Is this the next generation of video game graphics?

While the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Wii still have several years in front of them, the chatter has finally begun about the next generation of consoles.

Front and center in that conversation is Epic Games, whose Unreal Engine 3 has been a big part of the current crop of games, powering all of the "Gears of War" titles as well as "BioShock," the "Mass Effect " games and "DC Universe Online".

The developer offered what it called a "love letter to console manufacturers" at last week's Game Developer Conference, showing its thoughts on what the next generation of games should look like. The trailer, embedded below, is all done in real time and is not CGI.

The engine – an update to Unreal Engine 3 – was running on three high-powered nVidia graphics cards

WORK WARNING: The video, as many of Epic's projects, is a violent one, with some gory parts that might not be appropriate for a workplace.