Show's over, folks
Dishonored 2
Dishonored 2 is real, and we've finally got our first look at the game during Bethesda's E3 2015 press conference. From what we've seen so far, Corvo Attano isn't the only playable protagonist - he's joined by his apparent successor / trainee, Emily Kaldwin (the little girl from the first game), who's all grown up and has her own supernatural powers and assassination skills. The trailer shows that her abilities won't be exactly the same as Corvo's, either: Emily's able to transform into an inky, tentacle-like cloud. Needless to say, we're looking forward to seeing more as we get closer to the release date early next year.
Ghost Recon: Wildlands
The Ghost Recon series has always been about going into a mission, fighting through a linear, objective-based path, reaching your goal, and getting the heck out of the combat zone. Now it looks like all of that's about to change in Ghost Recon: Wildlands. Rather than having levels revolving around singular missions, the entire world is open to you as you systematically take down evil drug cartels. There are outposts to liberate, crime bosses to capture, and, of course, hostages to rescue. And you won't have to do it alone, either: you can have up to four players for co-op cartel-bustin'.
Destiny: The Taken King
The third Destiny expansion has been revealed, and this time, Crota's daddy Oryx is coming to enact his revenge on the Guardians of the Traveler. With a truckload of new items, additional subclasses, and missions to undertake, there will definitely be more to do. But Bungie is promising that all those new additions will make the game feel different as well. The Taken enemies are a fresh take on the opposing races that the Guardians have been facing since vanilla Destiny , there are challenging new bosses to overcome, and there'll be a extra raid and multiple strike missions for players to tackle. Plus, a Destiny: The Taken King Legendary edition will be released alongside the expansion. There hasn't been a better time to jump in to Bungie's shared-world shooter.
Mass Effect: Andromeda
When Johnny Cash's 'Ghost Riders in the Sky' started playing over an image of an arid desert at the beginning of EA's conference, it almost looked like the publisher had managed to snag the rights to Red Dead Redemption 2. That is, until, the scene changed to a computer screen cycling through multiple photos, then to a space-ship accelerating at high speed, then to the Mako and Citadel towers and oh my God it's Mass Effect! The trailer was over almost as soon as that realization landed, with only enough time left for Mass Effect: Andromeda to flash across the screen, but it definitely made an impact. Now we know the new Mass Effect's name, and we know it's on the horizon. For many of us, that's enough to pass our joy threshold.
Rise of the Tomb Raider
The new Lara got her first taste of adventure in 2013's Tomb Raider. For the sequel Rise of the Tomb Raider, she has some experience under her belt - and from the look of things, Lara is transitioning from survivor to full-on tomb-raiding adventurer. Rise brings back the dramatic setpieces as Lara throws herself from icy ledges, escapes incoming avalanches, and dangles from frozen cliffs hundreds of feet up. But the game isn't just about those intense moments: the developers say they're bringing more tombs into the next Tomb Raider for players to explore.
Final Fantasy 7 Remake
It's something that we all wanted to happen, but probably never, ever expected to actually be announced at an E3 press conference. And yet, here we are. The Final Fantasy 7 Remake is real, and soon enough we'll be able to play through Cloud and Aeris' (Aerith's?) adventure with gorgeous new-gen visuals. There isn't much information on the remake outside of it currently being in the Square Enix pipeline, but even so, it's hard not to get immensely excited about this historic announcement.
Just Cause 3
All you really need to know is yes, you have a grappling hook, and you can still make everything in the massive open-world environment erupt in flaming shards of debris. Now that the Just Cause series coming to new-gen consoles, those fiery explosions and lush islands look absolutely gorgeous as Rico skydives headfirst toward the earth. Just Cause 3 looks like the ultimate, destructible, open-world playground. You can demolish anything on the map, including fuel factories and bridges. Plus, you can spawn in a variety of vehicles and weapons at any time for maximum chaos.
Star Fox Zero
After a barely-there showing last year, Nintendo finally pulled back the curtain on the next entry in the Star Fox series. Star Fox Zero looks to have all of the Arwing flight combat you'd expect from Star Fox, and the scenery is quite familiar as well, echoing the bright greens and blues of Star Fox 64. The trailer shows locales such as Corneria, the return of alternate vehicles like the Landmaster, and all-range-mode arena levels. Then there's the new stuff: the Arwing can transform into a bird-like walker, the GamePad screen can be used to aim from the cockpit view, and you can send out tethered drones to explore the nooks and crannies of each level.
Star Wars: Battlefront
The anticipation was strong with all of us, but at E3 2015, we finally got a look at the gameplay in Dice's Star Wars Battlefront. And it is glorious. Not only was there a five minute Walker Assault game mode demo set on the planet Hoth; we also got a glimpse of the two-player co-op horde mode on the Tatooine map. With the extreme detail of the characters, environments, and sound effects, everything is spot-on Star Wars. The wait for the November 17 release date feels even more unbearable now.
