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My Favorite Gaming Collections
In honor of today's official announcement of the Rockstar Games Collection, let's take a look at other collections that offer players absurd amounts of gameplay.
The Rockstar Games Collection is a one-stop shop for the revered developer's biggest games this generation. All four included games – Red Dead Redemption, L.A. Noire, Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City, and Midnight Club: Los Angeles Complete Edition – are critically acclaimed hits that feature lengthy campaigns. It's rare for publishers to offer gamers such a bargain, but it's not unheard of. Here are my picks for the best gaming collections of all-time.
The Orange Box
Even if I didn't love The Orange Box, excluding it from the
list would be blasphemy. Not only did it mark the debut of Half-Life 2: Episode
Two (which gamers had been waiting four whole months for – a blink of an eye
compared to the wait for Episode Three), but Valve saw fit to throw in
Half-Life 2 and Episode One to make it a handy trilogy. Then they added two
more new games: Team Fortress 2, which is still one of the most popular
team-based first-person shooters on the market, and Portal, the definitive
puzzle game of this generation. Throw in a bunch of achievements and in-game
commentaries, and you've got one of the best deals of this generation – even if
Valve has treated the console port of Team Fortress 2 like a red-headed stepchild.
God of War Saga
When I bought my PS3, I thought I was a genius for picking up the God of War Collection, which featured remastered ports of the first two
games. Little did I know Sony would blow that deal out of the water with the God
of War Saga. Not only did it contain all three console entries of the
series, it included HD versions of the two handheld games, Chains of Olympus
and Ghost of Sparta, giving players the complete God of War adventure in one
package.
Final Fantasy 25th
Anniversary Collection
I'm not even a big Final Fantasy fan, but the totality of
this Japan-only
anniversary collection for the legendary RPG series appeals to the completionist
in me. The collection contains every Final Fantasy installment up to XIII (with
the exception of FF X-2), plus some bonus art and music sets. Granted the games
come in a mishmash of console formats (the majority being for PS1), but if you're
that much of a hoarder, chances are you've still got your old systems anyway.
Fallout 3 & Oblivion Double Pack
This bundle from Bethesda might only contain two games, but
they're two of the biggest games released this generation. I've spent probably close
to a hundred hours in each of these massive, open-world RPGs, and still haven't
beaten either of them. The one downside is that the bundle doesn't contain the
GOTY versions of the games, meaning no DLC packs are included. Still, for
$30.00, the bundle would be hard to top – unless Bethesda includes Skyrim in a
future triple pack?
Super Mario All-Stars + Super Mario World
Given the fact that all of the other collections on this
list are from the past few years, it's easy to forget Nintendo is the O.G. of releasing
awesome collections. Super Mario All-Stars remains one of my favorite games of
all time. It offered gamers updated versions of Super Mario Bros., Super Mario
Bros. 2, and Super Mario Bros. 3, plus it gave westerners their first taste of
the real Super Mario Bros. 2, redubbed Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels.
Nintendo later released a second bundle that added Super Mario World to the
mix, increasing the value and nostalgia even more. How I miss the pre-virtual console days.
Those are my favorite game collections. What about you? Share your most beloved bundles in the comments below.
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