Some E3 2009 Trailers

So E3 — arguably the world’s largest video game conference — took place last week. Which means tons of new teasers, trailers, and walkthroughs as companies do their best to get gamers hyped up and drooling in anticipation. Below are a few of these videos that caught my eye (I’ve been able to resist drooling for the most part).

Yes, I know plenty of shame has already been heaped on the Star Wars prequels. Well, I’m going to heap on some more. Simply put, my first thought after seeing this promotional cinematic for Star Wars: The Old Republic — a new MMORPG being developed by BioWare — was that it was so much better than the prequels combined. Ass-kicking action sequences aside, I felt more emotion and drama coming from these CG characters than I did from most of the prequels’ principle actors.

I’ve never played any of the Splinter Cell games, but this commented walkthrough from Splinter Cell: Conviction really piqued my interest. The gameplay options, such as tagging targets, seem perfectly tuned to let you be the biggest bad-ass around, but I really love the projection storytelling device, in which memories, mission assignments, etc. are projected on the environment as you move through it. It’s an interesting way to present important mission information and reveal character info, but even more importantly, it, along with the editing choices, lends the game a fluid, cinematic look and feel that could draw the player even deeper into the storyline.

I’m contractually obligated to mention the Mass Effect franchise whenever I can, so here you go, the most recent full-length teaser/trailer for Mass Effect 2.

It’s 7+ minutes of Final Fantasy XIII. ‘Nuff said.