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'Man of Medan' sequel 'Little Hope' arrives on October 30th
Supermassive's 'Dark Pictures: Little Hope' cinematic horror game arrives October 30th.
'Battleborn' turned gaming cinematics into high art
The best part of Battleborn is its prologue cinematic. That's not to say the game itself isn't any good -- in fact, it's a wonderful single- and multiplayer experience for the fantastical first-person-shooter crowd. However, the opening video is divine. It's evocative, rich and effortlessly cool, built on a base of smooth hip-hop and anime-inspired, neon-coated illustrations. When I think of Battleborn, my mind is immediately saturated in the cinematic's soulful rhythm. This is a new brand of video game artistry. As a game, Battleborn doesn't feature cartoon characters; it's a fully realized 3D experience from Gearbox, the creators of Borderlands. In the same vein as Borderlands, Battleborn is highly stylized, but it looks nothing like the opening cinematic. That was on purpose.
SMITE's cinematic trailer on the eve of the World Championships
SMITE is hosting championships (with its gigantic and record-setting prize pool) very soon, and the team behind the game wants players excited. What's the best way to get players excited? Why, with a three-minute cinematic trailer in which a bunch of characters beat one another up, naturally. Look, it's not as if there's a whole lot of additional lore here that hasn't been chronicled in various mythological texts anyway. The rivalry between Thor and Guan Yi isn't usually acknowledged by mythology experts, but that's doubtlessly an oversight. The point is that if you want to watch an improbably busty goddess tap about in heals while fighting a wolf-beast, now is your chance. Click on past the break to watch the full trailer. It may not give you a whole lot of insight into mythology, but it will give you an idea of the game, at least. [Source: Hi-Rez Studios press release]
Destiny's Dark Below DLC trailer leaks
A cinematic for Destiny's The Dark Below expansion has reportedly leaked. The video found after the break, courtesy of YouTube user Mr Jester6598, seems a lot like a standard trailer that sets up the game's upcoming DLC. Information on future Destiny add-ons has been prone to spill across the web in the past few months; Bungie confirmed a leak of two DLC packs' mission names and descriptions in September, followed by the discovery of an entire map on Venus for the House of Wolves expansion in October. The Dark Below will launch on December 9 for $20, and is part of the game's $35 season pass program. Aside from The Dark Below's story missions fixated on the Hive's plans to summon a pretty mean god known as Crota, the DLC adds a special Sparrow vehicle to the game that allows players to perform tricks at high speeds. Bungie will also add some free content to the game at The Dark Below's launch, such as additional gear and five additional bounty slots. hose still on the fence about playing Bungie's latest FPS can check out the game's trial, which launched this week with the ability to transfer players' demo progress to the full version of the game, should they choose to upgrade. [Image: Activision]
Report: Cutscene from Halo: Master Chief Collection leaks
A cutscene from Halo: The Master Chief Collection reportedly leaked during a Twitch stream of the game. The video briefly shows a loading screen that lists The Heretic level from Halo 2 before showing Agent Locke talking to Arbiter about hunting down Master Chief. Some viewers believe the scene may bridge the original Halo trilogy with the coming Xbox One exclusive, Halo 5: Guardians, as Locke has a role in the next game in the series. Head past the break to check the video out for yourself, but act fast, as these types of leaked videos tend to disappear quickly. Halo: The Master Chief Collection will launch on November 11 for Xbox One. [Image: Microsoft]
Go behind the scenes on a Bless cinematic
Remember Bless? It's been a while since we've heard from the Korean fantasy import, but today we learned of a new video that takes you behind the scenes for the making of a cinematic as well as a 1,000-player focus group test slated for the Korean market on November 6th. MMO Culture reports that Bless features "an epic storyline and conflicts between various factions and races which will lead to massive PvP battles." You can view the trailer after the cut.
Star Trek Online's Delta Rising cinematic has... arisen
Star Trek Online's Delta Rising expansion technically went live yesterday, but today's the official launch, and that means a brand-new cinematic and fresh screenshots. The update bumps the character level cap to 60, ushers in a partial Voyager cast, and adds a new tier of ships, gear, and officers to the roster. Enjoy the trailer and pics!
Star Citizen working to develop ships faster than before
In a new monthly report, the makers of Star Citizen said that they have restructured their internal process so that they can pump out new ships even faster. Some of these new ships include the Herald, Carrack, Reclaimer, Avenger variants, and 890 Jump. "We have been hard at work refining our process and improving our workflow so that we can develop ships more quickly and more efficiently than we have ever done before," the team writes. "The creation of new ships for Star Citizen is an incredibly complex and detailed process, so it made sense to move it to LA where Chris [Roberts] can maintain oversight and provide direction to everyone involved." The report also touched on the fleshing out of Arena Commander, preparations for upcoming conventions, the hiring of new personnel, and improvements to ships' HUDs. One thing to look forward to is a brand-new cinematic that should arrive within the week.
Blizzard presents Behind the Scenes on Lords of War
If you were wondering how they came up with the idea to do the Lords of War series, Blizzard has a pretty awesome video for you to watch, up on IGN now. This behind the scenes look into the development process of the Lords of War series is interesting for what you find out you didn't get as much as for what you did. I also loved finding out that Maraad is voiced by Crispin Freeman, aka Red Arrow from Young Justice. It's very cool to get to see him explaining what he's up to in the story, and in general I liked getting to see what went into the making of this video series. You should definitely check it out. It's up on IGN right now.
Lords of War Part Two: Grommash Hellscream
The second installment of Blizzards animated short series Lords of War debuted today, shedding more background on the leader of the Iron Horde: Grommash Hellscream. There's not doubt that Grommash is a pivotal figure in the upcoming expansion, with his son, Garrosh, having been a central figure in the Mists of Pandaria. Like the previous installment of Lords of War, the new episode opens with Maraad urging Varian to take the offensive and march through the new Dark Portal to face the Iron Horde head on. He then goes on to tell the tale of the events that earned Grommash the undying loyalty of his Warsong clan and how he, against incredible odds, bested the ogre nations united against him. We also get a glimpse of Grommash's mate, Golka, and her fate at the hands of the retaliating ogres. Check out Lords of War Part Two: Grommash, and learn more about the senior Hellscream, and what makes him who he is.
Here's Shroud of the Avatar's opening cinematic
Shroud of the Avatar's Release 9 is less than a week away, and Portalarium is whetting fan appetites by showing off the fantasy sandbox's opening cinematic. There are a bunch of other interesting tidbits in this week's newsletter, too, including pics and maps of Release 9's Ardoris, a call for player-written books, and even a level designer job opening. The cinematic's the main attraction, though, and you can view it after the break!
WRUP: Orcs orcs orcs
The weekend's here. It's been one hell of a week, hasn't it? This is not the place to discuss all the headlines, though; just the WoW ones. Among the news of the day, we've finally seen the cinematic. And while we could opine about plenty of the week's events, let's stay focused on that. Of course, that means we need to ask the obvious question: What did you think of the WoD cinematic? Was it everything you hoped for? What do you think of the fan reaction to it?
Animated miniseries Lords of War makes its debut
In addition to the cinematic and a bunch of previews, the Community Event also handed us a sneak preview of Lords of War, the new animated series covering the history and backstory for each of the warlords we're going to meet when we step through the Dark Portal and confront them on Draenor. The first is the Shattered Hand. The series has an interesting premise -- King Varian is faced with the same force that destroyed Stormwind under his father's rule and he's desperately trying to figure out how he can beat what his father couldn't. Vindicator Maraad faced them on his Draenor, so he has the dirt on each of the warlords. We get the story from him. I'm not sure how well that works when we're dealing with an alternate Draenor, but it makes for some well-animated storytelling, I'll tell you that much. So head on over and watch episode one of Lords of War and get ready for the remaining episodes.
SMITE launches today with new cinematic trailer
It's the official launch day for SMITE and Hi-Rez Studios is celebrating with a brand new cinematic that shows off a few of the game's MOBA gods in action. SMITE has been in open beta since January 24th, 2013 and has enjoyed a surge in popularity, making it Hi-Rez Studio's fastest-growing game to date. You can download the game for free from its main website and be sure to check out our extensive coverage of the game including videos and livestreams. Don't forget the cinematic trailer just after the jump.
New level 90 boost trailer pushes Warlords... with gnomes!
We knew level 90 boosts were coming, but in this new Warlords of Draenor trailer, Blizzard's pushing the boosts as a reason to buy. You can escape the endless leveling desert and finally play with your friends by buying Warlords -- which is all well and good, but it does strike us as a bit odd that Blizzard is promoting the game by suggesting that playing the game up to level 90 is something tedious and awful that you would not want to do. However, the obvious highlight of this trailer is gnomes making their cinematic debut. Finally, we see a gnome taking center-stage... as a level 61 wandering aimlessly through Tanaris. (That's why you haven't hit level 90 yet, Mr. Gnome -- you're in Tanaris. Maybe if you'd gone through Un'Goro and Silithus and then headed to the Dark Portal you'd have made some progress.) But now that this gnome is finally level 90, we can only assume that we'll be seeing more gnomes showing up in future, right Blizzard? [Thanks to many tipsters who sent this in!] Editor's note: Pre-purchase of Warlords is not available at this time -- no official announcements have been made about pre-ordering just yet.
Blizzard unleashes Diablo III: Reaper of Souls commercial
If you were watching Sunday night's episode of The Walking Dead, you may have noticed a little commercial for Blizzard's Diablo III: Reaper of Souls. Blizz is certainly no stranger to TV commercials, and this cinematic trailer gives us a glimpse into the good-vs.-evil plot of the new expansion that's set to go live on March 25. You can now update to the pre-patch which already includes plenty of goodies to tide you over before launch, and be sure to watch the commercial included after the jump below.
League of Legends reveals new cinematic trailer: A Twist of Fate
If you've been following the League of Legends competitive scene, you've probably noticed tiny cinematic snippets in promotional videos for big events. Those little clips have all been part of a huge effort at Riot Games spanning the past several years and aiming to create an epic cinematic trailer. Following last night's conclusion of the League of Legends All-Star event in Shanghai, Riot finally released its impressive four-and-a half-minute cinematic trailer A Twist of Fate. The video has been met with a huge response from fans, reaching over 1.2 million views in less than 24 hours. Continue past the cut to watch the full embedded trailer or head over to YouTube to watch the Behind the Scenes video on the making of the trailer.
Plastic Wax Studios targets MMO and mobile cinematics
If you found yourself impressed when you watched the four-minute cinematic opening for Neverwinter, then address all kudos and praise to Plastic Wax Studios. The company has previously focused on console titles, although it recently stated that it is branching out to provide cinematics for MMOs and mobile titles as well. Executive Vice President Dane Maddams touts the studio's high fidelity and skill when it comes to these trailers: "We aimed to really push technology and art to compelling and cutting edge realism with our recent release of the Director's Cut cinematic for Perfect World's Neverwinter. The cinematics were carefully designed to enhance the story in a never seen before narrative and build anticipation for the title to new heights." If you haven't watched the Neverwinter cinematic yet, you can do so after the jump. [Source: Plastic Wax Studios press release]
Breakfast Topic: What have WoW's cinematic trailers inspired you to try in game?
It should have surprised no one that a recent Breakfast Topic poll showed fully one-third of WoW Insider readers were inspired to roll a druid by World of Warcraft's original cinematic trailer. The night elf's fluid spring into cat form set the tone for the game's portrayal of Azeroth, showing us a foreign world we could slip into as naturally as diving into water. Want to lose yourself in fantasy? Simply make the leap. Doubtless, other trailers have provided equally fertile seeds for active player imaginations. The Mists of Pandaria cinematic (shown above) not only treats viewers to a gritty yet humorous glimpse of the expansion, but also dangles a hint at an in-game achievement for eagle-eyed viewers. Have you checked this achievement off your list yet? While many players only watch Blizzard's trailers when they first come out as part of the amp-up, ramp-up pre-expansion frenzy, others dwell over each trailer's minutiae. Where is the story headed? Is there a new look or sound that might carry over into the game world? Are there clues or glimpses of important lore background or fresh story developments? What has caught your fancy in WoW's cinematic trailers? Have you ever changed your plans on what to play and do in an expansion based on what you saw in a trailer? Are any of your characters based on characters or scenes you spotted in a trailer?
Breakfast Topic: Did you roll a druid because of this cinematic?
If you've been around the World of Warcraft for any length of time, doubtless you're intimately familiar with the original game cinematic. To this day, this classic promo is cited again and again by countless players who rolled a druid after imagining themselves bounding through Azeroth in cat form. Me, it was that dwarf who lit my fire. I don't even like dwarves, and it took me years to get around to playing one (which I eventually did only because I wanted to see my pigtails spin around above my head while I healed). But that dwarf ... He's perfect. He's utterly perfect. The setting, high above it all, his expression, his craggy countenance ... The bear ... Their chaotic return later in the cinematic ... That dwarf embodied the essence of the hunting, exploring, and personal, concrete life in the virtual world I wanted to inhabit. Did something from this or another cinematic inspire you to roll a particular character? And if it was this cinematic from classic, did you roll a druid? %Poll-80726%
