Buying Collector’s Editions is extremely rare for me. When you live off government table scraps in the middle of a recession, dropping an average of $200-$400 on anything that isn’t groceries or bills can be... problematic. I have made a few exceptions, though, for games that I have been exceptionally excited for. Three to be exact: Assassin’s Creed II (2009), Saints Row IV (2013) and Elder Scrolls Online for consoles (2014).

It should come to no one’s surprise, then, that being one of if not the ultimate Destroy All Humans! fan I was hoping we’d get a Collector’s Edition for the remake. Good things come to those who wait, as just one week away from GamesCom THQNordic has announced not one, but two collector’s editions for Destroy All Humans! Here I’ll go into detail about what they are, what’s included with them, their cost and which one might be better for you.


The DNA Collector’s Edition



The DNA Collector’s Edition is available on Amazon only at present in select regions for $149.99


Premium Box



As you can see from the mockup, everything included will come inside a nice large decorative box.


Keychain



The keychain, which depicts the Crypto head icon from the official website and was given to E3 attendees, also comes with the DNA Collector’s Edition.


Crypto-themed Eye-popping Stress Toy



We’re all familiar with those classic chibi stress toys where the eyes will bulge out when you squeeze them. They’ve developed a nice Crypto-themed stress toy for the collector’s editions of DAH.


Six (6) Lithographs



Many of you don’t likely know what a lithograph is. Lithography is the practice of creating art by drawing in grease upon stone and then covering it with water. Ink is applied, sticking to the grease lines and washing away from the rest of the stone with the water. The stone is then placed into a press and the art is transfered to a paper medium. Lithography has long been an affordable way of reproducing highly valuable art while retaining its original quality.


The six (6) lithographs that come with the DAH collector’s editions are likely wallpapers and concept art that we’ll be able to frame amongst other things.

All In-Game Skins Included



Given today’s gaming market many fans assumed skins meant there would be microtransactions, but THQ Nordic have stated they will not be adding MTX into these remakes.


Skins likely refers to costumes we can dress Crypto up in. For example, his DAH!2 suit, or themed outfits like we saw in Path of the Furon with the Gangster and Hippie outfits.

These skins will probably be unlockable in the game through probe-collection and/or other means, and the CE will just come with a code of some description that unlocks them all from the start.




Costumes for Crypto is something I mentioned a few times in my comprehensive wishlist article, which means this feature has been planned for a while or Black Forest Games are indeed listening to our feedback. Either way, this kind of thing is appreciated. I’ve often stated before that customization and personalization in third person games is always a huge plus.

Crypto’N’Cow Figurine

Finally, the best physical prize of the DNA Edition in my opinion, we have a statuette depicting the crashed saucer with Crypto flying with his jetpack and using PK on a cow. It stands at twenty-three (23) centimeters tall, or nine (9) inches tall.


I love this statuette so much, because it depicts so much without taking up too much room. The attention to detail is amazing, if someone were to ask me to describe what Destroy All Humans! is about, I would show them this.

The Crypto 137 Edition



The Crypto-137 Edition is available only through Amazon at present in select regions for $399.99


The Crypto-137 Edition comes with everything the DNA Edition does, with two major differences.


Crypto Statue



Instead of the Crypto’N’Cow Figurine, it comes with a nearly two-foot-tall (2ft/60 cm/23 in) statue of Crypto casually leaning on his disintegrator ray and holding up a globe of the earth. The globe’s northern hemisphere is removable and a ‘brain juice’ soda can is used as a size/volume reference.


The statue’s globe likely acts as the perfect place to store the keychain and stress toy, as well as other small items like car keys, glasses and the like.

Crypto Backback



Aside from the massive statue, this Crypto-themed backpack is likely one of the reasons this edition is nearly three times the price as the other. Themed backpacks are nothing new, there are LGM backpacks from the Toy Story brand, Dora themed backpacks, Disney Princess backpacks.


This backpack is just themed to be Crypto literally clinging onto your back. It’s a nice functional accessory that lets you profess your love for Destroy All Humans!

Overall Thoughts and Criticisms



Let me start off by saying that I really like both of these packs content-wise. The C137 statue in addition to being decorative has a practical use that prevents it from just being a really nice dust collector. In fact the majority of these items have a practical use, from holding your keys to stress relief, which I find exceptionally appropriate for DAH as it was always my go-to stress relief game as a teen.




That said, I do have a few problems.

One, Crypto-137 is ridiculously expensive despite having the exact same items as DNA with the exception of the statue and backpack. The statue I can understand, but are themed backpacks really that expensive to make? The back to school aisle at WalMart has dozens of these things and they’ve never been in the hundred dollar range from what I recall.


The lithographs are nice, but I personally would have preferred an art book. Game art books are awesome, the one that came with Elder Scrolls Online was massive and filled with amazing concept art, all with details explaining them and going into the lore. I would have adored something like this for DAH, but the lithographs will be a fine substitute regardless.

The lack of a downloadable OST is very disappointing. Many CEs, like the Assassin’s Creed II CE for example, included the game’s original score for us to listen to. Garry Schyman’s work for this game was exceptional, thematic and atmospheric, yet also catchy and invoking of emotions. Not all of them are jammable tunes per se, the theremin makes them niche compared to other games, but it’s still fantastic work nonetheless.


The backpack seems less practical. What I mean my this is Crypto’s body is very thin and as such the backpack made to look like him appears as though it won’t be able to hold much. If everything is stored in his head, wouldn’t that make the neck bend? How durable is it, exactly? Is it water resistant for the rain? Will the color fade in the sun? What is its weight limit? Enquiring minds want to know.

Which one will I be getting, and which one should you get?



I’ve already preordered the DNA Edition. It’s more reasonably priced and much easier to save for, most of its contents are also in the C137 edition and I really like how much is going on with the statuette. That said, I’m very much going to try and get both. I like the C137 statue as well and I’d like to have it in my room too. So I’ve asked friends and family to give me money instead of gifts for my birthday and Christmas in order to save up. I’m not the biggest fan of the backpack, it’s tacky, looks cheaply made and I’m just unsure of how it would be practical. But it’s a nice closet decoration if nothing else.


But which one should you get?

That answer to that is, whichever suits you better. Not in the best financial situation? Go for the DNA Edition. Have more money than you know what to do with and want to support the series? Get both like I eventually intend to do! At the end of the day, it really depends on two factors; how much discretionary income you have and which stature you like better.


Just remember, THQNordic is a business and they spent stupid amounts of money to buy all these IPs from THQ back in 2014. The financial return of this game will determine whether Destroy All Humans! truly comes back, or sinks into a fog of obscurity once again to be shelved and never talked about for the rest of time. So if you want the games to come back as much as I do, the best way to let THQN know is with your wallet.

Questions? Let me know in the comments below! Which one are you more likely to get? Are there any items you’d rather have seen? Are the prices too high?


Follow me on Twitter @SWJS2, on YouTube at starwarsjoshsmith, at SWJS on Mixer, and SWJS#3513 on Discord.

Happy probing!

