Tag: box art

Play Legit’s Best Box Art of 2018

Other than word of mouth, another important part of advertising comes in the form of Box Art.  Hard work goes into the games we love, and a great piece tops it off nicely. Continue reading “Play Legit’s Best Box Art of 2018”

by PlayLegit

Spring 2013 Box Art Report Card

BoxArtCover

Real Talk by: StephO

Box art reviews for titles released between April and June of 2013 (Injustice: Gods Among Us, The Last of Us, Deadpool, Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon, and Dead Island: Riptide).

Injustice_Gods_Among_Us_Cover_ArtInjustice: Gods Among Us- Including Batman AND Superman in the forefront is definitely eye catching! Featuring the Joker, Flash, and other characters helps reinforce that this is a fighting game. However the top half and bottom half meet in the center in a squashed and awkward way- there are too many things to focus on at first glance. Some visual hierarchy would help this cover artwork, but in the end it does get the point across and that’s what’s most important.

TheLastOfUsThe Last of Us- The look on Ellie’s face is what makes this cover artwork great. It would have been nice to see at least a silhouette of a menacing Infected in the background, but I suppose showing ONLY Joel and Ellie on the cover was kind of the point. The simple and understated design complements the game title.

Deadpool_video_game_coverDeadpool- There is not anything particularly wrong with this cover artwork, but with so many awesome trailers and a fun, creative website you would think the Deadpool cover would be a little more exciting. “This is what awesome looks like” is a nice touch though.

FC3_Blood_Dragon_CoverFar Cry 3: Blood Dragon- The amount of neon-cyborg-craziness crammed into this cover artwork is awesome. Almost every style choice- from layout to color palette to typeface -contributes to the retro 80’s fee. I want to see more laser-eyed blood dragons, but I suppose if the cover artwork leaves me wanting to see more then its doing its job right!

DeadIslandRiptideDead Island: Riptide- A gory yet painterly zombie head front and center with only the game title- made to look like it was stamped in blood -centered above. Wonderful! This game artwork is the winner of the Spring 2013 Box Art Report Card.

Guacamelee

Indie Shout Out: Guacamelee!- We are always excited to see fresh, vibrant game artwork so a shout out to Guacamelee! If you would like to see more than just the cover artwork for this 2D platformer, it is available for downloaded on PS3 or PS Vita.

Past box art report cards: Winter 2013, Fall/Holiday 2012, Spring 2012, Summer 2012, Winter 2011

by Steph-O

Fall/Holiday 2012 Box Art Report Card

Halo_4_box_art

Halo game covers have improved as new versions of the game are released- mainly because there is more to work with. New concept artwork and better in-game graphics make for better source material, and this cover makes good use of that. Halo 4 gets MF MF MF MF out of 5

New_Super_Mario_Bros._U_box_art

The new features of this Mario game are the focus of this cover, and everyone is in action which is great. However, the face the blue Yoshi is making has been mocked endlessly, and now that is all I can see when I look at this cover! Seriously though, what is that face? New Super Mario Bros. U gets MF MF MF M out of 5

Assassin's_Creed_III_box_art

This is actually the first Assassin’s Creed cover to show an assassin actually in action- and it’s awesome! It’s also nice that there is some indication of the historical setting of the game in the background rather than just blown out blurry light. Assassin’s Creed III gets MF MF MF MF out of 5

Dishonored_box_art

The art style of the game itself is what makes this cover so great, although I would not have minded seeing other characters or buildings in the background. The one glowing hand and dagger in the other also immediately convey that this character will use a mix of magic and weapons in the game. Dishonored gets MF MF MF MF out of 5

HitmanAbsolution_box_art
I know on the other covers I was looking for more going on in the background, but in a game where the goal is to blend in it is cool that Agent 47 is the only one on the game cover. Hitman: Absolution gets MF MF MF MF M out of 5

AngryBirdsStarWars_box_artHonorable Mention: Angry Birds Star Wars. Since it’s a mobile game it does not have box artwork so to say, but as I mentioned before in my review, the artwork for this game is just fantastic. The Star Wars-Angry Birds mashup was executed really well, and the artwork shows it!

Past box art report cards: Winter 2011, Spring 2012, Summer 2012

Real Talk by: StephO (Stephanie Owens)

by Steph-O

Summer 2012 Box Art Report Card

Hey folks, Steph-O here with the Summer 2012 Box Art Report Card. You can check out the box art reviews from earlier this year too: Spring 2012 Box Art Report Card, Winter 2011-2012 Box Art Report Card.

 
I know this cover is referencing the first Borderlands cover, which I usually award points for, but even though this is a heavily featured enemy character, I think Borderlands has so many other cool characters and creatures that they could have used (although some of them can at least be seen in the background of the cover). Overall though, Borderlands has an awesome art style that you don’t often see on game covers, which makes up for the subject matter in my book.

Borderlands 2 gets: MF MF MF M out of 5

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Darksiders II has used an understated visual campaign for all of its game advertisements, and they have stuck with it for the game cover as well. I really like that we see a post-battle pose and background, which is complimented by the limited color pallet and clean visuals. Really sets the mood for the subject matter at hand (and leaves you wanting to see more by playing the game!)

Darksiders II gets: MF MF MF MF out of 5

 

 

 

 

 

 

As a non sports fan, I unfortunately do not have much to contribute to this cover. However, the fact that there is a fan vote to determine the player featured on the game’s cover is… pretty awesome. I will assume that since this cover was in some ways crowd-sourced, that Madden fans are for the most part happy with the result.

Madden NFL 13 gets:  MF MF MF out of 5

 

 

 

 

 

 

This follows the typical World of Warcraft box art design, while still having its own unique look (aka- features a panda). I am not sure why I find the red-brown color in the background a bit of an odd choice (I would have gone with a bamboo green maybe?) but the color is in fact used for the Panda character dwellings, as well as some clothing and weapons in the game, so I suppose it makes sense for that reason.

Mists of Pandaria gets: MF MF MF out of 5

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
So I said earlier that Borderlands’ stylized artwork was fairly unique for box art, and it’s true… so it’s exciting that Sleeping Dogs also has a unique art style for their cover (doubly so since the game itself looks very different). I’ve heard good things about Sleeping Dogs, so it looks like their box art is just the cherry on top of the Sleeping Dogs sundae.

Sleeping Dogs gets: MF MF MF MF M & Winner

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Indie Shout Out: Mark of the Ninja
I like the dramatic pose and ninja-esque vibe of the cover, and the overall art style of this game is great. Also cool to see the ninja’s tattoo is featured, since it is actually part of the story!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Honorable Mention: Kirby’s Dream Collection
This year is Kirby’s 20th anniversary, and I have loved seeing the logo for the occasion all over, including the cover of Kirby’s Dream Collection. The different Kirbys in the background are also a nice reminder of the many Kirby games we have all enjoyed over the years.

by Steph-O