What does a game’s box art tell us? In “Judged by the Cover,” we call out the good, the bad and the ugly of the week’s cover artwork to help game companies distinguish their titles from the rest. Without further ado…

“Battlefield: Bad Company” (Xbox 360, PS3)
What the Box Tells Us: That the box art designers read “Watchmen.” Although smiley faces are used on a myriad of products, logos, emoticons, etc., when I see this smiley face atop a grenade I can’t help but think of the blood-splattered symbol of Alan Moore’s epic comic. So the box art? It says to me, “Have a nice day… filled with gratuitous violence and explosions.”
Pros: Subtlety. The implication of gratuitous violence and explosions without actually showing gratuitous violence and explosions.
Cons: It’s rated “T,” so it can’t be that violent or explosive.
Love It or Leave It: Love it.

“Alone in the Dark” (Xbox 360, PS2, Wii, PC)
What the Box Tells Us: This box art is full of mixed messages. For one, it’s not dark out (is it snowing?), and even in the slashed image across the box, there’s a bright light shining. Two, the guy who looks sort of like Keanu Reeves doesn’t seem to be alone. I see two other people who may or may not be him; one presumably hit by a car (who’s driving?) and another shadowy figure walking in the distance. “Alone in the Dark”? More like “Being Chased By People Trying To Kill Me In Broad Daylight.”
Pros: It’s good to see Keanu getting some work again.
Cons: Title seems to be a misnomer. Oops!
Love It or Leave It: Leave it.

“Supreme Commander” (Xbox 360)
What the Box Tells Us: Is it Voltron? Galvatron? The Iron Giant? Whatever it is, one thing is for sure: “Supreme Commander” is about giant robots, and is visually less confusing than its PC predecessor (where I had to stare at the box for a few moments to discern what robot part was what). This cover screams, “My robot is bigger than your robot, and it will squash all other puny robots like the ants they are.”
Pros: Giant robots ftw.
Cons: Not enough giant robots.
Love It or Leave It: Love it.

“The Sims 2: IKEA Home Stuff” (PC)
What the Box Tells Us: There are so many “Sims” expansion packs, I think that the box art designers have just given up. Like “Kitchen & Bath Interior Design Stuff,” the items in the expansion are simply placed on the cover. However, this time the “stuff” includes furniture with funny Swedish names like Ektorp, Leksvik, Malm and Lack.
Pros: What you see is what you get.
Cons: What you see is what you get. (What’s an Ektorp?)
Love It or Leave It: Leave it.

“My Weight Loss Coach” (DS)
What the Box Tells Us: Go outside and run away from your DS… far away! But then come back to see how you’re doing because it comes with a pedometer. Though I’m not sure how you can actually measure the weight you’ve lost (the cover depicts a disembodied waistline with a measuring tape), but at least the artwork is literal without being too plain.
Pros: It depicts gender neutrality (both a man and a woman running, shades of green). Also, it’s much better than this.
Cons: From what I can see, I don’t think the runners are wearing their pedometers! (A stock image, perhaps?)
Love It or Leave It: Leave it.