A lot has changed since the last time we featured an episode of the Cover Critic. Both Sony and Nintendo have released new portable game systems, long time companies have shut their doors forever, and the world has been reintroduced to a certain lawyer named Jack Thompson. Heck, even this site you're looking at has changed in many ways. So maybe it's time we take another serious look at video game covers, letting you know which ones we like and which we hate. After two years I invite you to embrace a brand new Cover Critic, one that isn't afraidto tell you what we really think. So enjoy five new covers and one new look!
Devil May Cry
One could argue that the Devil May Cry cover is simple, and therefore I should give it a better score. But as far as I'm concerned Capcom's cover art is pretty dull. The graphics in the game are much better than what is shown on the cover, and what exactly is Dante doing? The logo is wonderful, and a much larger logo would have been nicer than this box art ... but when it comes down to it, the box isn't the worst thing on the market (see Ico a few weeks ago).
Batman: Vengeance
This is more like it. Take one dramatic pose by the Dark Knight, add some deviants in the background, and what do you get? One hell of a great cover. It's a shame the game wasn't as good looking as the cover art (the exact opposite problem that plagued the Devil May Cry). Thankfully the cover art doesn't have Batman beating people up, or doing anything else silly ... instead we get a picture of him getting READY to do all that (with your help of course). You can't go wrong with a cover like this. Bravo.
Castlevania Chronicles
In the past Konami has produced some STUNNING covers for their Castlevania series. Both the Symphony of the Night (which featured a a castle and lightning) and the two N64 covers worked well at getting the point acrossed, but this cover looks almost identical to Circle of the Moon for the Game Boy Advance. Actually, if you hold the two covers up next to each other you'll notice the Moon is in the EXACT same location. Lazy artists? Maybe. Bad artwork? Without a doubt.
Monsters, Inc.
Here's a simple cover that manages to be both annoying AND interesting. The yellow background wouldn't have been my first choice, and there is one too many "logos" on the cover (one of which even manages to cover up part of the big Eye). Outside of those minor complaints, Monsters Inc. is a worthy cover, and much better than most of the Game Boy Advance covers (just take a look at the CastleVania: Circle of the Moon cover). A solid B, a very solid B.
Boxing Fever
Well hey, at least this cover is interesting, right? With the two boxers busting through what would have been a pretty dull cover, Boxing Fever manages to not be completely horrible. I still can't get over how lame the two fighters look, and really, when was the last time you saw a couple of boxers with Jello Colored hair?!? That's what I thought. Hmm ... maybe it's time to just quit this section while I'm ahead.
