I work at GAME. Im sure plenty of the reading audience know this. It is fucking boring. Like, really boring. Like, eating a plain digestive on a plane flying over Ja-plain. So, I decided to come up with a list of the twenty worst game cover art in the store. Here they are:
20. Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles (SquareEnix, GC)
Man, I hate Final Fantasy. To me, choosing how to fight from a separate menu, then waiting for whatever stupid looking beastie or god or whatever to hit you right back, just to further the nonsensical, insulting and sub-Terry Pratchett-themed narrative filled with too cute or too cliched characters dressed in ridiculous costumes is, frankly, balls. I mean, just look at these dicks on the cover. A disproportioned elf chick brushing her hair for some reason, Mr. young, innocent adventurer dressed in breeches, some sort of skinny robot knight doing a Madonna impression and what-the-fuck-is-that-a-humanoid-turnip?!
Seriously, I've seen better characters on Turkish cereal boxes.
This cover gets 6 out of 10
Because I think the logo is actually kinda cool.
19. Deus Ex: Invisible War (Eidos, XB)
In The future, all men will look like they should be on MTV and will play host to their own cyber-punk light shows. I always have a problem with game heroes like this guy; he is the completely typical guy-with-gun that you see in every mediocre shooter. Thing is, I always thought the Deus Ex series was about the RPG elements more than the FPS ones, so why is this guy pointing a gun at me from the cover art?
Even he looks bored with the whole thing, as if he personally has had to pose awkwardly as a bad-ass to every fourteen-year-old Halo fan.
This cover gets 6 out of 10
Because look at that gun man! That is a totally sweet gun.
18. Crash TwinSanity (Naughty Dog, PS2)
On first glance, it seems like Crash and his one-time nemesis Dr. Cortex are up to their same old japes and shennanigans, this time in front of a vibrant, exciting green background.
Then you look closer.
And you realise that Crash appears to be forcing a dildo up Cortex's unwilling arse. Look at the anguish in his face! And the sadistic look of joy Crash has on! Well, it looks that way to me anyway.
This cover gets 5 out of 10
Because aggravated buggery is funny. Heh, buggery.
17. Dead Or Alive: Ultimate (Tecmo, Xbox)
I have no idea what this cover is supposed to be. Theres spikey things, a steely grey logo, light and dark, shadowy faces..
There are so many unanswered questions on this box. Like, why is the ninja dude there? Is he watching over his sexy young harem like some sort of mystical 'ho shepherd? Is that a crystal behind the logo? I only just noticed that theres a freaking huge target on there. Fact is, if you have lots of ideas you want to put on the box, if you feel that there is no single thing that sums up your tits and fighting game, then you probably shouldn't just throw all your ideas at the box and hope it sticks.
This cover gets 5 out of 10
Because theres too much going on. But at least that chick in the lower-left is hot. I think. Cant really make her out.
16. Prince Of Persia: Warrior Within (Ubisoft, PS2)
"Ooh, look at me. Im so much harder than I was in the previous game, where I had an English accent for some reason. Now check me out. Ive got this longish nu-metal hair that will really get the kids diggin' me, plus I've got these huge goddamn sword things with me, man. Also, check out how dark and brooding I am now. I am so metal, I could probably down a whole bottle out Jagermeister in one go! I'm going to look so cool at the Godsmack show!"
You fucking prick.
This cover gets 4 out of 10
Because the prince of Persia is probably Persian and not from California.
15. Half Life 2 (Valve, PC)
A controversial decision, eh? But thats entirely the point - if you're going to try and market the sequel to what many regard as the best game ever made, then why put a simple picture of the game's hero on the cover? Especially since the first Half Life had that wicked-cool luminous orange cover, with just that phsyics logo sprayed on to a wall. And even more especially, since not once in the entire game do you see Gordon Freeman. Its a First Person game, for chrissakes, why do we need to know that we are playing as a nerdy scientist guy? I mean, you could still have that background, but just let the player imagine what Gordon looks like in their mind (he would probably still have glasses). Either way, he looks really creepy on that cover. Like he is watching you silently through a window, and you just caught him looking at you, and he's just like "so what".
This cover gets 4 out of 10
Because Gordon looks like a rapist.
14. Rainbow Six 3 (Ubisoft, PS2)
Oh God, now some other guy is pointing a gun at us from the cover of a box. He's even got backup this time, although his mate with the special needs headgear doesnt seem to be paying attention, really. Whats up with the other guys, are they abseiling directly from Heaven 'cos thats just how damn badass they are?
Oh wait a minute guys, dont worry. Its just a bunch of male strippers in the 'serious' bit at the start of their show. You can tell that the guy on the right is the leader. He is all serious and shit, and the guy next to him is his best friend who sees it all as a joke. The others are two guys they just work with, but they are sooo unprofessional. That one dude on the rope isnt even looking the right way.
This cover gets 4 out of 10
Because oh I dont know, because its rubbish?
13. Digimon World 4 (Bandai, PS2)
These things just look like lego from another dimension. Plus their weapons are clearly rubbish and made of plastic. Ah, who am I trying to kid. I love these little guys, and it annoys me that I do. I mean, I dont give a crap about Pokemon, because I dont like how they are designed. But these dudes are ace! Imagine owning your own tiny yellow dinosaur witha sword! That would be amazing!
This cover gets 4 out of 10
Because I dont trust little dragons with hypnotic cuteness.
12. Ground Control (Sierra/Massive, PC)
Well, look at that picture and tell me that is not the campest soldier you have ever seen. Its like they just brought in some model-slash-actor guy to play the role of Main Soldier, and he totally camped the whole thing up.
Look at him, a bloody war is going on the background, with flying tanks and everything, and he looks like he's about to bust out a musical number.
"We want yoo-oo
In the ar-har-meeee..
to fi-ee-ight
for yooo-oo aa-aand mee-eeeeeee..."
This Cover gets 3 out of 10
Because its super-duper gay
11. Tron 2.0 Killer App (Buena Vista, XB)
Another day, another big gun pointed at you. Only this time its a crazy-ass cyber rifle being wielded by the green guy. Hold on, wasnt there only the blue guy and the red guy in the film? And where are those crazy bridge robots or whatever? And actually, when did Tron get so cool?
I guess the main problem with this, aside from it being another Guy-With-Gun (GWG) cover, is where that guy's other arm is. Is he holding that gun one handed? If so, what a badass.
This cover gets 3 out of 10
Because its one of the few interesting GWG covers. Plus I like Tron.
OK, thats enough for now. Feel free to comment. Top 10 coming soon.