The best video game trailers of 2011

Behind every successful game is an awesome trailer (to a certain extent) that totally pumps you up in the build up to its release. While some studios go the teaser way, showing you just a logo or some random image, which you’re supposed to decipher; others blow the doors wide open with flashy trailers that entertain, but also provide an insight to gameplay mechanics. Today we honour the best game trailers of 2011.

Dead Island



Dead Island's trailer made a huge impact on the gaming media, because no one really knew what the game was all about. Sure, we were aware that the game had zombies (the name kind of gave that away), but when a happy vacationing family was torn apart by the undead, we wondered if this was the emotional rollercoaster we had hoped for. Unfortunately, it wasn’t, but that doesn’t mean the trailer didn’t leave us a bit teary eyed.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim



Skyrim's official gameplay trailer is one of the few out there that still gives me goosebumps every time I watch it. Besides being just plain awesome, the trailer also provided a lot of valuable information, like the way Bethesda’s new engine looked, the revamped combat system, stealth mechanics, and a wealth of other gameplay aspects that left you salivating for more. Plus, any trailer that features a Dragonborn shouting at dragons and then slaying them is just badass.

PS: While we’re on the topic of Skyrim, I’d also like to mention the fan made Epic Skyrim rap video that’s every bit as epic as the game.



Battlefield 3



Battlefield 3 had a lot to prove to the world, but DICE displayed their multiplayer prowess with the second multiplayer trailer that made everyone forget about Call of Duty temporarily. From base jumping with your squad thousands of feet above the ground to wanton destruction courtesy of the Frostbite 2 engine, this trailer is what sold the game to many. It also provided gamers with a glimpse of what they could expect from the game’s DLC, which by the way, is out now.

Grand Theft Auto V



Every time Rockstar release a GTA trailer, it's like an event in itself. Where will the next game take place? Who will be the new protagonist? What information can we imbibe from a few minutes of gameplay? While GTA V’s trailer didn’t answer all these questions, it did, however, put our minds at ease regarding the game’s location, which if you’ll ask any GTA fan, is a lot. And the fact that the game will now take place in San Andreas was enough to make us squeal like little school girls at a Justin Bieber concert.

Saints Row: The Third



Saints Row: The Third is all about the Saints’ fall from grace and how, through sheer determination and grit, they take power back from the enemy. So naturally, Kanye West’s Power was an apt track for the CG trailer. In it, a rival organization called the Syndicate crashes one of the Saints’ parties and pays for that grave mistake by being shot at and thrown off the roof because hey, no one messes with the Third Street Saints in their own turf.

So, which trailer rocked your socks off this year? Share some of your favourite trailers in the comments below.