I may not know anything about marketing or art, but I know what I like. The "finalized" box aint it.
And aparently others have the same opinion.
Personally I think they should have gone with something like Mav's interpretation of Dommy's logo. Hell, they already own the rights to that logo, and it looks GOOD. Sure, it doesn't give you any idea of what goes on in game, but what game's box art does?
The back, or inside front, of the box is where you demonstrate gameplay, with the screenshots, descriptions, etc. The front of the box must look good, and catch the eye. While the "action shot" can draw the eye, in my opinion this one is just another "short attention span" draw. Basically it would catch my eye for a second, but it wouldn't hold my interest long enough for me to pick it up and look inside or at the back. It's another "shoot em up game".
A package similar to what Mav did with Dommy's logo would intrigue me enough to actually look at the back to see what it's like.
Perhaps if Thrax (or someone connected with marketing for IG, if there is actually someone) brought up this thread to VUG/Sierra as "demographic research" or some other appropriate doubletalk... and show what they CAN do...