With the 2011 Electronic Entertainment Expo mere days from now, I am taking a slight break of posting news articles to ponder which titles I am, personally, most-excited to see. Take a look at the entries on this list in detail, After the Break!

1. Battlefield 3
2. Aliens: Colonial Marines
3. Dead Island
4. Deus Ex: Human Revolution
5. Hitman Absolution
6. Take On Helicopters
7. Prey 2
8. Metro: Last Light
9. ArmA 3
10. Call of Juarez: The Cartel

Battlefield 3

Let’s face it: We all expected a new Battlefield game to come out at some point. How excited were we to see that EA DICE was taking the series into a darker, more gritty direction by implementing a single player campaign made to take on the Call of Duty franchise? Ecstatic, to say the least. Couple that with the game undoubtedly having the same fun multiplayer experience gamers are used too from previous incarnations of the game as well as the new Frostbite 2 game engine and this IP looks like it is about to heat up big time. Also worth mentioning is that the game is being developed first on the PC platform to take advantage of the best gaming hardware on the market and scaled back where needed on the console variants.

Due Out: November 1st, 2011

Aliens: Colonial Marines

I have been excited about this title for years now, and have not been as bummed when I heard it might be canceled since Red Storm canceled UFS Vanguard (if you get that reference – kudos, mates). However, SEGA has come out of the gate swinging at this year’s E3 with news that it is still in development and on-track for release early next year. The game puts players in charge of a four-marine squad of United Systems Colonial Marines as they explore the derelict vessel Sulaco searching for clues as to the fate of the crew (which we know from the movie Aliens, was not one of rainbows and unicorns). The game is apparently a much more tactical experience than past Aliens titles, and we can’t wait to get a look at it up close.

Due Out: Spring of 2012

Dead Island

Another title that seemed to be stuck in limbo for a while, Dead Island looks to be a zombie film lover’s wet dream come true. Making a stunning comeback out of development hell with a spine-tingling, intense trailer some month’s back, the game puts players in the shoes of survivors attempting to escape an island paradise overrun with walking corpses intent on eating living flesh. It features a detailed melee combat system and and a no-nonsense approach to its visceral nature or player/zombie damage systems that will be a welcome sight in a world of homogenized game content.

Due Out: August 1st, 2011

Deus Ex: Human Revolution

I remember it was the year 2000 and I had just finished the adventure that was the original Deus Ex for the first time. I read online that there were multiple endings in the game based on your decisions and actions throughout the experience and rushed back through the game to discover them. When the GOTY edition was released, I picked that up too even though I did not technically need to do so. I have had great affection for this IP since my first encounters with it back a decade ago. Unfortunately, the sequel to Deus Ex fell a little more than flat for me. The “streamlined” RPG elements and dumb-as-fencepost AI did not help matters much either. Thankfully, in a world where we have seen the proliferation of “action-RPGs” like Mass Effect 2 and Fallout 3, the idea of taking Deus Ex to this middle of the road – part hardcore/part softcore style, seems more than doable. Deus Ex: Human Revolution looks like it is taking the hybrid action-RPG to a new high for the series and it is still trying to stay true to its original  roots by keeping a complex storyline of intrigue and player interaction. Personally, I can’t wait.

Due Out: August 23rd, 2011

Hitman: Absolution

Developer IO Interactive is back at it again – this time, with Square Enix, as they have officially announced the next Hitman game to be Hitman: Absolution. Not much is known about this one yet, save for that it will take place, at least in part, in Chicago and put Agent 47 in a very different situation than he has found himself in before. Some sources rumor that this game will take a Splinter Cell: Conviction approach to the storyline, seeing Agent 47 on the run from several different factions. Having such fond memories of virtually assassinating a waiter just to take his clothes and blend in a virtual gala, I can’t help but be excited to see where the series is headed. Also, it is worth mentioning that this will be the first time a Hitman title will have seen the PlayStation 3 game console (thanks, Wikipedia!).

Due Out: 2012

Take On Helicopters

Bohemia Interactive has long-impressed us with their wargames like the original Operation Flashpoint and the Armed Assault (ArmA) series of titles. Being the virtual aviation buff that I am, I could not help but froth at the mouth with they announced that Take On Helicopters was in development. The “game” looks to be a full-on chopper simulation featuring what many sim games lack: a storyline! Aside from the standard sim “sandbox” flight modes, Take On Helicopters features a storyline giving the player objectives and goals as they try to save their family’s failing aviation business. Not much is know regarding how deep the storyline or contract selection and business management will go just yet, but after logging many flight hours with DCS’s fixed-wing DCS A-10C: Warthog, I am looking-forward to some rotary wing flight!

Due Out: TBA

Prey 2

Prey was one of those games that took quite a while to be developed, being used as a test-bed for a number of game engines back as far as 1995 by 3D Realms. After being contracted out to Human Head Studios, the game finally released in 2006 to very good reviews, praising the game’s unique, gravity-altering mechanics, pretty visuals, and the interesting internal struggle of the main character – a Native American former-soldier living on a reservation (think Johnny Firecloud if Johnny ended up getting abducted by aliens, not picked on by racist townsfolk). With the game a commercial success, a sequel was only a matter of time. Much like the original, Prey 2 is taking risks and acting as a departure from the original with an open-world style environment and gritty, high-tech feel where the player will encounter several alien species and have more interaction with them than just blasting away with a machine gun. With Human Head Studios still acting as developers (under Bethesda, this time), I have no doubt they will create something spectacular.

Due Out: 2012

Metro: Last Light

2010’s Metro: 2033 took us to a bleak, dark place where humanity eked-out an existence underground in post-apocalyptic Russia. Based on the book by Dmitry Glukhovsky, this was one gripping and intense story which featured more than its fair share of monsters in the dark and human enemies sometimes far worse. Now, THQ and 4A games have announced a sequel titled Metro: Last Light, which takes place roughly a year after the original – this time in and under Moscow. The player reprises the role of the protagonist from the original and even the book’s author is said to have been working with the developers on the game’s direction. In the sequel, multiple human factions fight it out for some recently-discovered doomsday weapons.

Due Out: 2012

ArmA 3

The ArmA (or Armed Assault) series was developed by Bohemia Interactive as a spiritual successor to their Operation Flashpoint which the developed under the production of Codemasters. Featuring an emphasis on realistic movement and equipment (sometimes to a fault, no doubt), the original game became a sleeper hit and gave way to ArmA 2 and its series of DLC packs featuring various different factions. ArmA 3 has recently been announced and promises to take the series even farther, featuring underwater action as well as a more details single player storyline while promising to keep the open multiplayer experience so enjoyed in its current incarnation. I just hope that BI will still include the deep development tool-set they have included in the past as well, as their titles have taken on new life over and over again with community-created campaigns and mission packs.

Due Out: Summer 2012

Call of Juarez: The Cartel

The Call of Juarez series has been known for its hardcore, Unforgiven-esque take on Western games. With the reveal trailer for Call of Juarez: The Cartel, Techland (who, incidentally is also developing Dead Island) faked us all out with the revelation that this entry into the series would actually be set in modern-day Mexico (and it looks like Los Angeles partly) and players would take on the role of law enforcement agents taking on a large drug cartel. The link to the previous titles? The game’s main character is a direct descendant of the protagonist from the original Call of Juarez. With the series’ track record and how their treatment of The Cartel looks to be coming, I think this will be another winner for the Polish developer.

Due Out: July 19th, 2011