A growing trend these days is for game publishers to release a “complete” edition of their games fully updated with DLC several months after their initial release. Bad for people who buy new games and DLC or season passes at launch, but good for people with a little patience, as the full game plus DLC can be had a year or less after initial release. While most of these complete editions are great deals, they’re not all created equal. We take a look at the best and the worst right here.
They are usually titled “Ultimate” or “Game of the Year” (they only have to win 1 GOTY award, no matter how small, to claim this title by the way) or “Complete” Edition. They usually come with all the DLC that was released as well.
The Xbox One has seen a new push in so-called “Definitive Editions,” which are HD reissues of last-gen games. Some are great. Some not so good. We’ll include the best and worst of these below as well.
Some of the best complete editions of The Best Ultimate, GOTY
- Fallout 3: Game of the Year Edition – Includes all 5 DLC packs. The definitive version of the game.
- Fallout New Vegas: Ultimate Edition – Includes all 4 DLC packs, plus Courier’s Stash and Gun Runner’s Stash and Arsenal weapon packs.
- Grand Theft Auto IV & Episodes From Liberty City: The Complete Edition – Includes the full GTAIV experience and two major episodes from the Liberty City expansions. A separate Liberty City Disc Episode is also available, but it does not include the GTAIV base game – only the expansions (which are playable on their own). Please keep that in mind before you buy.
- Red Dead Redemption: Game of the Year – Includes the full Red Dead Redemption game, all multiplayer DLC, and the Undead Nightmare expansion. Definitely the best version of the game to buy.
- Midnight Club Los Angeles: Complete Edition – This is notable because the Platinum Hits version of Midnight Club LA is the complete edition and cannot be advertised as “complete.” Look for the Platinum Hits version, and it will be the correct one. Includes the complete core game plus the South Central expansion.
- LA Noire Complete Edition – More modestly advertised than most complete editions, it will only have a small “The Complete Edition” on the top of the box to differentiate it from the regular version. Includes bonus clothing, bonus cases, and a badge collection challenge.
- Saints Row The Third: The Complete Pack – Includes the main game plus all DLC missions (Genki Bowl, The Trouble With Clones, Gangstas In Space) along with additional characters (Cheapy D, Penthouse Pets), costumes and more. Good worth it.
- Borderlands Game of the Year – Includes the full game of Borderlands 1, plus all 4 expansions. Originally released with the DLC as download tokens, newer versions have the DLC on disc instead. Be wary of buying a used version that uses download tokens as they are likely already used and cannot be used again. Better to buy the version with DLC on disc.
- The Ancient Scrolls IV: Oblivion: Game of the Year – Only includes the Knights of the Nine and Shivering Isles expansions with the full game, but none of the other premium DLC released for the game. Not a bad deal considering these expansions are massive, but keep in mind that it’s not the 100% complete game.
- Batman: Arkham Asylum Game of the Year Edition – Includes the full game along with additional challenge missions as well as a 3D visual mode. It’s also worth noting that, unlike most “full editions”, it uses a separate pass from the vanilla version of the game, so you can play through it again and get all the achievements again.
- Batman: Arkham City Game of the Year Edition – Includes the complete base game along with all DLC, including skins and previous challenges. It also has the worst box art in video game history.
- Resident Evil 5 Gold Edition – Includes the full game of RE5 plus two additional missions, expanded Mercenaries mode, additional costumes, and online versus mode.
- Mortal Kombat: Komplete Edition – Full Game plus 4 additional DLC characters and classic outfits and fatalities for certain characters.
- Forza Motorsport 3 Ultimate – This platinum version of Forza 3 includes all the DLC plus the main game for a great price.
- Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition – (XONE) The best version of a great game. Includes multiplayer DLC.
- Diablo III Ultimate Evil Edition – (XONE) Vastly improved visuals and tons of new content.
Beware of these less than stellar deals
There are also some less than stellar “Game of the Year” editions and combo packs that you’d think would be good deals, but really aren’t.
- Forza 4 Essentials Edition – Unlike the fantastic Forza 3 reissue, the remake of Forza 4 a year after its release not only didn’t include any DLC, but was actually a cut-down version of the game without a ton of game features. main game. It will tempt you with its cheapness, but it’s not worth it.
- Call of Duty 4 Game of the Year Edition – The initial edition of this version included map packs. Most copies of this version are on the shelves, however, they have nothing but the main game.
- Fallout 3 / Oblivion Double Pack – Two great games in one package! However, none of them have included any kind of DLC. It’s not a good deal.
- Mass Effect Trilogy – All three Mass Effect games (see our Mass Effect 1, 2, and 3 reviews here) in one nice box. However, none of the games include the DLC, so to get the full experience you’ll have to pay another $65 or so for the DLC packs. That said, if you’ve never played the series, this is obviously the best deal for the games.
- Sleeping Dogs Definitive Edition – XONE – Not a huge graphics upgrade and performance is significantly worse. It includes all the DLC and expansions, however.