In less than a week, E3 2012 will grace the LA Convention Center and with it will come gameplay footage and hopefully hands-on time of all our most anticipated games and consoles to release within the next two years. Now, we know some of the heavy-hitters are not on this list, like Call of Duty: Black Ops 2, Far Cry 3, Bioshock Infinite, or Grand Theft Auto IV. We can only explain this because we've seen these games already, we're dubious on whether we're going to see gameplay footage of the game, or they just didn't make our favorites list.
This is less a measure of how impressed we think (or know) we'll be and more of our excitement level for finally getting hands-on time with the following 13 games… if they show up. Of course, we can just be haughty critics who like to spite people unintentionally or something like that. Hey, it's the GR way.~ Nick
Resident Evil 6 [Capcom]
Capcom's new vision for Resident Evil may not be anything like the original survival horror genre they established, but steroid-pumped biceps, shotguns, and zombies still make for a help of a game. With series' favorite Leon S. Kennedy returning side-by-side with STARS veteran Chris Redfield in a twisted tale of virus-infected Presidents (President Evil?), the carnage begins to spill out into the streets, and will take an army stockpile worth of heavy artillery to clean up the mess… ~Anthony
Dishonored [Bethesda]
Who doesn't want a Bioshock in a Victorian-era Britain? Since Prey 2 is currently AWOL, Bethesda's next best game on the roster that we know is coming along nicely is Dishonored, of which I had the pleasure of seeing gameplay footage a few months ago. With sick and twisted abilities, like possession, animal summoning, and time freezing, Corvo is one royal bodyguard who isn't afraid to kill everyone out of vengeance or dispatch his foes in quieter ways. (Guess which way this ninja will go.) ~Nick
Persona 4: Golden [Atlus]
As a recent convert in the world of shadows, evokers, and personas, I feel a little ashamed to make such a stink out of Persona 4: Golden for the PlayStation Vita. The update to the PS2 JRPG brings new cutscenes, a new character, and a whole lot more voice-over content. More importantly, Persona 4 won't get the down-res that Persona 3 got in the transition to the PSP. So, Rise or Chie? ~Daniel
DmC: Devil May Cry [Capcom]
Dante, Dante, Dante. You're not the white-haired, gun-toting badass you used to be. You're just some glittery Twilight emo punk trying to be too cool for school, right? Wrong! With the franchise "reboot" in fresh hands, long-time fans are biting their nails in anticipation to see what Ninja Theory can do with Devil May Cry. Due to lofty expectations and negativity out of the gate, Ninja Theory can't afford not to impress this year at E3. And impress they better will. ~Anthony
Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance [Konami, Platinum Games]
Let loose your inner cyborg-ninja-stealth-murderer. Then add in 50mg of crazy, high-octane Platinum Games rocket jet fuel. Now you've got Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance. The title has been in development for far too long, but with a changing of the guard we're closer than ever to Raiden… and his… cyborg-muscle body. ~Daniel
Borderlands 2 [2K Games, Gearbox Software]
Pine as I must about the piss-poor ending of Borderlands, I did sink more than a hundred hours into the multiplayer FPS world of Pandora. It was the first time I legitimately played a console RPG with three other friends and had an actual story. Turning mercs into waterfalls of damage numbers has never been so fun. Borderlands 2 is just going to be bigger, badder, and blacker… yeah, I know what I said. Really, if there's anything to complain about, it's that the mohawked main character looks like my roommate. No, seriously, he wants to find Randy Pitchford and have a very long talk. ~Nick
Wii U [Nintendo]
Nintendo's little white console that could is now yesterday's news. At E3, Nintendo must deliver a flash-bang of amazement and delight with the Wii U and demonstrate how the Wii U's tablet controller will be utilized for games—not just tech demos like last year. Because casual gamers have moved onto the next fad, hardcore, more mature games need to be a major focus… but Nintendo should never forget that their fans of any age still love The Legend of Zelda, Metroid, and Mario. Full launch details, sans a price tag, are expected, as is an announcement of a true Nintendo-branded competitor to Xbox LIVE and PlayStation Network, complete with friends lists, invites, gamerscores, and full-scale digital distribution in tow. ~Anthony
Tomb Raider [Square Enix]
Let's face it. The huge boobs, the movies, the steady, persistent decline in game quality, and the complete lack of depth have made Lara Croft and the Tomb Raider franchise somewhat… meh. So what's Square Enix and Crystal Dynamics left to do? How about a complete series reboot, a ship crash on a mysterious island filled with crazies, and some truly brutal environments. ~Daniel
SimCity [Electronic Arts]
Electronic Arts revealed SimCity as a surprise during an off-site event at the Game Developers Conference this year to the rousing applause of the audience. After EA began concentrating on The Sims series and every sequel and expansion thereof, it seemed as if the originator, Sim City, would be sidelined indefinitely, well, at least since 2003 with SimCity 4. But now, it's making a comeback, which means I finally get revenge on a series that I played as a child and never understood. Now I'm a full-grown adult… so maybe I won't do any better. Either way, I've got cities to build and ruin… intentionally. ~Nick
The Last of Us [Naughty Dog, Sony]
True survival horror, not that action horror, has been more about schlepping around and solving puzzles than it has about storytelling, character relationships, and cinematics. But The Last of Us, being developed by the kings of blockbuster movie-like setpieces, Naughty Dog, will change that. You'll fall in love with Ellie's innocence and Joel's protective paternal instincts… then pant-shittingly panic when the fungi-infected "humans" try to make cream of mushroom soup out of them. ~Anthony
Assassin's Creed III [Ubisoft]
In the landscape of war and violence that is the American Revolution, no one is safe, not even the little drummer boy. If he's a templar, he's as good as dead because Ubisoft and their team of developers led by Ubisoft Montreal are bringing a new face to the Assassin's Creed franchise and the Creed's centuries-long war. Just how close will we come to stabbing George Washington? ~Daniel
Halo 4 [343 Industries]
I don't even play Halo, and I'm anticipating Halo 4. All of the fanfare and anxiety about how the new developer 343 Industires will handle the beloved franchise is palpable… and it's affecting me. But the concept of a more personal story with Master Chief, and the interesting multiplayer mode that takes place on the UNSC Infinity, specifically how that ties into the single-player campaign, both give an air of mystery that we hope Microsoft will disperse at their early E3 press conference on Monday. Hopefully, its release date won't be tattooed or anything. ~Nick
The Last Guardian (aka The Super Long Shot) [Sony]
Um… are they still even making this? Didn't everyone quit the project? Oh yeah!… The amazing stuff that Fumito Ueda has already created is now in the capable hands of some of Sony's best Western developers, so we hear. Ueda is still overseeing the project on a freelance basis, ensuring that his vision of perfection is met with success. While it's not looking good for The Last Guardian, we still have to keep our hopes high that our friendly cat-bird-thingy takes flight during Sony's E3 Press Conference, and a release date is finally announced. A real release date. ~Anthony
