The most deceptive / creative game cover art?

[robinsonmason]

What game really stretches the truth when it comes to game cover art?

For my money I would say "Mine Madness" is the master of exaggeration:

YOUR NIGHTMARE COME TRUE!

[joshuadenmark]

The actual Mine Madness, rather close I guess

[orion70]

Yep, close to the claim: "your nightmare come true".

[freshlamb]

I honestly can't think of any covers that disappointed me. I always loved the cover art, sometimes I will admit, it sold the game. I think I understood that the game would generally be nothing like the cover. As far as a game disappointing, that title would definitely be held by Slinky by CSI, a bad Q-bert clone that you could go for lunch in between moves.

[highinfidelity]

Wow, that's impossible to beat!

I say Super Slot nonetheless. I'm still wondering how to enter in "roulette" and "blackjack" mode. Had they added a sexy waiter in the artwork, it could have been the staple of the century. I bought it to feel as cool as that boaster in the artwork, but as I turned the VIC on I felt like a total dork just as that white lad on the right side of the screenshot.

[Kweepa]

[Jeff-20]

Anything made by Atari for the 2600.

[highinfidelity]

Cool.

Thanks, I appreciate it.

[yogi]

Saw this awhile ago but still makes me laugh.
http://mightygodking.com/2008/04/21/fun-from-yesterday/
Yogi

[joshuadenmark]

Saw this awhile ago but still makes me laugh.
http://mightygodking.com/2008/04/21/fun-from-yesterday/
Yogi

It is magical!

[orion70]

Some of those fake covers are VERY funny
As for me, I'd consider Scott Adam's cartridges, because most people expected more than a text adventure. See for example Adventureland's wonderful cover, compared to the sparse, 22-column text you see after issuing the infamous SYS

[Mike]

Not strictly a game, but ...

You can design beautiful line drawings, shapes, and patterns. Select your own brush size, choose different colors, repeat patterns, and save your creations on tape! COMMODORE ARTIST turns your TV or monitor into an artist's canvas, and is easily controlled using Joystick, Keyboard, or Lightpen. Computer art is fun, creative, and easy . . . with COMMODORE ARTIST.

I wonder whether anyone ever produced something beyond monochrome doodles with CA. Something more resembling the box art ... like the picture below:


(download, requires a VIC-20 with at least +8K RAM expansion)

[orion70]

Mike, you're always cheating... Please, stop using your Amiga

[highinfidelity]

Some of those fake covers are VERY funny
As for me, I'd consider Scott Adam's cartridges, because most people expected more than a text adventure.

[orion70]

Yet text adventures are so hardcore retro!