The art of a video game trailer is a delicate one. Promise too much and viewers probably won’t trust what they see. Show too little and risk not impressing the viewer at all. But if you can get it ‘just right’ a video game trailer can INSTANTLY increase interest, start an online buzz and turn a would be flop into a sleeper hit.
Over the next couple of days I’ll be looking at some of the best, worst and weirdest game trailers of recent months and giving a brief breakdown of why they work (or don’t).
Today we start with the best.
Alpha Protocol:
The railer Manages to Convey the Games major dynamic and key selling point ‘options are your weapon’. This trailer could have simply taken the a page out of the “Bourne” playbook and just shown a generic hero kicking, punching, shooting and bombing his way out/into a building. Instead the trailer focused on what this game is good at “Giving player’s diverse choices in tense situations”. By highlighting the radically different options a player could “Hypothetically” have it gives us a sweet smell of what this game is cooking. Add to that some clever, Genre savvy dialogue and a clean CGI presentation and this trailer defiantly got people talking about its product….shame it wasn’t as great as it looked.
Super Street Fighter 4:
Following the success of Street Fighter 4 Capcom set to release what was ultimately an expansion pack, boasting new characters, new modes, new stages and a few balances tweaks for the pros. However with this ‘pack’ coming out just over a year after the initial release, It was gonna be a struggle to convince players who already paid full retail price to dip back into their wallets for some more of the same.
In order for this to work Capcom would NEED to show gamers that the new additions were worth it and this trailer does just that.
Using high Pace editing, Pulsing background music as well as making sure to show off the each of the characters best and most outlandish moves, this trailer is simply a lot of fun to ‘watch’ and when gameplay looks fun to watch, you’ve got a winner.
Mad Moxxi’s Underdome riot:
There isn’t really much needed to be said. It’s a funny stylish trailer which separates it from the typical testosterone filled shooters on the market.
It’s a trailer that would simply make you at least want to find out more. In a way it’s as seductive as Mad Moxxi herself, In fact maybe she wanted me to put this on my list…perhaps she’s in my head….perhaps I should stop typing my thoughts now.
Deus Ex: Human Revolution
Ok. Much like James Cameron’s ‘Avatar’ this trailer is generic yet excellently executed which is why it makes the list. It follows a classic
The yellowy gold lighting filter gives the whole thing a cool look, the Blade Runner/fifth element style city looks not only gorgeous but well designed, the panic on the streets looks almost tangible and all in all you can see for yourself the environment you (the player) will be thrown into and can already kind of feel the issues that might arise. See we KNOW the game wont look that good but if that’s the tempo, the feel and the direction they’re going in then we know we like it!
Long story short it paints a world you’d like to inhabit (even if its only for a couple hours at a time) Couple that with the stylish bionic man tech, matrix inspired fight scenes and Predator style Stealth gear, this trailer instantly appeals to anyone with even a casual interest in Sci-Fi (which by the way many….or dare I say MOST gamers are.)
An honourable mention goes out to Bayonetta, Star wars the old republic (A MUST see) and the new Dragon Age 2 trailer. All of which deserve to be on the list.
Come back tomorrow for a look at the Bad and the REALLY bad video game trailers out there…
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