Uncharted 4: A Thief's End
Tom Clancy's The Division
Ubisoft's open-world, co-op shooter just got much more interesting. At E3 2015, a new demo showed the game's Dark Zones: high-level areas filled with extremely tough AI enemies as well as other players who may or may not be hostile. And the demo showed off The Division's capacity for gut-wrenching betrayal. After working with another team of three players to kill some NPCs and grab precious loot, the demo team decide to ambush the rival crew and loot their corpses. It all ended with one players taking everything as he shot his downed 'allies' when they needed his help, grabbing everyone's newfound items for himself. It seems you won't be able to trust anyone in The Division's harsh world.
Horizon: Zero Dawn
At first glance, you might think that the story of Horizon: Zero Dawn takes place in prehistoric times. People are living in caves, there is no great civilization, and humanity's broken up into wandering tribes. As the E3 demo footage rolled on, we learned that this is actually the distant future. Our present-day cities are rotten husks, and the wilderness is filled with robotic dinosaurs. Horizon is one of the most fascinating new titles to be revealed at E3 2015, and not just for the unique setting - the gameplay looks absolutely fantastic. Just imagine how you would take down a metallic t-rex with only a bow and some arrows. Good luck with that.
Rainbow Six Siege
Having made its debut at E3 2014, Rainbow Six Siege seems to be taking the tactical shooter genre in a new direction. As a member of a SWAT team or a group of criminals, it's up to you to prevent the other team from accomplishing their goals. As the criminals, you take a hostage and barricade yourself in various environments such as an American suburban home or a grounded plane. The SWAT players have to coordinate their attack as they bust in through windows and blow down doors (and even destroyed the floor) with breach charges. It's intense - and no hiding spot can stay safe for long.
Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain
MGS 5: The Phantom Pain is easily one of the most anticipated games of the year, and with the newly announced September release date, The Phantom Pain is shaping up to be one of the best games of 2015. Snake is back (Big Boss snake, not the Solid one) in a console prequel/sequel to the rest of the Metal Gear Solid series... except 3 (and the portable ones), which take place before MGS 5. Look, it's complicated - all you need to know is that the game looks absolutely amazing. A few things have changed in Metal Gear Solid 5. For one, the world isn't as confined as it has been in previous games. Instead, you have the freedom to approach your missions as you see fit. Snake has an entire army at his back as well as powerful companions who can join him in the field, not to mention a ton of new gadgets to mess with, kidnap, or kill guards.
XCOM 2
The tables have turned in XCOM 2. Earth has fallen to the alien menace, and their (seemingly peaceful) subjugation of humanity is well under way. XCOM itself is now a rogue organization, having been all but wiped out during the early stages of the extraterrestrials' invasion. This new XCOM is a faster, leaner strike force that hits hard before getting the hell out of dodge. At this year's E3, a variety of new features were shown, including turret hacking and the ability to carry injured troopers to the evac point. Get ready to lose a few weeks of your life when XCOM 2 lands this November.
Street Fighter 5
After E3, we still have a ton of questions about Street Fighter 5. After all, the game was just announced in December and Capcom is only letting a few details and trailers trickle in here and there. We know it has classic fighters like Ryu, Chun Li, and newly resurrected Charlie Nash, plus the newly announced Cammy and Birdie. But that isn't all the fighters. The rest of the roster eludes us. We were definitely excited to see more of the game in action and we can't wait to see more of the game as we get closer to the game's Spring 2015 release date.
Halo 5 Guardians
Developer 343 Industries has been cranking out a steady stream of info on Halo 5: Guardians, and there was plenty revealed just in time for E3 2015. We learned that there will be a 24-player skirmish mode called Warzone, where teams face not only each other, but attempt to capture bases and defeat AI-controlled bosses. We learned that map DLC would be free, but that there will also be microtransactions for unlocking weapons, skins and more. We saw a snippet of the campaign during Microsoft's press conference, which showed off new weapons, enemies and three co-op squadmates. Every time we think we've got a good grasp on what Halo 5 is all about, we get a curve ball thrown at us. Of course, with a release date of October 27, 2015 looming on the horizon, it won't be long until we dig in and come away with a final verdict.
Mirror's Edge: Catalyst
There have been a bunch of games that have featured first person parkour since the release of the first Mirror's Edge, but just remember, Faith was the one who first made it cool. Revealed at E3 2015, developer Dice already has the Mirror's Edge Catalyst release date locked down: February 23. Our first look at the game reveal showed the return of the series heroine. The developers have stated that the game will re-evaluate and improve every aspect of the original, bringing players into an open world with a more advanced parkour system.
Zelda: Tri Force Heroes
Tri Force Heroes isn't the most complex Zelda game you'll ever play, but its emphasis on cooperative puzzle-solving gives it a chaotic feel that we haven't experienced since Four Swords Adventures on the GBA. When you're calling out instructions to your fellows Links and start working together to overcome an obstacle, every small victory becomes an amazing triumph. The game also does a few subtle things to encourage teamwork, such as a shared health pool and splitting up special items (boomerang, bow and arrow) between different players. Of course, if you just want to scoop up the other Links and chuck 'em off a ledge, you can still do that - but you'll only be hurting yourself.
