Packaging!
That's right, folks, even the box counts. when I said comprehensive, I wasn't kidding. this doesn't just include the box, this also includes the manual and the disk and anything else they throw in there. My digital camera is out of order, otherwise I'd take some pictures for y'all to see. Maybe if you bug me I'll add them later. =P

So, first off, the box. The box is one of the new, small boxes. Right off the bat, that's a hit to the game's awesomeness. You CAN'T fit an awesome game into a small box, becasue you CAN'T fit an awesome manual into a small box, and a manual is one of the most important parts of a game. Homeworld (Game of the Year edition), for example, came in one of the good old big boxes. It was a satisfying purchase, because that thing was HEAVY. For starters, it had the game CD and all the odds and ends they throw in there (ads and product catalogs and the like), but then it also had the manual, and the Prima strategy guide. Prima makes good strategy guides, good wlakthroughs, and plenty of insight into the game. But that manual... that thing was as big as the strategy guide! And it was PACKED with fluff. None of this "Here's how to install, here's a list of units, now go play kthxbye". This hefty book, yes, book, had the entire ancient history of your people on Kharak in it. You knew EVERYTHING, and I mean EVERYTHING that there was to know about your past. And you sat in AWE of the scale of what was being discovered. But I'm getting away from myself. So, based soley on the principle of small boxes sucking...

-1

Now, the random crap they throw in there. Nothing special, it's jsut random crap. Well, there's a little laminated tech tree guide in there, which is nice. However, I EXPECT that, so it doesn't earn any points. EVERY game should have some sort of a reference card. However, these days many games don't, and thus lose another point in a hurry.

So now, the manual. Well for a start, the game HAS a manual, which to be honest is more than I've gotten out of some games lately... but this is teh way it SHOULD be, there SHOULD be a manual. Only truely awe inspiring manuals get bonus points, like homeworld's which got +2. Best. Manual. Ever. Well, Cataclysm's manual was sweet too. But anyway. For starters, it's a small manual. Because it came in a small box. That's bad, so there's a point off. However, the manual is pretty good, including a full unit listing with descriptions and these neat little icons that show everything a unit can do, like if it can run people over, it gets this one icon, if it can snipe, it gets another one, if it can shoot down planes, it gets another one, and so on and so on. It's a nice touch. That almost warrants a +1 to offset that -1. But not quite, due to the fact that there simply isn't enough fluff. For those of you who are not aware, fluff is the storyline and character development and lore that goes along with a game. Warhammer 40k, for example, has fluff coming out of its bloody ears. Extreme Paintbrawl, on the other hand, has no fluff whatsoever and frankly deserves none. Act of War's manual has the bare minimum of fluff, ust enough to vaguely let you know what's going on, but not nearly enough to properly involve you. Probably because it simply isn't big enough because it had to fit in the small box. And that means that..

-1

So, then there's the disk itself, which is nothing really special. It comes in a nice sleave, with a neat picture of a jet, but there's nothing good or bad about it, really.

Oh, and the box, which likewise isn't really anything special.

So, there's the packaging. Act of War is off to a poor start, with -2! However, MOST games these days have shitty starts, some reaching as low as -5, though that particular game shall remain nameless. It did, however, come in a small box. Which is pretty much an instant -2. So.

Oh, and no overal adjustment. 'cause there's no reason to have one.

Packaging total: -2

-AGT