker every time I say that) of Mass Effect 3 opted for the Pre-Order edition, which includes a special printed shirt with ‘N7’ in front. The Pre-Order bonuses were the Argus Rifle and the N7 War Pack.
Getting off office in Makati I walked over to Greenbelt 1, where the Datablitz store I bought it from was located. It was a tiring walk from Burgundy Tower, but a very exciting one.
Once in the store you’d notice that there was a quite long queue. Fellow N7 comrades, I guess?
There were still players who purchased something other than Mass Effect 3; this just meant that the line was for the cashier to process purchases in the store. Yep, no separate line for Pre-Orders.
The package will be given you once you hand in over your pre-order slip, and the attendant will open your CD case and show you the backs of the game CDs for you to check and inspect that there are no scratches. At least this is one less of a step in case the CD has scratches on them.
I ran out of Small-sized shirts, and they only have Large ones. Who’s willing to swap with me?
I got the PC version of Mass Effect 3, and then proceeded to go home, with a really huge grin on my face.
I plopped down, setup my computer and inserted the CD.
*NOTE: Do not launch your Origin client before inserting the installation CD—for some reason the Origin Client doesn’t proceed with the activation key phase once you click on the [Install] button of the Autorun.*
Once installed, the game updated with a 70MB patch (which actually contains the DLC, IF you entered your redemption code).
So yeah, sleep, I think I’ll be missing you more hours than ever for the next few weeks.
*EDIT: It slipped past by me, but when you open and flip over the CD case, there’s a cover for the Female Shepard! How cool is that?
**Update
Chad here, ok I managed to get my copy of Mass Effect 3 for the PC, while I’m waiting at Data Blitz in Podium, one of the staff mentioned that they also have the N7 Edition, and she was kind enough to show it to me so I can take some pictures. The N7 Edition costs PhP 3395, this for the PlayStation 3 (Region 1), the PC version of this copy is still unavailable but it ranges from around PhP 3,000 once it hits the stores.
For details on the contents of the Mass Effect 3 Collector’s Edition, check out this video: