Origin Pak – The best compilation in the world ever?

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This is a compilation of Bioforge, Wing Commander 3 and System Shock (CD Version) which I think was published in 1996. It wouldn’t have belonged in the Ultima guide but I couldn’t spot it in the Origin companion guide and it’s not got an entry on Mobygames so I thought it must warrant a post. Despite the lack of information, it can’t be especially rare as I’ve seen several of them around without looking very hard.

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It comes in an oversized box which is about the same length as the Utlima 9 Dragon Edition but not as wide. One of the curiosities with this package is that since no one seems to have heard of it, it’s usually cheaper than the unboxed copy of System Shock CD would be on its own. I could have ditched the box, spilt and sold the contents and made a few quid but that would be sacrilidge to any real collector. It was still shrinkwrapped when I got it, but I didn’t feel any guilt about breaking into this since the box was badly squashed. I’ve attempted to straighten it out but it’s still a long way from flat.

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The box was also sealed with silver masking tape over the bottom flap, which I’m assuming is standard given the shrinkwrap over the top of it. This more or less gives a choice to cut off the tab that slots in from the lid, or to rip the art off the back cover when you first open the box.

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I would have been dubious about the originality of the shrinkwrap because of the masking tape but the contents were pristine and it certainly gave the impression of not having being opened. All the regular manuals, reference cards and the like are included for each game.

These are 3 of my all time favourite games and they would still have been near the cutting edge technoligcally in ’96. Other than the masking tape, it’s a nice package and worth considering even for non-collectors who only want to play the games. Just make sure you have a large shelf for the box.

One thought on “Origin Pak – The best compilation in the world ever?

  1. Nice compilation!

    System Shock is my favourite FPS – RPG, probably just edging out Ultima Underworld II although there’s no doubt in my mind I sunk 4x the number of playthroughs into UW2.

    I missed out on Bioforge, only ever played the demo. Amazing graphics for the time as I recall. Beating up mutants with their own severed arms, good stuff.

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