Much like film and television, video games utilize trailers to capture the feeling of the game in a short period of time. For a true video game fan, a play through trailer or presentation such as at E3 is by far superior, but to generate hype and to convey the feeling and emotion of the game, or even to just simply make the announcement of it existing, the trailer is required.
Hit the jump for all the bloody, fast and grunt-punting hype you can handle.
Edit:
Sorry about the spill-over of the embedded videos. I needed to select the same size for embedding and this was the consistent one, so it sticks off to the right just a tad. You may berate me as you see fit in the comment section.
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City was one of the first games to utilize a "trailer" style to promote the game. Before this, most of the time a video game was showcased was at E3, the Electronic Entertainment Expo, and that is for the industry and media. Media delivery methods, such as the internet, were now being utilized to show these videos and, possibly more importantly, video game magazines were now including demo discs that could handle the videos and space requirements, allowing even PS2 owners the ability to see these videos. Vice City was a starring example of video game trailers in their infancy and is still one of the best ones today. The Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Trailer by RockStar Games introduces us the Vice City and Tommy.
Gears of War was a game changing (pun intended) video game milestone. For the first time in a very long time, developer Epic Games was releasing a new Intellectual Property that has now put Cliff Bleszinski into a Video Game Celebrity status. This trailer, called the Gears of War: Mad World Trailer, contains the song "Mad World" to add to the emotion of the trailer and to give feeling not only to the characters in the game, but the environment.
BioShock, another amazing game title by developer 2K Games at their Boston studio, is set in an environment that, while being well below the sea, is politically, physically and socially in ruin. The BioShock Beyond The Sea Trailer delves us deep into that environment, providing a glimpse into that universe and the mechanics behind it.
Battlefield, a long time staple of PC gaming from developer DICE, introduced us to the Bad Company franchise, designed with console gaming in mind, with a bang. Many trailers were released, some of them showing physics and gameplay and others playing off of other big-hype AAA titles that were announced at the same time. This one, titled "Bad World" plays off of the success of the Gears Of War Mad World Trailer shown above. It shows us two of the characters of the game, and how they interact with each other. This trailer sets the pace for what to expect in the form of narrative from the EA Games blockbuster.
Announced at Spikes Video Games Awards Show in 2011 was Naughty Dog's The Last Of Us. Yet to be released, the game play is not officially known, but yet this Announcement Trailer received an amazing amount of press and attention. The E3 presentation in 2012 was met with so much fanfare that it was mind boggling and the existence of the IP itself is impressive. Known as the developer of the cinematic, comedic and action-packed Uncharted series, this new PlayStation exclusive caught us off guard. Usually follow ups to huge franchises like Uncharted are long after the series has been milked of every last drop (see Duke Nukem or Mortal Kombat, for example), and they are less than appealing and yet it still looks amazing.
Electrical impulses, nerves transmitting, hearts pumping, blood flowing. That is the Halo 4 announcement trailer from E3 2011. Chief and Cortana are (finally) back together in (finally) a current story arc, and this trailer captures what I think is not only the Chief finally breathing again, but symbolizes the franchise as a whole coming back to life. Reach was a cash-cow, undeniably and O.D.S.T. was really an expansion that was too big for DLC. Although developed by 343 Industries, not the series visionary Bungie, almost all of the key staff from Halo 1-3 is now at 343 working on this title while Bungie develops super-secret games on consoles other than the XBOX. Although final verdict of the state of Halo will have to wait for the release, this franchise is showing the best signs it is back on track with this title.
Gearbox Software introduced us to Borderlands 2 through many trailers, but this one captures the comedy and feel of the game while also showcasing the game play and artsy, comic book style. The Wimoweh trailer is well directed, conceived and edited, so prepare for a laugh.
Tomb Raider returns to it's roots with this yet-to-be-released self-titled reboot. A new direction and narrative, most notably because of developer Squeenix, ahem, I mean Square Enix, hiring some serious writers. This darker, more human version of Lara will more than likely capture our imaginations in a different way that the former unit. Think less Angelina Jolie and more Jennifer Lawrence.
Fallout 3, from developer Bethesda, is, by far, my most favourite video game of this generation. Through an amazing narrative, provided by actors such as Liam Neeson and Ron Perlman, it brings us to a zany, off-the-charts- post-apocalyptic setting set, this time, in DC. I had such a hard time truncating this, because this is for best trailers, not video games, and I feel all three are worthy of being included in this list. The trailer above is the E3 trailer from 2008, below are links to the E3 Teaser Trailer from 2006 and below that is the "Prepare For The Future" Trailer from the promotional website. (I can only embed 10)
http://youtu.be/zPt08UYmyMo -- Teaser
http://youtu.be/Xaov5rGzH1Y -- Prepare For The Future
The final trailer in my list is Halo 3: O.D.S.T. Live Action Trailer. Bungie put the typical CG trailer aside and used a live action cast to show us the emotion behind being an Orbital Drop Shock Trooper in the Halo universe. Filled with grief, fear, anger and bravery, this emotion-riddled trailer tops my list because it not only conveys the emotion, it makes you feel it.
So that summarizes my Top 10 Video Game Trailers Of All Time, So Far, List. Do you have a different list? How about a suggestion for a new list? Let me know in the comments below.
No comments:
Post a Comment