The video game industry is worth billions of dollars. Consoles and games are constantly evolving. Graphics and gameplay are usually the two features gamers care about most. But lately, the element of storytelling in games has become more prominent. Gamers have begun to care more and more about the back stories and plots involved. Video games have always had plots, but the plot was just an excuse to move the game along, usually nothing more than that. Now, however, games are increasingly becoming outlets to tell stories, many of which rival the (mostly unoriginal) Hollywood blockbusters being churned out nowadays. Here are ten trailers for modern video games that could easily pass as previews playing before a summer blockbuster.
10. Grand Theft Auto 4
The controversial series from Rockstar Games has always had pretty good character development, but this one takes the cake. Players control Niko Bellic, a war veteran from an unnamed Eastern European country, who comes to America to pursue the riches and dreams promised by his cousin, but instead he gets caught up in the city’s vast criminal underground.
9. Splinter Cell: Conviction
The series of stealth games have always been popular. In the latest installment, players control the usual protagonist, Sam Fisher, this time hunting down those who killed his daughter.
8. Assassin’s Creed II
In this stealth/action platformer, players control Ezio Auditore da Firenze, an assassin in Renaissance Venice.
7. Resistance: Fall of Man
Set in England in 1951, the game highlights an alternate history. World War 2 never happened, as an alien invasion and subsequent plague wiped out most of Europe. The Chimera sweep across Asia and Europe, killing those who resist and transforming those captured into monstrous drones to augment their forces. In 1951, American soldiers land in England, the last unconquered country in Europe.
6. Halo 3
The incredibly popular series caps off it’s main trilogy, and does so in style. The armored soldier Master Chief fights to end the war between humans and the alien Covenant once and for all.
5. Bioshock
[Graphic Content] Andrew Ryan invests his money in creating an underwater city called Rapture. Rapture resides in international waters, and is not confined by petty laws, religions, or capitalism. Only great thinkers, scientists, and artists are allowed to live there. Due to the ethical freedom, genetic science gets an unchecked boost, resulting in powerful and crazy junkies, evil little girls, and nearly invincible monster bodyguards.
4. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
In 2016, the world is in pieces. Russia has been taken over by the Ultranationalist party, a hostile government. An American soldier is embedded into a Russian extremist’s party. He uses the undercover American to frame a severe terrorist attack on America, and an invasion and war soon follow.
3. Halo 3: ODST
The only live-action trailer on the list goes to Halo 3: ODST. This is an extension on Halo 3, but it is it’s own game. This time, you play as a squad of Orbital Drop Shock Troopers, the most elite soldiers in the human military. They are the first in, and the last out of the fight. The game is a refreshing new take on the old and familiar Halo formula.
2. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
The action adventure game is part Indiana Jones, part Gears of War, part Modern Warfare 2, and all kick ass. The game won several Game of the Year awards, and was renowned for it’s in-depth story and great voice acting.
1. Gears of War
Gears of War tells the story of a war-torn, Earth-like planet that is in a near-constant state of war. After being ravaged by the 70-year long Pendulum Wars (fought over an invaluable resource called Imulsion), humans finally reached peace only to be attacked by underground monsters called The Locust Horde. Their motivation for attack is still a mystery, but the weary humans still fight. This is one of the best uses of Gary Jules’ cover of Mad World that I have ever seen.
