Ten of the Best Video Game Trailers

Trailers have become somewhat of a standard for games nowadays, they’re truly the first glimpse into a games soul, and if they aren’t good, chances are no one will even glance at your game.

Marketing has become one of the core pieces of gaming over the years, so Contributing Writer Karley Campbell and I have taken ten of the best video game trailers we could find and put them all together for you, in no specific order.

Dead Island Reveal Trailer

Such a promising trailer for such a lackluster game. It’s sad, really, because the intense emotions put forth in this trailer still makes me wish the game had held it’s epic promises. It’s one of the first and only video game depictions of a dead child, as far as I know, and it’s truly chilling to see.

 

Gears of War 2 – A Rendezvous With Death

Video Games and Presidents may not sit to well with each other, but Ronald Reagan’s “Rendezvous with Death” speech fits perfectly. I love how we truly get to see our characters as real people, not just sacks of muscle looking for something to kill. It’s a powerful trailer, they all are.

 

Halo 3: ODST Live Action Trailer

This is one of my personal favorites out of the bunch, it’s such a powerful trailer showing what the ODST’s go through to become who they are and to experience the tremendous loss of a brother during battle. I’ve watched this trailer with my chin to the floor so many times, but I keep coming back for more. Hands down some of the best marketing Microsoft has ever done.

 

Saints Row The Third – Reveal Trailer

While they, in my opinion, butchered Kanye West’s Power in this trailer, it’s a great way to show what Saints is all about in a hilarious albeit badass manner. Let’s all take a moment of silence for the fallen THQ.

 

Gears of War 2 – Last Day Trailer

Another emotional and personal trailer from Epic and Microsoft, and again, the music really brings it all together, DeVotchKa’s “How It Ends” provides a beautiful backdrop to the trailer. It also provides a great motto for the game with “You know what you gotta do, they all depend on you…”.

 

Portal 2 Teaser Trailer

It’s been a long time. Let’s try and put our differences behind us, for science.

You monster.

 

Assassin’s Creed: Revelations Reveal Trailer

This one has one of my favorite songs on the list, I’m already downloading it to put it on my phone. The cliffhanger ending is brilliant and is surprisingly making me want to actually play the game again, just to see what happens, which is weird because I owned the game for a little over a year just for the multiplayer.

 

Dishonored Debut Trailer

This is one of the best trailers Dishonored had, and I was actually a little bummed when the game didn’t start out like this, with the Outsider visiting you in prison and Corvo actually going through the court system to be acquitted. It also makes me want a Corvo mask more then anything, because who wouldn’t want one of those? It doesn’t hurt that this trailer is one of the most beautiful looking. Why can’t we have a Dishonored movie, already?

 

Mass Effect 3 Invasion Trailer

Not one of my personal favorites, but awesome nonetheless. I can see why Taryn and Barry were so adamant for this to be a Game of the Year winner.

 

Halo 3 – Believe

Last, but certainly not least, is the amazing Believe trailer by Bungie for their Believe campaign. If I could, I’d dedicate an entire post to Halo’s fantastic marketing campaign (maybe I will someday), but it really makes you want to Believe. It’s the perfect way to end the Bungie Halo trilogy.

The song used is an exquisite classical piece by Frederic Chopin, titled  “Raindrop Prelude”. As intriguing as this trailer is initially with the detailed figurines depicting fear, anguish, and an amplitude of emotions, it is only heightened by using such an unusual but stunning musical arrangement. I think more trailers should think outside the box like this because this trailer truly is extraordinary.

Those are our favorite video game trailers, what are yours? Do you have a favorite or is it too hard to fix? If I had my way, this list would have been completely filled with Halo trailers.