My First Meme: Video Game Covers I Want to See

It’s true, Gentle Reader, that this is Arrogant Self-Reliance’s first meme! I feel as if we Should Celebrate in some way. But I have been tagged by 100LittleDolls, and now, finally, several weeks later, I answer her.

The meme is as follows:

1.Copy the text of the original challenge from Yudhishthira’s Dice and give a proper link attribution.
(that would be this text:
Ladies, what RPG covers (or interiors) have you seen that involve a woman in the art that make you say, “I want to play that” or, just as good “I want to play her.” Or that make you feel like it is a game you could like, or be included in by a group of guys you’d never met and whose maturity you didn’t necessarily know?
Said over at Yudhishthira’s Dice.)
2. Copy these rules exactly (including any links).
3. Find images of game covers (interiors are okay, too) that make you want to play the game. Any kind of game — video game, card game, tabletop RPG, etc — is fine. Post them and include a short (or long) explanation on why the image makes/made you want to play the game.
4. The original challenge is about finding out what women think about how game art is marketed and therefore it is targeted at women. I’d like to keep it that way, please.
5.You can tag as many or as few people as you want. You do not need to be tagged to participate in the meme.
6.When you make your post, please post the link on this thread so we can all see what others have said.

As I’ve just said a few moments ago, this meme has inspired a wealth of thinking about women, weapons, and, in particular, swords. I’ve discovered that I tend to be attracted to anime-ish images, particularly those with women wielding swords. I think this has everything to do with my long-held interests in Wonder Woman, Joan of Arc, She-Ra, and the Goddess Athena! I’ve whittled some of those out to also include some games I’ve been intrigued by for a while, all dependent on their covers.

1) Lost Planet: Extreme Condition - I find the haziness of the snow, contrasted by the soldier with giant gun to be fascinating. There’s a dreaminess to it, a certain ephemeral quality that is almost beautiful.

2) Bullet Witch - This has the unique advantage of presenting a gun that looks like a sword—or a sword that doubles as a gun. I’m not sure. But I like her cocky stance, her over the shoulder I dare you to tell me off look, and the sassy blue hair.

3) Ninety-Nine Nights - Another pretty girl holding what appears to be another pretty sword. And bonus wings! But this cover really speaks to my desire to see *pretty* games. I like it when the designers put as much effort into the characters and backgrounds as they do the smash-and-bash.

4) Aura - As for this game, Gentle Reader, well, I can say nothing else enticed me but the sheer “oh, shiny!” gut response I had. The cover is just *pretty*. And I’ve had some experience with Dreamcatcher games to know that at least the interludes will be beautiful, if not the entire game-play itself.

5) City of Heroes and City of Villains - And finally, Friends, the two games that have intrigued me for Some Time Now. I adore the idea of creating my own Hero and my own Villain. I have The Perfect Hero in mind, as she is the protagonist of my prose-comic-book-in-the-works. But I love the comic book feel of these covers, the bursting out of the box and into the action-ness of them.