Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance Cover Art Cuts to the Point

Cover art has been a subject of much discussion in the world of video games as of late, especially with the disappointing unveilings for Bioshock: Infinite and Fuse.  The trend of lackluster box art looked to be taking a turn in the right direction after Irrational Games announced that fans would be able to vote for an alternate, reversible cover to Bioshock, offering a selection of amazing new images.  In much the same spirit, Konami has revealed the North American cover art for their upcoming title, Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance (seen above).

It’s as though Konami took into account all of my usual gripes about yawn-inducing packaging when producing this masterpiece.  First and foremost, does the image tell me something about the game?  Well, Revengeance follows the story of Raiden, a cyborg who uses a sword to dismember enemies is a variety of gruesome fashions.  If I didn’t already know that, does the cover give some indication of those facts?  Cyborg?  Check.  Sword?  Check.  Dismemberment?  Check.  Secondly, is the artwork exciting or, if nothing else, at least interesting to look at?  In the case of the above image, I offer a resounding “HELL YES!”  Kudos to the marketing genius who decided to orient the image so that we are looking through the bisected torso of an enemy.  That’s some sharp thinking.  See what I did there?

So, what do you think of the North American cover art for Revengeance?  Do you also think it’s a cut above the rest?  Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance will be available for the XBox 360 and PS3 on February 19th in the States (21st in Japan and 22nd in Europe).  Until then, stay tuned to OnlySP as we slice deep into the world of single-player gaming to bring you the latest news and information.

Sorry for all the sword puns.  I’ll be sure to cut those out next time.