Electronic Arts (EA) and Crytek today announced a new online video series that will “set the stage” for the upcoming Crysis 3. Titled The 7 Wonders of Crysis 3, the series is a collaborative effort with Albert Hughes, one half of the Hughes Brothers director team famous for movies such as Dead Presidents, From Hell, and The Book of Eli. The series will premiere on December 12.

“When EA and Crytek approached me about being involved in creating The 7 Wonders of Crysis 3 video series, I liked the idea of creating emotional stories using only computer generated images,” said Hughes. “The challenge of producing something intensely human without ever seeing a human on screen was incredibly compelling, and the technology of the CryENGINE that Crytek developed enabled me to do that and venture into a completely unique medium of storytelling.”

Though Hughes created scripts, storyboards, and shot plans for each video in the series, EA and Crytek are emphasizing that the episodes will showcase the weapons, enemies, and gameplay of Crysis 3. Still, Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn and Dishonored: The Tales From Dunwall both proved that tie-in videos for video games can be good – as long as talented people are hired on to perform quality work. One week from today, gamers will find out whether The 7 Wonders of Crysis 3 is a quality tie-in or a slipshod marketing machinima.