Did Your Favorite Trailers Make the Cut?
Who doesn’t love a good video game trailer? Video game trailers come in all shapes and sizes — whether it be a simple teaser, an announcement trailer, or a full-on gameplay reveal — and studios put a ton of effort into them to ramp up as much excitement as possible. With only a handful of ways to get people excited about a game before it ships out, the importance of trailers has never been higher. E3, specifically, is proof that a damn good trailer can change the market perception of a game in an instant. But competition is fierce too. Studios and their marketing teams work extra hard in order to make their game stick out from the crowd, which certainly isn’t an easy task. With all that in mind, we went on a quest to highlight what we think are the best video game trailers ever made.
Curious what they are? Then let’s dive in.
Gears of War
Probably the most recognizable trailer out of the bunch. Gears of War’s “Mad World” trailer turned a lot of heads at the time, largely in part due to the incredible in-game visuals and the Mad World cover by Gary Jules. Microsoft marketed the hell out of this trailer, even debuting in front of movies and during key television programs. Gears of War was gaining a lot of buzz in the industry at the time but this trailer is what drove it into the mainstream. It’s still amazingly effective too.
BioShock
BioShock rocked the world when it landed in 2007, but it also had a series of kickass trailers leading up to its release. But the announcement trailer is the one we remember the most. The mysterious underwater city of Rapture is introduced and so are the Little Sisters, but it’s the gruesome and vicious first-person battle with the iconic Big Daddy that instantly captured our attention. Sure, it may be all in CG and the actual Big Daddy encounters in the final game aren’t quite as intense as this, but that doesn’t make it any less awesome to watch.
Fallout 3
“War. War never changes.” Who can forget those classic lines by actor Ron Perlman in Fallout 3’s teaser trailer? This was a big deal for Fallout. It was the first glimpse of Bethesda’s new take on the series, which definitely ruffled some feathers shifting to first-person. But the trailer sets the tone for the game incredibly well, with its slow pan out from the abandoned bus to the greater post-apocalyptic landscape of Washington, DC. The trailer was also completed with in-engine assets. The graphics don’t quite hold up as well now, but it’s still an evocative teaser.
Halo 3: ODST
Probably the closest thing to a true live-action Halo movie we’ll ever get. It’s kind of crazy how well this trailer holds up too, showcasing a riveting battle scene on par with some of the best war movies. Even the showdown with the Hunter looks great to this day. Microsoft was hitting it out of the park when it came to trailers in the early Xbox 360 days, and this is the cream of the crop. Watch it again, again, and again.