The so called “Limited” Edition (limited to the number of them they can sell, no doubt) of Halo 3 has had its case unveiled, and I’ve gotta say – it looks pretty sweet. Sweet to the point where I considered changing my plans to purchase the Legendary Edition. For only $70 – $10 more than the standard edition, and $60 less than the Legendary Edition – you’ll receive a copy of the game, a bonus disc with all sorts of goodies, and a Halo fiction and art book. There was an erroneous picture floating around the internet that showed a second game disc, but this was proven to be a mistake on Microsoft’s end. Bungie.net’s Frankie explains the error:

The Collector’s Edition picture erroneously shows that it ships with a Bonus Content disc and a Game Two disc. Incorrect. It’s a mistake at MS’ end and we’re updating retailers with the correct image. The “Game Disc 2” shown in the art actually refers to an interactive Bonus Content disc. It’s an Xbox “executable” (think of it like a menu-driven disc, similar to the Official Xbox Magazine cover disc) and internally, has always been referred to as “Game Disc 2” because it has to go through the same certification process as Halo 3 itself. That was somehow communicated to MS retail marketing verbatim. Hence the error. No big deal.

It actually is a pretty complicated situation, so check after the break for the full explanation and list of contents for each Halo 3 SKU.

The Legendary Edition comes with two extra discs. The “executable” interactive disc listed above, and a Bonus Content DVD – the one pictured incorrectly with the Collector’s Edition. Confused? No wonder.

The upside of that is the “Game Disc 2” itself. Because it’s an Xbox 360 disc and not a DVD, almost all of the content it contains is in hi-def (if your TV supports it). And some of the content is pretty spectacular. Now to clarify: Both premium editions, Collector’s and Legendary, come with the interactive disc. Only Legendary comes with the DVD.

The Collector’s edition includes a bound “art book” called the Bestiarum – a guide to the species and civilizations of the Halo Universe. Legendary Edition purchasers get an expanded multimedia version of the same material, with far more art and illustration, most of which has never been seen before and won’t appear anywhere else. And that’s built into the DVD Bonus Disc along with other materials.

Legendary also features an exclusive printed collection of storyboards from the game cinematics, by Bungie’s own Lee Wilson.

Regular Vanilla Edition:

Includes Halo 3 for Xbox 360 and a manual. And obviously hours, days, weeks and months of hi-intensity Halo joy.

Halo 3 Collector’s Edition:

• Collectible Metal Case
• Halo 3 for Xbox 360
• Bestiarum: A hard cover, bound collection of information and art covering the species, cultures and civilizations of Halo 3.

On the Interactive Xbox 360 Bonus disc (included in both Collector’s and Legendary editions):

• Hi-Def Halo: Bungie’s graphics and audio engineers have created a simple to use, Halo-themed calibration tool to make the most of your Home Theater experience.
• Art Attack: Exclusive Halo 3 Gamer Pics and Dashboard theme, a vast gallery of concept and production art (complete with musical accompaniment) and a fully playable version of a classic Halo-themed mini-game.
• Featurettes: A series of short films covering a range of subjects, from making your Network play nice with Multiplayer, to the challenges of building the biggest Halo ever.

Inside the Halo 3: Legendary Edition

• Fully sculpted Spartan helmet: The most collectible piece of Halo merchandise ever conceived. An accurate model of the Spartan Mjolnir Mark VI helmet.
• Halo 3 for Xbox 360
• Storyboard Collection: Exclusive selection of storyboard art from Halo 3’s cinematics.

• Legendary Disc: Found only in the Halo 3: Legendary Edition, this Disc is a DVD disc that will play in your 360 or on any DVD player and features a wealth of rich, unique and exclusive content. Contents include:
• Halo Cinematics Reloaded – completely remastered, hi-res versions of the Halo and Halo 2 cinematics with 5.1 audio and complete with optional “Director’s Commentary” track featuring Marty O’Donnell, Joseph Staten and Jason Jones.
• Bestiarum – an expanded digital guide to the creatures, cultures and worlds of Halo 3, with art and assets exclusive to this interactive edition.
• The Cortana Chronicles – Jen Taylor, the voice of Cortana, takes us on a tour of the worldwide Halo fan community ,where she meets Halo fanatics from near and far, obscure and famous alike.
• Plus: All-new, exclusive Machinima episodes from Red Vs. Blue and This Spartan Life and a novel “mockumentary” voiced by Sgt. Johnson himself, David Scully.

On the Interactive Xbox 360 Bonus disc (included in both Collector’s and Legendary editions):

• Hi-Def Halo: Bungie’s graphics and audio engineers have created a simple to use, Halo-themed calibration tool to make the most of your Home Theater experience.
• Art Attack: Exclusive Halo 3 Gamer Pics and Dashboard theme, a vast gallery of concept and production art (complete with musical accompaniment) and a fully playable version of a classic Halo-themed mini-game.
• Featurettes: A series of short films covering a range of subjects, from making your Network play nice with Multiplayer, to the challenges of building the biggest Halo ever.