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WORTH WATCHING

Worth Watching: A Few of the Best Cinematic Trailers from E3 2011

by Kent Lundblad
June 9, 2011
Source: The 72 Pins

With video game convention E3 coming to a close today in Los Angeles, I asked my friend Kent Lundblad of gaming blog The 72 Pins to drop by FS.net today with a brief commentary and good selection of cinematic game trailers that would be the best to feature on a movie blog like this. So to compliment that Star Trek 2012 game trailer we featured earlier in the week, here's a few more cinematics from E3 2011 to check out.

Ubisoft has been making a lot of headlines lately when they revealed that they wish to pursue making their own films based on their AAA gaming titles. I've always said that the best people to adapt a story from one medium to another are the people who care about it the most. Hiring a director who has no attachment to a gaming series is only going to upset the fan base and will never turn out a product that's true to its roots. That's why I'm excited that Ubisoft is going forward with making a 3D movie based on Assassin's Creed.

At this E3 this year, they showed a brand new trailer for the final part of the main character Ezio's long journey. He's taken on corruption in Italy, even the pope in Rome and now he must find the secrets his ancestor Altair left around the world. This beauty is the definition of a cinematic trailer.

Assassin's Creed Revelations:

Next, the third entry in the Uncharted series, Drake's Deception, is out this year. This has always been one of those games that is just as enjoyable to watch being played as it is to play. Lush environments and visuals set a standard for big tentpole action sequences. Some of it would even make Michael Bay go "Woah... that's impressive". Often compared to Firefly in tone and character types, the game has a charm that can't be denied. Now once again Drake, his trusted pal Sully, and the two girls fighting over his heart must find some kind of treasure in the middle of no where. Of course it's a race against time, someone else is after it... this is what you come to expect from this genre of adventure game. Another beautiful cinematic.

Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception:

Over on the EA Games side of the of the gaming mountain you have yet another trilogy coming to a close. Mass Effect 3 hits early next year and is easily one of the most anticipated games of 2012. Many gamers have noted that the new Star Trek series adapts it's visuals very heavily from this series and it's easy to see why they'd want to. Here's hoping the upcoming Star Trek game, a prequel to the next film will deliver equally good game play. Check this awesome trailer out as Commander Shepard and crew must fight the reapers, a race of mechanical machines, as they attack Earth.

Mass Effect 3:

Taking a cue from one of the most cinematic directors of all time Gearbox Software have made a World War II game that follows the ideas put forth by their two previous franchises. Combining the Brothers in Arms series with their team and class based FPS/RPG franchise Boarderlands, they've made Brothers in Arms Furious 4. A World War II action shooter that looks very much inspired by the more gruesome moments of Inglourious Basterds. The trailer opens up in a pub very much like the one in Nazi Occupied France from the Tarantino epic and then all hell breaks loose. To say it looks awesome is an understatement.

Brothers in Arms Furious 4:

It wasn't that long ago that we heard about a Peter Jackson produced Halo film which eventually degraded into District 9, a fresh and fun take on sci-fi and aliens on Planet Earth. Now the Halo franchise will continue the story of Master Chief with an all new trilogy. After an epic continuous shot with new tools and a somewhat new look, MC finds the ship he was floating on through space has taken quite a lot of damage and is heading for something really REALLY Big. Halo has taken a note from a ton of different film styles. There's the obvious James Cameron Aliens influence, as well as Independence Day when it comes to the scope of some of the moments on planets... but here I get a feeling that screams Star Wars! Don't you?

Halo 4:

Of course, that's just a small sampling of the cinematic greatness that's come out of E3 this week. Be sure to check out The72Pins.com for more trailers, daily gaming news, video rundowns and plenty more over the next few days as we process all of the gaming goodness coming out of LA and E3 2011. And thank you for allowing us to take you on this brief excursion from movies to the world of video games this week.

Filed under General, Opinions, To Watch

From around the web:

http://twitter.com/QuanahTweets Quanah

Love Halo.
Anonymous

halo = most overrated game(s) in the history of gaming
- NICK S.
  
  i'd probably feel the same way if i had invested in a PS3. at least you got Drake's Fortune, right? that's, uh... kinda cool?
  - Anonymous
    
    i love how 360 fanboys automatically feel the need to defend themselves. i'm no fanboy, i own all 3 consoles, and ya, i like drakes fortune. you jelly? that said, halo is still overrated. i'd probably feel the same as you tho if i was still 10.
    - http://www.facebook.com/DaftBunk Kent Lundblad
      
      I'd ask you to explain how it's over rated. Perfect match making support, stat tracking across every game, customizable characters and loadouts and then you have The Forge tied into that. Even if you don't like Halo as a story based franchise you can't deny that Bungie set a standard for what console multiplayer would be over the next decade.
    - Anonymous
      
      I bet it hasn't been THAT long since you were 10...
      - Anonymous
        
        lol, go flame somewhere else. i'm 27, you? that comment already says something about it i guess. honestly tho, i'll be the 1st to admit i'm biased to pc fps's. so comparing genres over different platforms isn't really fair. but there really wasn't anything incredible about the story or game play. I'd rather play some good old counter-strike. Kent is right though, in that Bungie did good for setting new bars for console multiplayers.
  - RhythmDave
    
    and um... metal gear? the best game franchise ever! ..and resistance which is pretty much exactly the same as halo only the characters don't wear the suits, big woopty freakin dooo
  - Oh hello.
    
    Get a job, and maybe you could own more than once console.
- http://pulse.yahoo.com/_MTEO7RKG3IO7LOJZ3GJJ5NSOOI john s
  
  Give me tribes over halo any day.
- Lebowski
  
  It's certainly overrated in a story and narrative sense, but Halo 2 offered the most sublime multiplayer experience of it's generation. Sony had literally nothing that could compete with it at the time. Halo 3's multiplayer is great as well, but Sony is much more competitive in the shooter stakes these days. At the end of the day, there is no point discussing console fps' anyway, since the fps = half life. the end.
  - Anonymous
    
    I only played Halo once when I got the first XBox and the original Halo came with it, but after all the hype about I ended up greatly disappointed and ultimately never really got into it. Personally, I prefer stuff like Alien Swarm and L4D/L4D2. I guess I would call it overrated myself, just because I don't get its appeal, but I admit that due to my very limited experience with it I can't make a fair assessment. I still kinda like the franchise by default, just because with Red vs. Blue it spawned the best machinima ever! I just don't think the games are as super amazing as people always say. But, who says it has to be for everyone? P.S.: Yes yes yes @ the Half Life comment.
  - Anonymous
    
    HL ftw
- Anonymous
  
  It's not over-rated, you just don't like it cause so many people play it...
- Anonymous
  
  I am right there with you man. I only played the first two and after that cared nothing more for the sereis. I had fun playing them but with all the hype that came with I was expecting my mind to get blown. For me gaming will always be about the single player experience, the narrative. Multiplayer offers nothing but mindless entertainment, which I can only do for so long. The enemies in Halo are corny and I didnt find the story very compelling....but at least it looked good?
  - Jericho
    
    THANK YOU, i am a single player man myself, i have played all the games, not for the multiplayer, but for the single-player and its only because im a completest of why i played all of them...so needless to say i will be getting this....but the story always leaves too much to offer and i wish for more each time it ends..... thats why im a Call of Duty/Half Life guy.....
Andrew P

When i first saw the trailer for halo 4 and assassins creed i got chills
- JL
  
  That Revelations trailer gave me goosebumps. Assassin's Creed games look and play great, but those few cinematics they make are outstanding. This is the best one they've done, and it looks so good, they could do a feature length movie like that. Hell, there have been at least two CG Final Fantasy movies, and they don't really look that impressive.
  - http://twitter.com/serke serke
    
    I've seen the trailer 3 times now, and still with the chills. Especially now with Ezio older, it's giving me an old Snake vibe. A nd the ghost of Altair... 2 was much better gameplay, but I'll always have a soft spot for Altair's story.
Ron

Can't wait for Uncharted! I just hope the Assassin Creed movie doesn't end up like Prince of Persia.
- JL
  
  *Fingers crossed*
NICK S.

Mass Effect and Halo 4, please & thank you.
http://www.facebook.com/rob.viens Rob Viens

Ezio is so friggin badass!! I can't wait for this game... which I guess means I should finally get around to finishing Brotherhood...
http://www.facebook.com/DaftBunk Kent Lundblad

Thank you so much to Alex for letting me write this. I feel totally privileged and I hope you all check out our site http://The72Pins.com for more gaming news and our weekly podcast.
Anonymous

You can check this bundle to see all E3 best cinematic in best resolution : http://itsartm.ag/l3n2uY If you don't have time to check them all I would recomment these three : Hitman Absolution : http://itsartm.ag/iYGW9o Tomb Raider Turning Point : http://itsartm.ag/lRaqM7 And the impressive Armored Core V : http://itsartm.ag/m1TsOy?r=bb The most impressive E3 game cinematic in my opinion
- Anonymous
  
  Kent...I'm surprised you missed the Armor Core 5 trailer, very beautiful. I'd pay money to see such a movie in the theaters.
  - http://www.facebook.com/DaftBunk Kent Lundblad
    
    We didn't miss it, we just didn't think it was one of the best.
T_lynn4

Star Wars: The Old Republic E3 trailer is my favorite. (all of the cinematics for this game have been awesome)
http://www.facebook.com/MrDuarte Daniel Duarte

Should add the new hitman trailer on here. That was cinematic brilliance.
Andrew_t29

No mention of the Star Wars:Old Republic cinematic trailer? It was one of the best...it could easily been ripped from a movie.
- http://www.facebook.com/DaftBunk Kent Lundblad
  
  The reason I didn't add that is because it didn't feature enough new material. It was a mash up of everything we'd seen in the past. I do think it's awesome, I can't wait to play it, but as far as being the best of this E3... just not for me. Did you see the 10 minute demo of the Tattooine missions? They're on our site.
  - Coyotecha
    
    you got the wrong trailer man http://www.swtor.com/media/trailers/return
    - http://www.facebook.com/DaftBunk Kent Lundblad
      
      Oh that's not a trailer. I will admit it's great, but we were asked to get trailers together for this article by Alex. That's the opening credits.
      - KyleRayner
        
        But it's used as a trailer no? I dont get it.
      - http://www.facebook.com/DaftBunk Kent Lundblad
        
        No it's not used as a trailer. They didn't show it at a conference. They're releasing it saying "This is the opening cinematic of the game" not "this is a trailer". Trailers aren't 7 minutes long.
Johnson

I agree with Daniel, next to the Revelations trailer, Absolution was the most cinematic teaser of e3. Both blow away most of the other trailers released.
Cody W.

Star wars the old republic trailer you should really add it, it nearly blows all of these away if it wasnt for that insanely badass AC trailer.
xamel

Halo and Mass Effect are the Star Wars and Star Trek of this generation. Anyone who knows both universes can agree with this.
- http://www.facebook.com/DaftBunk Kent Lundblad
  
  I wouldn't put Halo on the level of Star Wars or Star Trek. It hasn't pushed its story far enough or developed it's characters enough yet.
- equustel
  
  Um, no. I know all four universes and I cannot agree, sorry. Star Wars and Star Trek are equivalent to modern mythology. Halo and Mass Effect have not even had an eighth of an impact on the public consciousness.
  - Jericho
    
    THEY STILL DO NOT HAVE FULL AUTO SHOTGUNS!!!!...even Call of Duty used the AA12....
Angry Chief

I swear to god, if half of Halo 4 is fighting the damn Flood, I am out.
- Anonymous
  
  Agreed. Although I still hold out hope they'll fix the lame restrictions in Forge. Yeah I want a map of nothing but 5x5 flat walls, so what! How am I supposed to build a respectable Death Star. DARN YOU BUNGIE. DARN YOU TO HECK.
Nate

The new cinematic trailer for Star Wars the Old Republic was amazing Here it is for those who havent seen it: http://youtu.be/D3kc1kamwew And its just over 6 min long, like a mini movie...awesome!
http://www.facebook.com/ayotunde.afolabi Ayotunde Afolabi

New Tomb Raider trailer!!!! Where it b?
- http://www.facebook.com/DaftBunk Kent Lundblad
  
  We felt the gameplay footage was better than the trailer so we didn't include it. You can find it out our site http://the72pins.com
  - Anonymous
    
    ...and now I know why you didn't include Arkham City.
Anonymous

The Assassin's Creed trailer was absolutely amazing. Ezio is such a badass and all grown up, sporting a manly beard now. And a cameo of Altair (as a vision and/or guide I assume), omg! Such beautiful animation. If you pre-order the Assassin's Creed SE it comes with a mini animated movie, fuck yeah!This and the SW:TOR cinematic are by far the greatest things that came out of E3 this year. I can't wait for either game.
- Anonymous
  
  Gorgeous yes, great yes. Amazing, no. Ezio looked eeriely like a young Micheal Corleone/Al Pacino, which to me is disappointing. That and the fact the trailer has no inkling of a story.
equustel

So much love for Uncharted. I can't think of any modern video game characters more endeared to me than Drake, Elena, Sully and company. More developers need to work on making their characters click as well as Naughty Dog's.
eru88

Tomb Raider was for me the surprise of E3, the demo looked great. The people of this page would have like far cry 3 and the bad guy speech, that was awesome. Really excited for halo 4 and bioshock infinite. Bioshock 1 might be my favorite game of all time.
- http://www.facebook.com/DaftBunk Kent Lundblad
  
  Far Cry 3 didn't have a trailer, that was a game demo. Also most people online HATED the bad guy and his speech. It was corny, over the top and poorly voice acted.
  - Cody W.
    
    Maybe YOU hated it, I had friends were at the live demo and gaming news sites comments were mostly positive. I thought it looked awesome, dont say most people when its just obviously your opinion.
    - http://www.facebook.com/DaftBunk Kent Lundblad
      
      Hey Cody? Yeah I do this for a living. I had friends who were there too. I have friends who write for IGN and several other gaming sites and they thought that the bad guy was over the top and awful and were joking about it during the whole rest of the conference. I didn't like it, but that's not the point either... THAT WASN'T A TRAILER. This is a post about TRAILERS. That was a LIVE DEMO. Thanks <3
      - Cody W.
        
        Its funny you mention IGN....that site went down the drain 5 years ago for me. Sorry, Im looking at my comment now and I kinda seem like an ignorant jackass though, its just your opinion. I thought it was pretty good, over the top isnt something I complain about when it comes to story in a series like Far cry.
Nimoko

Shame you didnt include the new Tomb Raider trailer, I'd love for more people to be aware of how great that looks
Chazzy

What is that BIA game? That is an abomination and an insult to the series. Sure it might be a fun game, but it is NOT a Brothers in Arms game, and so far off from what the series has been. Kinda sad.
- http://www.facebook.com/DaftBunk Kent Lundblad
  
  That BIA game is actually developed from the original developers. They know it's a departure. It uses the mechanics of Boarderlands so think of it as a weird hybrid of the two.
  - Chazzy
    
    I know its from the same people, but it just isn't like the old games at all. Just call it something else at least.
    - http://www.facebook.com/DaftBunk Kent Lundblad
      
      they are calling it something else... It's Brother's in Arms: Furious 4. The subtitle alone I think distances itself from the series proper. Just because something isn't like the old games doesn't mean it's not good, or worthy of a name.
Jericho

Uncharted should've been a movie years ago. Assassins Creed..not so much, mostly because the trailers hide what the plot twists are....
Jcs012872

Halo by thy name!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Said

All right everyone settle down with the game argument... look I'm a big game fanatic too, I love Halo (story and gameplay) and there are game I don't play, but if I don't like that doesn't mean I hate or that its "overrated," I hate how people say that just cause its not in they're console or just cause they don't like it, atleast show some respect, like kent said, appreciate it for raising the bar (I'm paraphrasing of course)
redguy

seen all trailers, many beautiful, like armored core, and SW...but Assassin's Creed was the most realistic, the lights, the renderings, the life-like movement, the cheesy "kill him already stop playing with your prey" theme, the "i'm a 60 year old assassin with an arrowtip in my shoulder but i can kill dozens in an open field while looking at a vision of Altair" thing. And you'll never get to see these things in the game ofc, the cinematic is only to build tension. Anyway, 10 out of 10 for that cinematic ubisoft, really amazing stuff, near perfection. I can't wait to see how your cinematics will look in 10 years, better that blizzard's?
redguy

and now reading that they want to do an Assassin's creed movie, i am really looking forward to it, this will be a gem of a movie.
doner

you guys are all losers for fighting over games while the developers are making millions for coming out with the same thing every year. Let's get something new for a change.