Assassin's Creed 3 Reveal Trailer

Can't... stop... watching...

I don't even know where to start. Ever since screen shots have been getting leaked for AC3 with a very patriotic protagonist, I've been no less than giddy for a Revolutionary War title. Maybe it was my selfish wish to see a colonial Boston or just being generally bored with foreign history ('Murrica) I felt that a move to the states, or thirteen colonies in this example, would be a brilliant one for Ubisoft's giant franchise. I spent all of my time between then and now praying that it was real.

Then we finally got a reveal trailer, and it blew me away. I can finally be a flying squirrel with tree running, and the hatchet/musket pistol is a lock to be my favorite weapon combo yet. Now just add more awesome combat combos and a compelling story with recognizable locations and characters (what's good, George Washington?), and we will have ourselves a game! Still, hopes are extremely high and I can't wait to see more footage released.

My only question, what's up with the outfit? I know the hood is a staple of AC, but we're not in the Renaissance anymore. I find it very hard to believe that you're going to blend in with a bunch of patriots and colonial women wearing all white with a hood over your face. Very interested to see how that's going to work.

The Amazing Spider-Man Teaser Trailer

Buzzwords!

Looks like the Spider-Man reboot isn't limited to theaters this time around, as we have a teaser trailer for a video game featuring Spidey as well. Lots of reactions to the trailer involve the words "open-world" and I frankly can't agree with them enough. Spider-Man 2 was brilliant for having a (sort of) open world feature, and this next-gen attempt and the blue and red has all kinds of potential for an amazing New York City to web sling around. Just by looking at the few seconds of transit shows that Peter Parker will have an amazing amount of fluidity and animation; now let's just pray that it will translate into the rest of the game.

Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Patriots - Debut Trailer

Holy S**t

If you've started reading this before watching the trailer at least two more times, stop, go back, and watch it. Now watch it again. I'll wait for you. Watched it? Take a few minutes to recover. That was one of the most powerful minutes I have seen in a trailer this year. It wasn't flashy, and it wasn't over the top. The reason why it's so jaw dropping is because it was so damn REAL. The issues were real, and terrorism is very real. These "Patriots" even believe that they are liberators of some kind by strapping a bomb to a dude's chest and tossing him out a window to explode on a crowded city street.

Between this trailer and the "early look" one we got to see last month, this game has me totally sold and looks like it could be Tom Clancy's best to date. The narrative (as of now) doesn't seem forced, and this debut trailer was both amazing and terrifying. My only concern that the realism of the terrorism (I mean for goodness sake you can hear people screaming in horror when the bomb goes off and you can actually see some people getting blown up) is going to raise some concerns from the big wigs in Capitol Hill. Hopefully Patriots can be crafted in such a way that we can keep the intensity and realism from this trailer and still get it onto shelves, cause 2013 is a long time to wait.

Bioshock Infinite Gameplay Trailer

Acoustically chaotic

There's something beautifully morbid in the newest trailer for Bioshock Infinite. While some people complain about the song choice (which is the only sound we hear while it's playing) I don't think they could have gotten it more perfect. The song added such a quiet melancholy to the footage we were seeing, and offered a sense of peacefulness as we watched this world crumble around us. This trailer definitely sets a tone for the upcoming game, and it's going to be a doozy.

Oh yeah, and the whole thing was put together using in game footage (which seems to be a thing to tell people know). So we at least know that Infinite is going to look beyond gorgeous.

Feature: Stephen Johnson, Lead Editor of G4's "The Feed"

The man behind The Feed... and Skyrim comedy videos

Walking around the G4 offices is like taking a stroll through all of the great video games you’ve ever played. You can see cubes and offices lined from wall to wall with memorabilia, action figures, and signed posters. Stephen Johnson’s desk slightly different, more toned down with only a couple hanging pictures and even a signed picture from Kevin Pereira, the host of “Attack of the Show”. So how do you take people that have these kinds of memorabilia next to the computers that they write on seriously?

This is why: Stephen Johnson is the lead editor of the Feed on the G4 website, and believes that video games are on the precipice of something amazing. Something that only comes around once every century. Something that many forms of entertainment strive to achieve but only few transcend into that greatness. Soft spoken with glasses just barely thicker than his goatee, he thinks that video games are as close as they’ve ever been to becoming works of art.

“Video games right now are at about the point where films were in the 30’s.” Johnson said, who has written for all kinds of publications before coming to G4 in 2005, ranging from movies to horse racing. “It’s starting to find the language in which it wants to speak to us to be considered art.”

In August of 2010, Roger Ebert said in his Chicago Sun-Times blog that video games can never be considered art. He barely even chooses to defend his argument, he just makes it and refuses to budge. The blog post itself has over four thousand comments on it to date, and both sides very enthusiastically defend and dispel video games as an art form. Johnson is on the other side from Ebert on the fight, and that’s one of the reasons he enjoys going into work every day.

Whether or not video games can be considered art, they are still a huge part of the entertainment industry and are covered by a multitude of publications. Johnson thinks that the evolution of games into an artform has fostered all of the coverage that you see today. “I think that the idea of journalism in video games is relatively new because as an art form it’s grown to support the industry of video game journalists.” So as much as people want to argue about the legitimacy of industry, as long as it sells, there will be those there to cover it.

Eric Eckstein, director of the games editorial section of the G4 website, surely seems to think that Johnson is more than qualified to make these claims. “His other interests in film really brings something unique to the tabe,” said Eckstein, “he’s more about the narrative of the game than the intuitive design”. He went on to reference LA Noire and Alan Wake as two games Johnson was particularly excited about because they featured more in depth narratives than flashy gameplay.

“I love the gaming industry itself. I love being involved with something thats on the edge of something,” Johnson said, and he seems to be right. The release of Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 shattered the opening weekend sales records of any major form of entertainment in history, and copies of major titles often sail into the millions for units sold.

Graduating from college in the early nineties from Emerson College in Boston, Johnson is easily one of the more senior members in both age and experience of the G4 team, and there are times when he really notices it. “My co-workers think that the fact that I really liked LA Noire is evidence that I’m really old because they all thought it was boring and I thought it was so awesome,” said Johnson, who also admitted that he doesn’t try to keep up with anything thats popular or trending in the world if he doesn’t have to.

While his co-workers may poke fun at Johnson’s seniority over them, he does notice a unique dynamic between himself and all of the younger members of the office. “It’s less about the generations and how much younger they may be, but more about what they’re doing in their lives,” Johnson said, “I’m married and have a child so if I didn’t have those things I think there would be even less of a difference between me and them”.

But while there may be differences in age, there is certainly not a difference in how involved Johnson is with his subject matter. And he is very excited about the direction video games are going, and how that direction could keep pushing the industry into an art form. “There are ways of imparting thoughts and emotions that you cant do through other mediums, you being able to decide what direction a story goes in. Games are running up the limitations of giving the player choices.”

Working at G4 has provided some unique experiences for Johnson, the most unique being the opportunity to be on Feedback, the weekly video podcast about video games posted on the website. Johnson said that speaking on camera didn’t exactly come easy at first. “Oh man, I was so nervous the first time,” he laughed, “it’s just not my style to do that.” But as the number of appearances increased, so did his poise in the public eye. Now he’s extremely excited whenever he’s asked to go back on, and often catches himself talking about what will be on the show with co-hosts before he even sits down in front of the camera.

While video games have been a part of Johnson’s life for as long as he can remember, he still remembers that it is a job and it supports his family. This doesn’t mean he wouldn’t have done things differently, though. “I would have pursued what I really wanted to do younger, but I made excuses like ‘oh, I don’t have any experience’ and that held me back”.

Nevertheless, now Johnson is exactly where he wants to be, surrounded by his video game swag, writing about something that is evolving into something exquisite. He seems completely comfortable in his surroundings, and is showing the world that games can be art through his journalistic work. Eckstein puts it perfectly, “He’s been here for years and playing games  for even longer... he’s a self starter that knows film, and when he sees the convergence of the two, he really notices.”

You can follow Johnson on twitter @steveajohnson.

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater HD - Announcement Trailer

So much nostalgia, so little time

36 seconds is all you need to make every gamer from the nineties pee themselves in excitement. Tony Hawk is back following in the footsteps of the (surprisingly) popular HD remake movement. It looks like we're going to get at least the original game back in beautiful high def to relive the magic over and over, and I would be surprised if they didn't include content from the second and third games as well. I for one welcome this remake, as we haven't seen a good Tony Hawk game for far too many years. And if your last six games fail... might as well remake the one that didn't to look good.

Unless you were born under some form of a rock, you would recognize the iconic warehouse level that millions of skaters discovered their love for the franchise. Down the ramp, up and through the overhang (why is that thing even there in the first place? No practical value), grind around the concrete lip, over the gap to the random middle rail, and on to a ramp on the other side. It's a well known route, and one that I'm dying to take on again in 720p.

Hitman Absolution Cinematic Trailer

Now you see me... now you're dead!

This trailer is actually the second in a cinematic series that started back in November. This first one has Agent 49 sneaking into a house and killing a bunch of guards. His target is a woman taking a shower, but the trailer ends before we know if we know if he shoots her or not. Well in this trailer, turns out he did (a couple times) and she's holed up in a hospital trying to be taken out of it by masked dudes with guns. Agnet 49 is there kicking tail once again, doing what I can only assume is finishing the job.

While cinematic trailers might not show us any gameplay, they play the crucial role in exposing us to a little bit of story if done well. There was a definite focus on a coin the woman was holding, I wonder how that coin will play into the story, and what personal connection that Agent 49 has with it. Whatever the reason, any return from Hitman is a good one and this game should be a very well crafted one.