Box Art Reviews: Annoying Artists, Mixed Myths, More

  • Share
  • Read Later

With Christmas upon us, all the year’s biggest releases have come out.

That leaves us with budget PC titles this week, but that doesn’t excuse them from having crappy covers.

See which games’ box art gets through our scrutiny and which ones don’t in this week’s unintentionally all-PC edition of box art reviews.

Treasures of the Serengeti (PC)
What’s on the Box: Silhouettes of grass and trees in front of the sun with puzzles pieces in the sky. “Embark on a puzzle-bound matching adventure!” it says.
What’s Good: The visual imagery does scream “Africa.”
What’s Bad: The puzzle pieces seem slapped on, and they clutter up the box. Not exactly sure what the puzzle is either, but it doesn’t look that fun.
Verdict: Fail. No treasures found here.

Vampire Saga: Pandora’s Box (PC)
What’s on the Box: A pale-faced woman with red lipstick surrounded by blackness. The box says, “A love that will never die.”
What’s Good: It grabs your attention because the lady’s face stands out among the all-black background.
What’s Bad: It doesn’t do much to explain the gameplay or plot. I see that this woman is a vampire because she’s got blood dripping from her lips, but what about this Pandora’s Box? What does that have to do with vampires, again?
Verdict: Fail. Myths are being mixed here, with no explanation.

Artist Colony (PC)
What’s on the Box: Four men and women, the artists, stand above the title. Below there’s the swanky colony, water fountain and all. The box says, “Unleash the drama in this artistically-charged game!”
What’s Good: There’s artists. And a colony.
What’s Bad: The so-called artists don’t look fun enough to be trapped on a colony with. In fact, they look sort of annoying.
Verdict: Fail. If there’s drama to be unleashed, I don’t want any part of it.

The Search For Amelia Earhart (PC)
What’s on the Box: Amelia’s Earhart’s disembodied head is in the clouds as a plane flies over the ocean below.
What’s Good: It’s bright and colorful and has a nice portrait of the title character.
What’s Bad: It says, “Discover the mystery behind a woman that captured the hearts of a nation!” So we can discover the mystery, but not solve it? I know the mystery, and I want to know what happened!
Verdict: Win. Despite the confusing wording on the box, it’s still nice to look at.

More on Techland:

Other Box Art Reviews

A Shot in the Dark: Video Game Screenshots of the Week