Updated: Feb. 17, 2011; 3:15 p.m. PST
A great trailer can get you pumped for a videogame, but let’s practice some cautious optimism.
The trailer for Dead Island, scheduled to launch for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC at some point in 2011, is a riveting tease of the long-delayed zombie shooter. It may be the best videogame trailer I’ve ever seen; gorgeous, well-edited and emotionally engaging. The music is somber and the visuals are utterly harrowing. It makes the oversaturated zombie genre seem appealing again.
Only thing is, this isn’t really a game trailer in the traditional sense. It’s not a series of clips from the game. It’s a short film that takes place in the world of Dead Island.
“This trailer is meant to be illustrative of a scenario that might befall a typical vacationing family on the island,” a representative for publisher Deep Silver told Wired.com. Though the trailer is said to capture the game’s solemn tone and setting, it is not the same thing.
The trailer drummed up a lot of buzz for developer Techland, best known for the Western-themed Call of Juarez series. It’s been hyped by major pop-culture magazines and became a trending topic on Twitter.
It’s absolutely true that Dead Island could turn out to be a fantastic game, as some first-look previews are suggesting. But everyone is hyped up about a short film, not the game itself.
First and foremost, Techland didn’t make the Dead Island trailer — according to Develop, Scottish studio Axis Animation was in charge of production. Presumably the two teams worked together on the teaser, but we don’t know from whom the ideas sprung.
The game might feel nothing like what we’ve seen here. Juarez got mixed reviews, though a sequel fared somewhat better.
I’m reminded of 2007, back when Square Enix finally released a trailer for the long-delayed, highly anticipated Final Fantasy XIII. The trailer was flashy and gorgeous, hyping up even the most casual of RPG fans. Then, after several years filled with delays, the game was a resounding disappointment. The trailer gave a false impression of the game, making it seem like a project that was well-along in development when in fact it was still flailing to find a direction.
If Dead Island’s experience and emotional impact are anything close to this trailer, it could be a great game. But perhaps we should wait until we actually see the game itself before we start drawing those links.
