Today marks the day that Amanita Design’s Machinarium is finally available on retail shelves, badged as the “Collector’s Edition.” For those who never heard, or who may have forgotten, Machinarium is a beautiful revival of the point-and-click adventure genre, in which puzzles only take place on one screen at a time (no frustrating back-and-forth when you discover you should have picked something up, a common curse of the genre) and useful objects are subtle rather than blatantly standing out from the background. Additionally, you must move your robot protagonist near any object before you can pick it up. All in all, the game, which had previously been download-only, makes for a wonderful example of the genre, without many of the typical failings.
With that said, one might wonder what the incentive is behind this retail version. Aside from getting the game on physical media, you also get a CD of the soundtrack (MP3s of the soundtrack came with the download version as well – though the CD has 5 bonus tracks), a printed walkthrough, an A2-sized poster, and the object that may have me repurchasing the game – a 54 page book of concept art. If, for some reason, you’ve been holding off on purchasing Machinarium, the collector’s edition may well be worth it for the book alone – especially since the $20 price tag is the same as the download.
Brighton/London/Paris – 5th March 2010 – Lace Mamba Global today announce that Machinarium: Collectors Edition is now available online and at all major retail outlets for purchase.
With the phenominan of the download and stunning reviews averaging 85% (Metacritic 04/03/2010) the “Collectors Edition” has given the lovers of Machinarium the option to purchase a whole bag of goodies including (A2 poster, separate music CD, MP3 download, 56 page walkthrough) and Lace Mamba have seen this become an instant success.
As of 4th March 2010 Machinarium: Collectors Edition was sitting pretty on Play.com’s pre-order chart at number 8 above the likes of AAA franchises such as “Splinter Cell” and “Crysis 2″ which Lace Mamba are delighted about.
Lace Mamba’s UK Sales Manager Glenn Hayes says of this ” We are really excited about the release of the “Machinarium: Collectors Edition” and it shows that with the right marketing tools independant games can be a success. We have seen the pre-orders in the last week rise constantly and to achieve top 10 pre-orders on Play.com is a massive pat on the back for everyone who has made this happen. UK retail has also been very supportive over this product and we are looking forward to the success that it will bring over the forth coming months”
Machinarium is a point-and-click adventure in which gamers take on the role of a robot who has been exiled to the scrap heap. Players must use logic, collect important items, and solve environmental puzzles to get the robot back into the grand city of Machinarium so he can rescue his girlfriend, save the head of the city, and defeat the bad robots from the Black Cap Brotherhood. Dialog is expressed via gestures and cartoon thought bubbles the hand-drawn visuals of Machinarium are what earned the game the “Excellence in Visual Art” award.
The retail version has released at £19.99 and will include a huge array of added materials including:
- Stand alone CD with all of the games music plus 5 extra never heard before bonus tracks!
- 54 page concept art document
- A2 poster
- Printed walkthrough
Machinarium has continued to receive rave reviews from the media with an average score of 85% and has been voted one of the most outstanding games of 2009 and 2010.
