As one of the year's most anticipated games -- starring Hollywood A-listers Ellen Page and Willem Dafoe; serving as visionary director David Cage's follow-up to 2010's widely acclaimed Heavy Rain; launching exclusively on the PlayStation 3 -- Quantic Dream's Beyond: Two Souls has exactly the confluence of pre-release pre-requisites that special editions are made of.

We didn't need the spiritual clairvoyance of protagonist Jodie Holmes to see today's announcement coming.

Sony has revealed the special edition of Beyond: Two Souls with a brand new image of the edition's custom casing and a list of the bonus features that player's will receive. Pre-ordering -- which happens to be the only method of acquiring a copy at retail -- has begun now, although a final price has yet to be listed.

• Exclusive steel book premium packaging
• Additional playable scene (30 mins gameplay)
• Behind the scenes videos
• Game soundtrack
• PS3 Dynamic Theme
• PSN Avatar Bundle

The jet-black steel casing paints a definitive contrast between the special edition and its standard-edition counterpart: a side-angle close up of Jodie Holmes pitted against a backdrop of radiant bluish hues and encircled by exploding debris. Aesthetic qualities aside, though, demand for the edition may well hinge on the specifics of its most notable offering: an exclusive playable scene advertising 30 minutes of gameplay.

Sony wouldn't detail the bonus scene; it promised that more information will be revealed "in the near future." For a game as ostensibly plot-centric as Beyond, however, any scene that has an impact on the 15-year story arc of its haunted protagonist could very well pay dividends to players deeply invested with the narrative. David Cage has been adamant about his desire for players to "define the life of Jodie," molding her character into a reflection of their choices throughout each and every instance of gameplay. If one minute can make all the difference in the world,  what could we do with 30?

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The announcement of the Beyond: Two Souls special edition arrives at an opportune moment for Sony and Quantic Dream. The developer raised plenty of eyebrows recently when it showcased 35 minutes of Beyond's gameplay at April's Tribeca Film Festival (viewable above). Spoilers were kept at bay with regard to the paranormal plot (Jodie, on the run from authorities, searches to uncover the truth about her ethereal companion, Aiden), but the chemistry between Page and Dafoe (who plays the fatherly doctor Nathaniel Dawkins) was effervescent, evoking some of the poignant drama fans of the game came to know in Heavy Rain.

Should Beyond live up to its expectations when it releases this October, it will fulfill one more justification for offering a special edition: being one helluva of a good game.

Ranters, are you planning to pre-order the special edition of Beyond: Two Souls?

Beyond: Two Souls releases on October 8, 2013, exclusively for the PlayStation 3.

Follow Brian on Twitter @Brian_Sipple.

Source: PlayStation Blog EU