Mirror’s Edge
Earlier in the year, there was a lot of talk of how DICE had created a first-person free-running game that was vastly different from anything the Battlefield-developer — or anyone else for that matter — had done before. The select journalists who had been shown Mirror’s Edge behind closed doors did a good job of whetting everyone’s appetites for some tangible footage through the first previews, and when that footage arrived, we were glad EA and DICE had the balls to skip the pre-rendered designed-to-create-hype trailer in favor of introducing the parkour-inspired game to the public through 100% in-game, actual real-time gameplay footage, and nothing else.
Prince of Persia
It’s not often that a trailer makes us want to kick back with a bag of popcorn and watch it on repeat, but that’s just what the über-awesome story trailer for the new Prince of Persia accomplished. Sporting production values that rival some of the biggest-budget Hollywood movies, the over-five-minute video provides a ridiculously in-depth back-story that leads so perfectly into the game itself, it should be mandatory viewing before enjoying the hands-on experience itself. With excellent narration, gorgeous story-telling sequences and just a touch of the dark vibes of the game, it may just be the best trailer of the year. In fact, the trailer is so amazingly well-made that you might start to feel guilty watching it for free. Don’t worry, there’s a remedy for that — buy the game, as it’s sure to be the best way to spend those leftover Holiday giftcards you forgot to give.
LittleBigPlanet
One of the biggest challenges facing Media Molecule and Sony was making sure people actually “got” LittleBigPlanet. The tri-pointed fork of Play, Create, Share is admittedly not the most accessible of philosophies, especially for a generation of gamer whose experience of the medium doesn’t extend that far beyond Wii Music or Mario Kart, yet this is LittleBigPlanet’s core audience.
The ‘Play with Everything’ adverts were great because they put LittleBigPlanet in a real human light. They show the game as a form of expression, not just passive consumption. In many ways they take the idea of Play, Create, Share and change it from a sequence of activities into one big mess and show that the creations and sharing are all parts of play and not mere afterthoughts.
World of Warcraft
There is an undeniable charm to these ads for World of Warcraft, featuring celebrities that are not only brilliant choices by the quirks of their character but also by their broad cultural influence and appeal. What is most interesting about these adverts is not that they are so entertaining, or that they feature icons of popular culture, but that they mark a shift in emphasis for the game. World of Warcraft is no longer just a game; it’s a fully fledged brand with its own associations, heritage, economy and traditions.
Arguably, one of the reasons why the PC has seemed to falter in the last few years is that the PC as a platform itself has been unable to stand up to the powerful brands of PlayStation, Xbox, iPod etc. in the eyes of consumers. With no one actually out to represent and defend the platform it has created a void for strong software, like World of Warcraft or The Sims, to expand into and fill.
