Mass Effect 2 Box Art Fails to Impress

[John Funk]

Mass Effect 2 Box Art Fails to Impress

Mass Effect 2 is looking great so far. Its newly-revealed box art, on the other hand, isn't.

While rumors that BioWare agents have kidnapped a member of The Escapist's staff and spirited them away to their well-hidden battle fortress concealed deep within the frozen Canadian wilderness in order to force them (at gunpoint, no less) to play through a bit of Mass Effect 2 have yet to be corroborated, everything we've seen of the title is looking pretty damn ace so far - the game seems to be improving on the first installment in almost every way...

...Except where box art is concerned. The official box art went up seen worse [http://masseffect.bioware.com/media/screenshots] in my gaming career, it's... kinda underwhelming.

It isn't so much that the art itself is bad, as it is that it's incredibly generic. Ooh, a manly-looking brown-haired protagonist with a futuristic-looking machine gun, so edgy! The first game's box art wasn't a Leonardo da Vinci masterpiece [http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/d2/Mass_Effect_cover.PNG], but it at least communicated the idea of "this is an incredibly deep and complex space opera," rather than looking like "this is a sci-fi shooter just like every other sci-fi shooter, only your sidekicks are a guy with a lemon for a face and the girl from House," to borrow a description from our very own Malygris.

Nothing about this art appeals to me in the least. In fact, were I to see this on shelves having not heard of the game before, this art would make me less likely to buy it.

Is it just me? Am I making something out of nothing here, with sensibilities far more delicate than I'd have ever guessed? Or is this box art just that damn uninspired?

Permalink

 

[Jonny49]

It's not bad but...is that really all they could come up with? The box-art for Mass Effect 1 was pretty sweet, as was the box-art for KOTOR. This on the other hand, is just a tad generic.

 

[geldonyetich]

They could print it on blank cardboard box with "mass effect 2" written somewhere somewhat noticeable, and I'd still shell out for it.

 

[Skuffyshootster]

Something's off with it. I can't put my finger on it, but it might be the colors. It looks more like a screenshot then box art for a game.

 

[Chicago Ted]

It could be better but I couldn't really care. When people critique the box art I find they miss the big picture of how good the actual game is.

 

[GodsAndFishes]

Generic is the term that springs to mind on seeing this. I can't say that I'd guess its an RPG if I didn't have any prior knowledge of the game.

 

[Hydrus]

Wow. That looks.....awful. I'm glad I know enough to look past the box art, and see the no doubt amazing game underneath.

 

[Shamus Young]

Ooooh! A game about space marines! We don't get nearly enough of these!

Will it have multiplayer deathmatch?

 

[Rafe]

It looks like some B movie film cover, where are they looking anyway?

 

[LTK_70]

I'm getting a bit of a déjà vu when seeing this after the new box art for Zeno Clash...

 

[Vault Citizen]

Does it matter?

 

[Zeraki]

Well this is... unexpected. I'm getting flashbacks of Mega Man box art.

It honestly does look like the cover of some generic shooter, not the sequel to a very well written space opera RPG.

Ooooh! A game about space marines! We don't get nearly enough of these!

Will it have multiplayer deathmatch?

Have you even played it?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarcasm

 

[Byers]

It is indeed horrible box art.
Like a bad B-movie.
They'll do themselves a disservice releasing the game in this box.

Then again, it's the quality of the game itself that counts. But obviously I want the game to sell well in order to spawn future sequels and bring success to one of the few extremely strong game developers we have. So whip up some better box art, Bioware, damn it.

 

[G1eet]

Ooooh! A game about space marines! We don't get nearly enough of these!

Will it have multiplayer deathmatch?

Have you even played it? (The first one, that is.)

 

[Deleted]

I don't care if theres goatse on the cover its not going to change my opinion of the game. You guys should do the same.

 

[RoseBridge]

It looks like they copied and pasted the characters from the concept art, looks bad.
Game will be fun though.

 

[Emlyn]

Ooooh! A game about space marines! We don't get nearly enough of these!

Will it have multiplayer deathmatch?

And that is exactly the issue with it. Seriously, while we have all been tolled not to judge a book(game) by it's cover I believe that is usually ignored. Therefor the whole point of box art is to sell the game to people who have never heard of it. Last I checked ME2 is an RPG that sells itself apart as edgier and such, not an generic run of the mill FPS. I don't know, maybe the box art should at least attempt to show this? Or am I completely off base here?

 

[SomeBritishDude]

Ooooh! A game about space marines! We don't get nearly enough of these!

Will it have multiplayer deathmatch?

Have you even played it?

This is Shamus Young. His confusing sarcasm knows no bounds.

 

[WNxSajuukCor]

Game box art seems to be going the way of album and CD art covers in that it's slowly becoming non-essential to create an interesting look/feel to grab attention or impress customers.