The most anticipated games of E3 2015
E3 2015 is basically the Super Bowl or FIFA World Cup of the gaming world, and it's set to kickoff Sunday, June 14 in Los Angeles.
It's where the best and the brightest in the video game industry come out to roaring crowds and wow us with the future of our favorite medium.
But don't let the flashing lights, stellar graphics and cacophony of noise fool you: E3 is a battleground.
This year, Microsoft has to push more first-party exclusive games to the Xbox One than ever before. Meanwhile, rival Sony should fire back with its own titles for the PS4.
Nintendo, conversely, needs to dig its way out of the dog house. From delaying Legend of Zelda to some lackluster launches this year, the Big N has a lot to answer for.
And don't forget about the third-party developers. Activision, Bethesda, Konami and Square Enix have big plans for the rest of 2015 and will surely showcase everything from the next Call of Duty title to Star Wars Battlefront before the show wraps up on June 18.
But with hundreds of games on display, which should you care about? Here are 15 games we think will be worth their weight in plastic when they're shown next month in L.A.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 (Activision)
Fun fact: There has been a new Call of Duty shown at E3 every single year since 2004. Yes way. With three Modern Warfare games, the two Black Ops titles, three entries in the main Call of Duty line and one spin-off (Call of Duty: World at War), you wouldn't be wrong if you called it one of the biggest franchises in all of gaming.
So what's new in 2015? Call of Duty: Black Ops 3, a twisted tale of men vs machines in an Asimovian dystopia where the only thing you can count on is the soldier at your back. It will be loud, over-the-top and will almost certainly sell 5 million copies.
What systems is it for? PS4, Xbox One and PC
Guitar Hero Live (Activision)
The best analogy for Guitar Hero is to relate it to the band Rush: It's something most people know about, have loved at one point in their lives and, despite all odds, continues to press on year after year.
Guitar Hero Live will be the seventh game in the main series, following Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock that released in 2010. It will launch on the latest generation of consoles (Xbox One and PS4), and instead of using the typical five-button, five-fret peripheral, will use a controller with two sets of buttons on three frets. The music lives on.
What systems is it for? PS4 and Xbox One, but other systems are likely
Tony Hawk (Activision)
If you're looking for a game series that fell from grace, look no further than Tony Hawk Proskater. The first four games remain some of the greatest video game interpretations of skateboarding of all time. The next 10, however, shredded our fond memories and any scrap of credibility the franchise had left.
According to Game Informer, the 2015 incarnation of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater will borrow heavily from the first four games and will attempt, in every way possible, to avoid the mistakes it made with Tony Hawk: Ride and Tony Hawk: Shred. Whether this has the tricks to win us back or falls flat on its face is one of the biggest mysteries of the show.
What systems is it for? PS3, PS4, Xbox One and Xbox 360
DOOM (Bethesda)
There aren't enough demons in the underworld to stop Bethesda from unveiling the fourth iteration of the DOOM franchise, simply called DOOM, at its Sunday press conference at 7pm PT / 10pm ET / 3am GMT on June 14.
The teaser you see below was released almost a full year ago at E3 2014, and there's enough evidence to believe that the game is finally ready to emerge from its fiery cocoon. Pundits and speculators seem to agree that the game will take place on Earth instead of Mars and that the UAC, or Union Aerospace Corporation, has been dabbling in some unholy experimenting again.
What systems is it for? PS4, Xbox One and PC
Fallout 4 (Bethesda)
This one comes with a caveat: I have absolutely no idea if Fallout 4 will be a part of Bethesda's press conference or even at the show. What I do know is that the time is ripe for a sequel to one of the greatest games of last generation.
Lovingly referred to as "Elder Scrolls with guns," Fallout has a storied history of barren wastelands, hopeless situations and one character's indomitable will to keep pushing on. Possible settings include a post-apocalyptic Boston or a derelict countryside in Eastern Europe. But, just like the people Vault 13, all we can do now is wait.
What systems is it for? TBA
Mass Effect 4 (EA)
"We are years away from having a final product," said producer Mike Gamble, referring to the next game in the Mass Effect series. "But we want to pull back the curtain on some of the stuff as we go through to give you guys some more insight."
What follows in the video below is 30 minutes of completely unfiltered commentary that discusses everything from the new ship (called the Mako) to how the multiplayer is going to work. It's a lot of talking and not a lot of answers. That said, we wouldn't be surprised if EA has another teaser to show off at its press conference on Monday, June 15 at 1pm PT / 4pm ET / 9pm BST.
What systems is it for? TBA
Star Wars Battlefront (EA)
In a time where Halo was the king of the console run-and-gun games, there was another multiplayer-centric shooter that dealt with space soldiers that, in some ways, mattered even more. That game was Star Wars Battlefront.
Tragically cut short after its fourth iteration on PlayStation Portable, EA has taken up the mantle of Luke, Vader and the Millennium Falcon to bring us an updated version of the classic Galactic Empire vs. Rebel shooter. The game comes out in September, so E3 is the perfect spot for Battlefront to set up shop before its fall launch.
What systems is it for? PS4, Xbox One and PC
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain (Konami)
August 2015 will mark three years since Metal Gear Solid 5's debut at the 25th anniversary of the Metal Gear Solid franchise. It's been painful waiting so long for the fifth and possibly last game in Hideo Kojima's magnum opus, which has been made worse by every leaked detail and second of trailer footage.
The Phantom Pain will mark the tenth game in the main series, however, and somewhat confusingly it's only the fourth game in the series' chronology. Taking place in Africa and parts of Afghanistan in 1984, Snake will need to stealth his way past dozens of under-trained guards and a deadly sociopath or two to track down the people responsible for destroying the former mercenary group Militaires Sans Frontières, or MSF. Yeah, trust me, it's a confusing series.
What systems is it for? PS3, PS4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One
Gears of War (Microsoft)
Gears of War, generally thought of a Microsoft-exclusive franchise, didn't originally belong to the owners of Windows 10 and Xbox One. Up until 2013, the franchise was owned and operated by Epic, a.k.a. the makers of the Unreal game engine.
But, hungry for a next-gen version of the hyper-masculine bro-op game, Microsoft purchased the rights to Gears as well as established a new studio with the sole mission of creating a hit on its next-gen system. This company is called Black Tusk. They made their debut at E3 2014 and are expected to return this year at Microsoft's keynote June 15 with new footage of Marcus Fenix kicking butt and taking names.
What systems is it for? TBA (but probably Xbox One)
Halo 5: Guardians (Microsoft)
And Gears of War won't be the only platform-exclusive game to get a spotlight at Microsoft's keynote. The other franchise, of course, is Halo.
Halo 5: Guardians will introduce a new hero to the one-Spartan universe named Agent Locke. In the ever-raging war between the human race, the Covenant, the Flood and the Prometheans, Locke and Master Chief will have to work together to put an end to the bloodshed … by using more violence. The twist is that Locke and Chief don't necessarily see eye-to-eye on things, which means that the two protagonists could be at each other's throats faster than you can say "UNSC."
What systems is it for? Xbox One
Star Fox (Nintendo)
OK, so Star Fox isn't on the RSVP list for E3. But money's good Miyamoto will be ready to unveil the next game in the space flight franchise during this year's Nintendo Direct that takes place Tuesday morning.
Just speculating off of some comments the legendary designer made at last year's E3, the new Star Fox game could utilize the Wii U pad as a virtual cockpit for players to engage enemy ships. Controlling Fox's ship in this way would be a historic first for the series. If it turns out to be better than the regular control stick, however, remains to be seen.
What systems is it for? TBA
Uncharted 4: A Thief's End (Sony)
Easily one of the most exciting games of the show, Uncharted 4: A Thief's End will put a neat little bow on Nathan Drake's hunt for fame, fortune and friendship. We've seen a good deal of the game already thanks to two gameplay demos at Sony events, as well as an odd cinematic trailer or two from previous E3s. Still, we've yet to see any reason to not buy this game immediately.
We keep finding our way back to the Uncharted series, year after year and system after system for its light-hearted humor, compelling storyline and great character development. Mark it in your calendars now, Sony has a 7pm PT / 10pm ET / 3am GMT keynote on June 15.
What systems is it for? PS4
Final Fantasy 15 (Square Enix)
Everyone has a favorite Final Fantasy. Whether you're an old-school Final Fantasy III lover or you thought Final Fantasy X was the pinnacle of the PS2, you have one entry that, in your mind, can never be beaten.
It's with that in mind that Square Enix is taking to creating the fifteenth canonical entry in the series. It has to make everything bigger, better-looking and even more dramatic. And from everything we've seen so far, it's not doing a terrible job at it. All we need now is a release date, and that's something we're confident E3 2015 will provide.
What systems is it for? PS4 and Xbox One
Rise of the Tomb Raider (Square Enix)
Anyone who says, "Games just aren't as good as they used to be," clearly hasn't spent enough time playing the 2013 re-imagining of Tomb Raider. It, in every way possible, was what the series had always set out to be. We got to see Laura Croft, then green as grass, transform into a capable, self-sufficient and completely confident individual after enduring one tragedy after another.
Expect Rise of the Tomb Raider, the sequel to that phenomenal adventure, to take a page or two from its predecessor's book when you see it on stage at Microsoft's keynote. Why only at Microsoft? Xbox has performed a survival miracle of its own by securing a timed exclusive of Tomb Raider whenever it comes out. Does that mean PlayStation and PC owners will never play it? Probably not.
What systems is it for? Xbox One, and PS4 and PC are probable
Assassin's Creed: Syndicate (Ubisoft)
A new year, a new Assassin's Creed. This year's game, Assassin's Creed Syndicate, will take place in London during the Industrial Revolution around the year 1868 and follow twin assassins Jacob and Evie Frye. Our protagonists find themselves in the middle of a class war between the increasingly rich industrialists and struggling, impoverished proletariat.
While all this might not sound like a revolutionary new idea, the fact that Ubisoft is connecting the series to something more modern - like 19th century England - is novel in itself. There are some lingering questions, definitely, but many of them will be answered in just a few weeks at Ubisoft's afternoon keynote on June 15.
What systems is it for? PS4, Xbox One and PC
Mad Max (Warner Bros.)
Want an open-world game with some grit? Check out Mad Max.
Coming to PS4, Xbox One, PC and SteamOS, Mad Max is about reclaiming what's yours and liberating the wasteland from those who seek to tyranize it. The catch? You'll need a set of wheels to get it done.
It debuted two years ago at E3 2013, eventually reaching critical hype levels once the trailer you see above demonstrated the Batman: Arkham-esque combat. Due out in late September, this will be the last time to catch Max on the road before he retires to store shelves.
What systems is it for? PS4, Xbox One, SteamOS and PC
