Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Let's Play: 'Which Box Art is Better?' (Uncharted Golden Abyss edition)

Full disclosure: I really wanted the first Vita-focused "Which Box Art is Better?" post to feature Touch My Katamari, but that game's cover art is the same in every region (as far as I'm aware). So, I went with my runner-up choice: Uncharted Golden Abyss.

Speaking of which, this portable iteration of Naughty Dog's popular IP was released in Japan on Dec. 17 with the following box art:


When the game hits European and North American store shelves on Feb. 22, however, it'll feature this piece of cover art, which focuses more on protagonist Nathan Drake:


Although I think both options are completely fine, I personally prefer the sunny Japanese box art to its gloomier European and North American counterpart. Which cover do you guys and gals prefer?

Pre-order: Uncharted Golden Abyss

17 comments:

Retr0gamer said...

Western box definitely is better! Japanese one is comical, it's like Nathan Drake is saying 'I must go now, my adventuring planet needs me' before zooming up into the heavens :D

Retr0gamer said...

I was kind of bored today:

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/attachment.php?attachmentid=187992&stc=1&d=1326209156

Josef said...

Japanese cover, hands down. It's not perfect, there is something slightly awkward about it, but the composition in the western cover is way worse, in my opinion. Neither of them is anywhere near as cool as the Japanese Uncharted 2 cover, though...

Linnea said...

The Japanese version. Looks more green and lush.

Bryan Ochalla said...

Retr0gamer: Well, I didn't see the Japanese cover as comical before you mentioned it, but now I can at least see it. That said, I still prefer that cover to the Euro/NA one. It just seems more "adventurous" and less generic to me.

Bryan Ochalla said...

Oh, and I like your 'shop job of the image, BTW :P

Bryan Ochalla said...

Josef: Yes, there is something slightly awkward about the Japanese cover, isn't there? I think it's due to Drake's positioning or something, personally. Still, I think it's more interesting than the NA option.

As for Uncharted 2's Japanese cover art being: I agree wholeheartedly :)

Bryan Ochalla said...

Linnea: Yes! And the sunset in the background is a nice touch, too, don't you think?

Viewtiful_Justin said...

I prefer any box art which features Nathan Drake more than another. Damn.

Bryan Ochalla said...

Ha! I like your answer, Justin. I'm guessing this means you prefer the Euro/NA art?

You've never played any of these games either, have you? I've long been curious about them myself, but of course I don't have a way of playing them...

Darwin said...

Definitely the JPN version. In regards to the comments about Nathan's pose - just picture him waving his arms, and saying "wah wah wah", which is what its like in the game. So in that sense, its accurate :)

Darwin said...

Oh and that Uncharted 2 JPN boxart is awesome.

Have you ever seen the Crackdown boxart comparisons? Almost wanted to get the JPN version because of how crazy different it was. Totally changes the impression of the game.
http://leokim246.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/crackdown-riot-act.png

Bryan Ochalla said...

Thanks for the explanation, Darwin :) I guess I can look forward to seeing/hearing Drake flap his arms and yell "wah wah wah" when I finally get around to playing these games, eh?

As for Crackdown/Riot Act: I've honestly never heard of these games before! I certainly like the Japanese box art, though. Thanks for pointing it out :)

Viewtiful_Justin said...

I have not. Shamefully.

Bryan Ochalla said...

It's not shameful, Justin--especially if, as is the case with you and I, you don't have any of the systems that can play these games. Or at least that's my opinion on the matter.

Unknown said...

Japan, for sure! I will probably go down in history as always preferring Japanese covers, perhaps stubbornly ;) Naw, I really like how lush the Japanese cover is, like many others said. Seems more adventurous to me, rather than "look its Nathan Drake again"

Bryan Ochalla said...

You and me both, Anne! I nearly always prefer the Japanese art to the Euro/NA art, although I do try to keep an open mind.

As for your reasons for preferring this game's Japanese cover to its Euro/NA counterparts: I agree there, too. I especially like how you describe the latter ("Look, it's Nathan Drake again"). Ha!