What separates a game from being sold and enjoyed from sitting on the shelf and collecting dust is just as important as how well a game plays. Developers and publishers need to make sure their game's cover art helps to grab a player's attention and present their game in the most appealing way possible.

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Sony is currently right in the thick of the Playstation 5's life cycle in this digital age but these Playstation 3 games have marvelous cover art that is worth reminiscing about. While some of these examples were not critically acclaimed, or even good, they at least had one positive thing going for them: capturing a potential fan's attention in stores.

8 Tokyo Jungle

tokyo jungle cover animals fighting and pomeranian

Tokyo Jungle was developed by Crispy's! and Japan Studio and released by Sony in 2012. In the game, players take control of various species of animals as they try to survive after humans become extinct. Gamers can play as deer, lions, cats, beagles, bears, hippos, and pomeranians. Fans loved it for its gameplay and over-the-top storylines, however, the game never saw a sequel as Sony has gone through two console life cycles since.

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The cover features an epic showdown between the various species on the streets of Tokyo and a cool font for the title. An alternate cover shows the same lettering but with only a pomeranian standing alone.

7 The Saboteur

sabotuer and main character in lobby

The Saboteur was an open-world game released for PS3 and XBOX 360 in 2009. Created by the same studio that developed arguably the greatest Star Wars game, the game earned mixed reviews by critics for its poor storyline, repetitiveness, and various technical faults. Players took control of Sean Devlin as he joins the French Resistance in German-occupied Paris during World War II.

The cover art features a cool warm color scheme and makes use of subtle silhouettes to show the prospective buyers what they're getting into.

6 Heavenly Sword

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Heavenly Sword was released in 2009 and developed by Ninja Theory. The game featured Nariko wielding the Heavenly Sword as she worked to take down King Bohan and his army. The sword had different forms and would change depending on Nariko's stance, speed, range, and power. The game spawned an animated series and a film. Nariko also appears in Playstation All-Stars Battle Royale. However, while a trilogy of games was planned, Heavenly Sword remains without a sequel after all these years.

The cover is truly a work of art. The first thing to catch a player's eye is the blade that feels like it's jumping off the box. Following the blade down, Nariko's wild scarlet hair drapes past her golden complexion. Further studying the cover reveals the little details in the background that show players what they will be up against.

5 Amy

Amy cover art and cutscene with amy

Amy was developed by VectorCell and released to scathing negative reviews in 2012. Critics panned the glitches, gameplay, clunky controls, awkward camera angles, voice-acting, and poor design. Players control Lana as they escort Amy, an 8-year-old with autism, out of a city overrun by humans-turned-monsters that Amy is immune to.

As poorly received as the game was, it deserves credit for its cover art. People can feel the threat that looms over Lana and Amy as they embrace and it truly shows what to expect in the game.

4 Wet

Wet ps3 cover and bounty hunter rubi malone

Published by Bethesda Softworks and developed by Artificial Mind & Movement, Wet was released in 2009 to mixed reviews, receiving praise for its gameplay and music but garnering criticism for graphics and levels. Players took control of bounty hunter Rubi Malone as she sought to take down a gang. Rubi wields two pistols and a sword to complete her job. The title is derived from 'wet work,' a euphemism for murder or assassination.

The cover features Rubi in a suggestive pose as players can clearly see the tools of her trade. The title stamped out from blood is certainly striking. While the game wasn't at a Balan Wonderworld level of disappointment, it didn't do well enough to warrant a sequel. At least the cover still holds up.

3 Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z

Yaiba Ninja Gaiden Z Yaiba decapitates enemy

As a 2014 spinoff in Tecmo's beloved hack-and-slash Ninja Gaiden series, Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z follows powerful ninja Yaiba Kamikaze as he looks to stop a zombie infection and challenge the series usual protagonist, Ryu Hayabusa. The game employed a cel-shaded design and was poorly received by critics and fans for its repetitive and difficult gameplay.

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Players could be forgiven for thinking the game was going to be good by judging the cover art. The black and white cover shows Yaiba over a sea of zombie hands, with the only color being the long swath of blood and the electricity emanating from his robotic arm.

2 Saw

SAW Trap room and cover art

Video game adaptations of movie blockbusters tend to be unfavorable and 2009's Saw was no exception. While critics enjoyed the storyline, thanks to the developers bringing in Saw creators James Wan and Leigh Whannell, the game was panned for its clunky controls and combat system. Players and horror film fans got to live out their fantasy of being kidnapped by the Jigsaw Killer.

The game's cover art is simple but effective. It featured an extreme closeup of Billy the Puppet's face. The cold red eyes and spirals on his cheeks are hypnotizing and chill-inducing. Players who had seen any of the movies knew exactly what the game was going to be.

1 Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 5

COver Art featuring tony hawk and gameplay

By the time Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 5 was released in 2014, the Tony Hawk series had released seventeen games and its previous two main series releases Project 8 and Proving Ground was met with mixed reviews. The series publisher Activision dropped longtime developer Neversoft in favor of Robomodo and what fans got with their first main series collaboration was one of the worst games of all time. The looming expiration of the licensing deal between Tony Hawk and Activision caused an extreme rush in development.

However, they got one thing right. The cover art. Featuring a cool action shot of Tony Hawk and a modern version of the Pro Skater logo, players who grew up playing the original games on the Playstation were treated with a nostalgia that helped sell copies.

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