Collector's Facehugger and Other Joys of the Russian Release of Aliens vs. Predator (2010) Live!
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Yes, Gamerovchane, collector's reviews on release day are with you again! The forced two-month hiatus occurred because the only significant collector's item of this period – **Mass Effect 2** – didn't have a precise release date, so there was no need to rush, and its review has been moved to the status "sometime", and definitely not by me, as I didn’t wait and settled for a DVD-box... But today we have a much more punctual guest in the spotlight, Aliens vs. Predator. Besides the collector's edition, I will tell you a bit about the specifics of the Russian release in general, so get comfortable and see what awaits you:

Although the contents of our collector's edition are inferior to the Western one, the main charm of 1C-Softclub managed to reach Russian gamers, and for a relatively small 1090 rubles. The official release took place today, February 19, but many M.Video stores started sales a couple of days earlier, specifically for the collector's edition. The logic is clear: since there's still Steam, there's no point in selling the jewel case prematurely. But if you take the "facehugger" from the collector's edition, dive into memories, and can't help but rewatch the classic movies, ... By the time of the game release, you'll be sufficiently "warmed up" to fully enjoy it! However, personally, I haven't tried the game yet, so I can't promise that there will be much pleasure from it. But judging by what I saw a couple of weeks ago, every gamer will get their share of happiness from the new AvP.

So, the collector's edition.

The box is of such size that it looks square from the top. It looks quite beautiful, but there's a problem with the front side, which is exclusively fragile. Do you see the strip in the center? It's made of simple paper, not even sturdy cardboard, so it's very easy to tear it off with an awkward motion, even through the packaging film. And given that the collector's editions are sold exclusively at M.Video, where, if someone doesn't know, the staff treats games very carelessly, almost throwing them around, and there's no oversight over the showcases, tear them apart if you want... In general, many boxes are displayed in an unpresentable state. Of course, it's authentic (aliens gnawed it!), but it's not very pleasant. The other covers of the box show representatives of the three sides of this conflict:

the human...

...the alien...

...the predator.

The artworks are stylish and high-quality, even slightly embossed. The upper part of the box can be seen in the very top image of the review, and the bottom side – is the game description, which is usually written on the back.

Inside, everything is packed as in **Risen** – a firmly fixed figure at the front, and everything else is located on the back wall, in this case – an art book and a DVD-box with the game, which we will start with.

Externally, the DVD-box is quite ordinary. The main surprise awaits inside:

The first shock "Where's the second DVD?!" passes quickly, it's under the first one. The second shock "But where's the manual?!" is calmed by the voice of reason: "Nobody promised you that." But the third shock deserves special attention, as it doesn't happen immediately. Over time, an experienced gamer will have the thought "Oh, I bought a disk from 1C, where's the yellow registration form?!" I reply: it seems the forms have completely gone out of fashion. Now gamers are greeted by ten black digits on a white sticker, and it is by them that we will contact tech support. On the one hand, it's sad that such epochal things are fading away. On the other hand, I hold out hope that 1C is reducing costs on DVD-boxes in order to completely replace jewel cases with them in the foreseeable future without changing the price. If so – everything's great. Let’s return to our box.

The next item is the art book.

It's of such size that it barely fits into the slot of the DVD-box, where manuals are usually placed. The quality is exceptional. Thick glossy pages (which even leave fingerprints!) are very pleasing, and the illustrations themselves are quite beautiful.

Concept art of weapons, levels, and just many beautiful pictures. 26 pages. A valuable item, albeit somewhat rough in places. And now let's return to the facehugger, which was lying somewhere on the table... Hm, why is the box empty, I thought I didn't take it out... Hey, cat, why are you hissing? AAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!

Stop, creature, stop, no, not meee!!

Here, take the DVD-box, just calm down!

Are you calm now? Great, then please pose a bit...

Alright, excellent!.. One more shot...

Splendid!.. Hey, where are you crawling, there are collector's items!

Anyway... I won't find a better guard. You sit there now, acid creature, you're in charge of the boxes with your head! You don’t have a head? Then... with your tail. You're in charge with your tail, yes.

The legs are on wires, the tail is free, entirely made of high-quality rubber. It seems to be the same creature as in the West. In the end, the collectible set turns out like this:

Is it worth the money? I think so, definitely. The figure is magnificent, similar to the Western one, and the art book is also quite worthy. Just be sure to examine the integrity of the box when purchasing!

The only protection on the disk is Steam. You can already play without any problems. The key is similar to the key in other versions, there are no digital bonuses. You can change the language. There are no patches to download upon activation. Phew...

Congratulations to everyone on the release!

AQuaRity, specially for GAMER.ru!

Thanks to 1C-Softclub for providing the copy of the game.