When the Chief raises his head, arms his plasma grenade, and the word 'Believe' flashes up onscreen I still get chills 12 years later. Then there's the delicate, ominous piano melody of Chopin's 'Raindrop Prelude' all bending our focus toward Master Chief at the center of the violence, the only moving character in an otherwise frozen tableau, in the merciless clutches of a Brute. Then there's the way the trailer's camera seeks out little details within the chaos, human moments of fear and pain that we associate more with real war scenarios than those in video games. Halo 3: Halo Believe Trailer, 2007First, there's the craftsmanship of the battle scene diorama, which is exquisite.

The heartbreaking music, use of close-ups and no-holds-barred violence that somehow all culminates with a happy family smiling at the camera ensured hundreds of thousands of pre-orders for what turned out to be a perfectly competent - but that's all - video game. The trailer is a wonderful example of short-form storytelling played entirely backward, it tells the story of a family whose idyllic vacation is interrupted by a horde of angry zombies. Jon Ryan, Senior Editor Dead Island: Reveal Trailer, 2011The reveal trailer for Dead Island may have been misleading - the final game presented nothing close to its emotional gut-punch - but it still stands alone as a marvelous piece of marketing. Sure there was that whole 'you're not actually gonna play as Snake for like 70% of the game' twist, but that didn't come until later.

Not only did we get a first look at one of the most anticipated games of all time, we got to see nine whole minutes of cutscenes and gameplay that featured (for its time) some of the most advanced AI, environmental interaction, and stealth-combat mechanics we'd ever seen. Kojima and his team wanted to show off exactly what we were in for when stepping back into Snake's (assumedly really soft) sneaking boots and managed to do just that.

Metal Gear Solid 2: Reveal Trailer, E3 2000The first trailer for Metal Gear Solid 2, shown at E3 in 2000, is almost single-handedly responsible for that little boast we see in so many AAA trailers today: made entirely from in-game footage.

True game trailers