Video game teasers tend to stick to a certain formula: dazzle the viewer with awesome graphics, show off some of the games' abilities and maybe dribble a little story out to tantalize would-be players. But every so often, one piece of video-centric marketing will float above the rest or sink to join the sludge.
In Clip Analysis, I'll be looking at trailers, teasers and just about any game-related video in an effort to call out what works and what doesn't in terms of communicating a particular game's coolness.
This time, I'll be taking a look at the Dust to Dust trailer for "Gears of War 3."

It's been five years since the first installment of Epic's "Gear of War" franchise hit the Xbox 360. A lot's happened to Marcus, Dom and the rest of Delta Squad but most gamers probably have the detritus of dozens, maybe even hundreds of games in their skulls from the past decade. Sure, "Gears 3" may be out in a few short weeks, but who can sift through all those bullet-riddled plot points to actually remember where things left off?

Well, in case you don't have time to play through the first two Gears games to catch up, Epic and Microsoft have you covered. A new trailer debuted this week that sums up--in rather dramatic fashion--the must-know info for the "Gears" games. The Dust to Dust trailer returns to a formula that "Gears" pretty much started, that being the emo trailer soundtrack underneath blood-and-guts action. The clip that locked in that paradigm was Tears for Fears' "Mad World" as performed by Michael Andrews. Here, it's "Into Dust" by Mazzy Star. That emo/shooter contrast has become so iconic that it's been parodied by the likes of EA's Battlefield series, among others. Still, the "Gears" trailers have been effective enough to become events unto themselves. Not many franchises can say that.
All that said, most of what you'll need to know to enjoy "Gears of War 3" gets effectively communicated in this trailer: the long, grinding war against the subterranean Locust, the cover mechanic and chainsaw rifles which made the first game a hit, the bonds between the men of Delta Squad and the major environmental change that the conflicts have wrought on the planet of Sera. A refresher on the sci-fi shooter series' drama done up nice and gritty, as befits the series.
Man, Mazzy Star. They were great, weren't they? find the video at http://bcove.me/w4inqbee

Battlefield 3 Will Be On Two DVDs For Xbox 360

I guess this news kind of coincides with the recent attack from Sony about how Microsoft is defending ancient hardware technology. It’s sort of true but in some regards not that big of deal when it comes to games like Battlefield 3. If you aren’t planning on going with the superior PC version of the game there’s still the option of playing it on the PS3 or Xbox 360. However, the 360 version of the game will apparently be packaged on two separate DVDs.

This news bit comes courtesy of Gematsu, who picked up on a new Japanese sales print that shows the boxed retail copy of Battlefield 3 for the Xbox 360 and PS3. As of course, the PS3 version is shown to arrive on one Blu-ray disc, while the Xbox 360 version appears to broken down into two DVDs, more than likely one disc for the single-player and another disc for the multiplayer.

Xbox 360 gamers shouldn’t be strangers to the multi-disc treatment, as it has been a very reoccurring circumstance for a couple of big-budget games out there, including Mist Walker Studios’ Xbox 360 exclusive, Lost Odyssey, or the recent open-world investigation drama from Team Bondi, L.A. Noire.

The dual-disc for Battlefield 3 isn’t shocking given that maybe unlike other games for the Xbox 360, DICE didn’t want to do a complete down-sample and compress textures in order for the full game to fit on one disc. The sensible thing to do (and what it appears they did do) is break the multiplayer and single-player into two separate parts for the Xbox 360 version of the game in hopes of maintaining some of the game’s much-talked about visual integrity. The game is rumored to be about 15 gigabytes, which is about 6 gigabytes over what a single Xbox 360 DVD can hold.

Battlefield 3 is set for release on October 25th for the Xbox 360, PS3 and PC. Gamers can pre-order the game to receive additional bonuses or you can simply learn more by heading on over to the Official Website.