Video game advertising used to focus on hardware and specs rather than gameplay and story. Anyone who grew up in the 80s and 90s remembers the infamous 'Bit Wars' between Nintendo and Sega. The two gaming giants would even put the bits right on the console (remember the Sega Genesis 32X?).
However, there was a shift in the 1990s. Developers started releasing game trailers that showcased more than the capability of the hardware. These were more in-depth, more focused on gameplayܫ and mechanics, and sometimes they were downright cinematic. By the early 2000s, game trailers were an industry standard. Here are the best trailers that the early 2000s had to offer.
9 Demon's Souls (2009)
Trailer
168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Demon’s Souls was the beginning of an era, so it's no surprise that the first Soulsborne game went hard in its trailer. From Software focused the bulk of the trailer on two fronts: gameplay and reviews. Demon's Souls was incredibly well-received, and the developers wanted to remind the viewer of that during every second of their trailer.
And of course, they showcased all the wonderful monsters you'd be fighting, as well as the brutal combat. On top of that, the music is a dark orchestral bop.
8 💯 ꦺ Half-Life 2 (2004)
Trailer
The long-anticipated sequel to its critically-acclaimed predecessor, 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Half-Life 2 finally emerged from production hell in 2004. Although it had been trapped in development for more than s🌜ix years with multiple leaks, th𓆉e game garnered near-perfect reviews. It won more than 35 Game of the Year awards and is still considered by many to be one of the best games of all time.
The trailer gives you the important details. You play as Gordon Freeman again, you’re trapped in a𒆙 place called City 17, and there are lots of things to🔯 blow up. Pay special attention to the rad techno music playing over everything.
7 The Legend O🧸f Zelda: Twilight Princess (2006) 💖
Trailer
Nintendo released a slew of Zelda games between 2000 and 2010. The big three were Majora’s Mask, The Wind Waker, and Twi🍌light Princess. The first two were definitively cute. You played as kid-Link and got into a series of shenanigans (albeit often dire). Then there was Twilight Princess, the edgiest of the bunch. The trailer showcased how raw Link could be and how dark a Zelda game could get.
🏅With a dramatic s🐻ound underscoring images of Link transforming into a wolf, a mysterious girl riding him, and a woman peering out a window, this was a game that demanded attention.
6 Luigi's Mansion (2001)
Trailer
2001 saw Luigi in his first solo game without his more popular brother, Mario. Up to this point, Luigi had almost exclusively existed as a second player option. He was also conspicuously absent fro🎐m Nintendo’s previous Mario titles, Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Sunshine. However, now Luigi was back with his own game.
The trailer begins with Luigi screaming in terror before revealing the title. The gameplay shows Luigi tiptoeing through the mansion, shining his flashlight on g♍hosts before sucking them up with his vacuum, all punctuated by poor Luigi’s screams.
5 🔯 Mass Effect (2007)
Trailer
The first Mass🧔 Effect title also utilized a cinematic marketing strategy. In the short trailer, the Normandy receives a distress beacon but Shepherd denies the planetary distress call and orders the ship to move on. Th🌼e trailer closes with Shepherd landing on another planet in the now infamous Mako and saying, “Many decisions lie ahead, none of them easy.”
Bioware decided to showcase one of the driving mechanics of not only Mass Effect, but also their Dragon Age series: 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:decision making. Mass Effec🦋t emphasized the idea that your decisions mattered and could shift not only the fate of your comrades, but also how the game would end.
4 Resident Evil 4 (2005) ♏
Trailer
The first thing you saw in the trailer for Resident Evil 4 was a warning for gore and violence. That had to be good🐻, right? Then it was monologue time - the protagonist gives you the details about his mission: to rescue the president’s kidnapped daughter from a weird village.
The trailer quickly devolved into a terrific carousel of in-game combat featuring Agent Leon Kennedy mowing down a ☂seemingly endless stream of monsters. The last thing you hear is a gravelly voice saying the name of the game.
3 ♎ Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (2009) ꦅ
Trailer
Of all the trailers on this list, this one may be the most cinematic. It plays more like a movie trailer than a game trail🌳er. We see Nathan Drake once more, as well as his various companions and love interests. There is treasure to be found and ruins to explore. The trailer escalates into a dizzying display of action shots, mostly from the game’s 🅺cinematics rather than from actual gameplay.
This trailer also heavily feꦓatures dialogue, clearly trying to showcase the high level of🤪 writing that went into Uncharted 2.
2 BioShock (2007) ༒
Trailer
This trailer tells you very little. You dive into the sea and witness a city rise from the sea bed. The camera pivots through a window and into the iconic art deco architecture that permeates the BioShock series. The trailer 🐬explains nothing as the camera shifts from a mere camera into a player.
You drag a girl (Little Sister) from a pipe and menace her, only to be assaulted by a man in an old-timey diving suit who has a drill for a h꧙and (Big Daddy). This trailer definitely plays to BioShock’s atmosphere and leaves the viewer wanting more.
1 ꧅ Silent Hill 2 (2001)
Trailer
Easily one of the longest trailers on this list is the E3 trailer for Silent Hill 2, which runs for more than five min🦂utes. Watching it kind of feels like watching a music video. Information is piecemealed to the viewer throughout the trailer, with cinematic scenes melting away into gameplay footage. Eventually, it reluctantly reveals some details: you play as a man named James who is looking for his wife, who he believed was dead.
Many critics claim that this sequel is better than it's prequel, and this trailer definitely highlights why, with its engaging storytelling coupled with intense horror elements.
