During the holiday shopping season, it's more important than ever for games to stand out... in a good way. Here are the covers of this week's releases and how they fared in our weekly box art reviews...
"Mushroom Men: The Spore Wars" (Wii)
What the Box Tells Us: A pair of mouthless, weapon-wielding mushroom men make their way through the treacherous grass, giant snake in tow.
Cons: Are the mushroom men the bad guys or the good guys? Are they going to destroy humanity as we know it?
Pros: It reminds me of movie posters from '50s sci-fi flicks, like "Them!" (though with less carnage). Still, a very cool aesthetic.
Love It or Leave It: Love it.
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We can't play every game out there. So what can we tell about a game from its cover? In our weekly box art reviews, we do just that...
"Band Manager" (PC)
What the Box Tells Us: A portly, hairy man wearing sunglasses talks on his cell phone while holding a lit cigar. He's surrounded by stacks of money.
Pros: I didn't really know there was a band manager stereotype until I saw this box art -- and now that I see it, it's spot-on.
Cons: But spot-on for a boy band manager. If this were any more specific, Lou Pearlman could sue... if he wasn't in jail.
Love It or Leave It: Love it.
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With the glut of games out this season, a title's box art is more important than ever. Check out this week's box art reviews to see which titles get picked up and which ones get "Left 4 Dead"...
"Tomb Raider: Underworld" (Xbox 360, PS3, PS2, PC, Wii, DS)
What the Box Tells Us: A woman wearing a tank top and shorts wields two guns while what looks like mud falls off her limbs.
Pros: That belly button is sure to draw attention to this box.
Cons: Who needs a face when you've got a midriff? Aside from Lara having half a head, this could be any other "Tomb Raider" game.
Love It or Leave It: Leave it. Read more...
With all the titles out this season, a game's box art could be the deciding factor on whether it goes home with the consumer. That's why in our weekly box art reviews, we offer our swift judgment to help publishers with their designs. On deck...
"Mirror's Edge" (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)
What the Box Tells Us: A woman with a trendy haircut stands above a city full of skyscrapers.
Cons: Trendy or not, this lady looks like she put on her mascara without looking into any "mirror's edge."
Pros: Featuring neither men or guns (or men holding guns), this box is not like the others.
Love It or Leave It: Love it. Read more...
It's that time of year where game publishers pull out the big guns -- literally. Check out this week's round of box art reviews, which features dudes wielding weapons of mass destruction...
"Legendary" (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)
What the Box Tells Us: A man fires his weapon at a giant bird about to attack. Meanwhile, a werewolf-type thing is tearing some guy's face off, and a minotaur is about to charge. A severed Statue of Liberty head lies in the background.
Cons: That one gun doesn't look like it's going to do any good against four mythical creatures.
Pros: It looks like "Cloverfield" but with way cooler monsters -- and no annoying comic relief carrying video cameras that I can see.
Love It or Leave It: Love it. Read more...
In this special edition of box art reviews, we've got games featuring the end of the world (nuclear fallout and tornadoes, anyone?) as well as games that have "world" or "planet" in the title (take a wild guess). Without further ado...
"Guitar Hero World Tour" (X360, PS3, PS2, Wii)
What the Box Tells Us: Four shadowy figures rock out... amidst the sunset?
Pros: Even though the title is "Guitar Hero," it appears that there are other instruments involved.
Cons: But what about the "World Tour" part? There's nothing worldly about this.
Love It or Leave It: Leave it. Read more...
Another week, another round of games' covers to review to help out box art designers. Here goes...
"Fable II: Limited Collector's Edition" (Xbox 360)
What the Box Tells Us: When you first receive the box for the collector's edition of "Fable II," you'll see the protagonist crouching on a gray-white background. But then open it up and remove the cardboard...
Pros: And it's like a whole new cover! The box art is sideways and features the good guy on the front and the bad guy on the back. Kind of like a mullet.
Cons: The cool sideways box art is hidden under the boring cardboard cover.
Love It or Leave It: Love it. Read more...
In our round of box art reviews, we ask, "What does a game's box art say to consumers?" Here are the answers for this week's new releases.
"Dead Space" (X360, PS3)
What the Box Tells Us: Is "Dead Space" short for "Dead (Hand Floating In) Space"?
Pros: A bloody, disembodied hand evokes images of some of my favorite horror movies. Always a good association.
Cons: Is that the protagonist's hand? How are they going to battle whatever they're fighting with one hand?
Love It or Leave It: Love it. Read more...
In this special edition of box art reviews, we take a look at the week's brand-new compilations and the aesthetic choices they've made with their covers...
"EA Sports '08 Collection" (PC)
What the Box Tells Us: You'll get every major sports title released last year by Electronic Arts, including basketball, hockey, football, golf and... screaming?
Pros: Five boxes on the cover -- and all "great" games. You can clearly see you're getting a lot.
Cons: The images used to represent the games are taken right off their original box art, which is also featured on the bottom. A bit redundant.
Love It or Leave It: Leave it. Read more...
It doesn't matter how good a game actually is; if the cover is an eyesore, no one's going to pick it up. So in the service of box art designers, we bring this week's round of box art reviews:
"Margot's Word Brain" (DS)
What the Box Tells Us: The woman on the box, allegedly Margot, pulls down her glasses to give us a sly grin and offers us "6 challenging word games for the whole family!"
Pros: Forgoing the usual images of words, brains, or Einstein-ish old men, we get a smart-looking woman on the front of the box.
Cons: Who is Margot? Is she as qualified as Dr. Kawashima? What is a "word brain"? How can a whole family play six games on one DS?
Love It or Leave It: Leave it. Read more...
