L4D2: retail vs mass order vs pre-order

GameSync.net understands that a current Left 4 Dead 2 mass order forum thread on GameAxis promises a cheaper L4D2 price than the retail version. The recommended retail price for Left 4 Dead 2 will be SG$62.

The current Steam pre-order 4-pack for L4D2 is still available. So which of these three options should you go for? GameSync has done a quick comparison of the retail, mass order, and pre-order versions:

Mass order version:

• Cheaper than retail version (GameSync understands that the final mass order price might be around $50)
• Comes with five L4D2 campaign posters
• Comes with a NewWebPick (E-club cross promotion thingy) membership card
• A chance to win a SteelSeries mouse via a lucky draw
• Will be released earlier than the Steam version, although the game will remain locked until the Steam release date
• No American baseball bat melee weapon
• Need to travel to a designated location in order to pick up your mass order (to be determined by the organizer of the mass order)

Pre-order version:

• Pre-order 4-pack is cheaper than retail version (about SG$48 per player after exchange rate conversion)
• Early access to the L4D2 demo, which will remain exclusive to pre-order customers until 4 November (Singapore time)
• Exclusive American baseball bat melee weapon
• You need to find three additional Steam friends to place the pre-order, and one of you must have access to a credit card

Retail version:

• All the same perks as the mass order version, except that the price will be SG$62.
• No American baseball bat melee weapon
• Purchase it at any video game retailer in Singapore

Obviously, the retail version seems to be the worst choice here, which leaves us with the pre-order and mass order options.

If you have three Steam friends, and want to get L4D2 for the cheapest price, then go for the pre-order. You also get an exclusive American baseball bat in process.

However, if you don’t mind paying a few extra dollars for some L4D2 posters and freebies, then the mass order seems like a good choice.

You can view more detailed information about the goodies in the retail/mass order versions by viewing the article image gallery below. Ignore the $58 pricing, it has been revised to $62.