E3-some: What We’re Looking Forward to at E3 2011

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The closest thing gamers have to a holy pilgrimage comes in the form of the annual Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles. E3 takes over the Los Angeles Convention Center for only three days every year, but entire weeks leading up to the show are filled with hype and rumors about what games and hardware will be shown and announced.

This year’s no different. In fact, the stakes feel higher in 2011 than they have in some time. New hardware from Nintendo and Sony will make its debut, and top-secret unannounced titles will step out from the shadows. On top of all that, a number of existing franchises will either have ambitious sequels or aggressive reboots jockeying for gamers’ attention. While our coverage doesn’t really begin in earnest until next week, here’s a rundown of things that we’re already excited about.

Mass Effect 3

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What We Know Already: The last part of BioWare’s epic space trilogy was supposed to come out later this year, but got pushed back to 2012. Commander Shepard’s ongoing battle to stop the Reapers–an evil machine race bent on destroying all organic life–moves to Earth in a final desperate bid to save the universe. For all the action they provide, the Mass Effect games are really one big space opera where relationships carry over from each game. In a move many fans applauded, BioWare announced that ME3 will offer same-sex relationships for male and female characters for the first time. So assuming your Commander Shepard saves the universe, she or he will get a victory kiss from whomever you want that to be.

The Big Mystery: It’s long been rumored that the threequel will add some sort of multiplayer to the Mass Effect series for the first time. While the structure of the main storyline doesn’t appear to be capable of supporting multiplayer, the sure-to-be-bigger scale of the battles in Mass Effect 3 offer plenty of opportunities for multiplayer. I think we’ll wind up seeing co-op and competitive multiplayer modes in the style of Gears of War‘s “Horde” mode, or like the SpecOps missions in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.

What We’ll Probably Find Out: The exact release date. ME3‘s tentatively slated for the first quarter of 2012, which means it could stretch out to as far as March. Mass Effect 2 hit early last year and did well, so the new release date may follow suit.

(More on TIME.com: ‘Mass Effect 3’ Delayed Until Next Year)

Batman: Arkham City

What We Know Already: The Dark Knight’s return puts him in a chunk of Gotham City that’s been converted into a gigantic super-prison. In Arkham City, criminals are allowed to run free and do as they will as long as they don’t try to escape. Like that’s gonna happen. Batman will have access to new and retooled gadgets as well as fresh combat moves that make him even more formidable. And since you’ll be covering huge outdoor spaces in the game, you’ll be able to dive, swoop and glide for faster traversal.

The Big Mystery: Whether it’ll be strictly single-player. One of the biggest rumors about the Bat-sequel was confirmed with the reveal of Catwoman as a playable character, but it remains to be seen if the Bat and the Cat will be controllable by separate players. Publisher Warner Bros and developer Rocksteady Studios have been adamant about saying B:AC will be a solo experience, but they could just be saving more details for later.

What We’ll Probably Find Out: What other characters will show up. Along with the feline femme fatale, the presence of the Riddler and the Penguin have also been outed. It’s a fair bet that even more of Batman’s rogues gallery will show up, but fans everywhere–myself included–are really hoping for some Bat-allies to drop in and help the Darknight Detective out.

(More on TIME.com: Preview: ‘Batman: Arkham City’ Puts the Dark Knight in a Lawless, Urban Landscape)

Assassin’s Creed Revelations

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What We Know Already: Another final installment threequel in another mega-franchise, Revelations closes out the story of assassin Ezio Auditore as he journeys to Constantinople. Once there, he hunts for five powerful artifacts that could change the future of the Assassin brotherhood’s fight against the Templars’ totalitarian conspiracy.

The Big Mystery: More about Altair. Revelations will be Ezio’s third game, but the Crusades-era hero who kicked off the franchise only starred in one truly worthy big console game. This Assassin’s Creed release lets you play as Altair once again, so perhaps we’ll explore the gaps in his life that remain lost to history.

What We’ll Probably Find Out: How it feels to use Ezio’s new bomb-making skills and weapons. The Italian assassin’s an older character now with new skills acquired since the end of Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood, so you’ll have the chance to use new implements like the hookblade and take advantage of a more powerful Eagle Sense. Expect new details about the retooled multiplayer, too.

(More on TIME.com: Review: ‘Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood’ Doesn’t Disappoint)

Battlefield 3

What We Know Already: EA’s best shot at dethroning the Call of Duty series’ first-person shooter hegemony puts players in a near-future Iraq, where counterinsurgency efforts get disrupted by a massive earthquake. Talk about destabilizing a region!

The Big Mystery: Just how big the battles will be. What we’ve seen so far from EA’s DICE studio shows a mix of tense, close quarters combat and big outdoor skirmishes for the single-player campaign. The stakes get higher and higher in ripped-from-the headlines war games and Battlefield 3 looks to show both the in-your-face close-ups and sweeping panorama of military engagements.

What We’ll Probably Find Out: How to fly a fighter jet. The Battlefield brand’s built on massive multimodal multiplayer structure, meaning that dozens of players can be on a map doing different combat actions at the same time. Your buddy can be sniping from a tower, you can be on the frontlines in a tank and another friend can be raining death from above in an F-16. DICE’s new Frostbite 3 engine already looks amazing. Now, we need to see how it handles in online play.

(More on TIME.com: EA Reveals ‘Battlefield 3’, the Game It Hopes Will Take Out ‘Call of Duty’)

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

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What We Know Already: Thanks to a particularly bountiful leak, fans already know that the newest iteration of the reigning king of FPS titles sets the world on fire in spectacular fashion. MW3‘s plot picks up from that of its predecessor, with rogue soldiers from Russia and other places threatening the seats of power in the United States and Europe.

The Big Mystery: Multiplayer. If the leak’s credible, there’s not much left to be revealed about the single-player game. But most of COD‘s acolytes show up for the multiplayer modes, and details on that front have been scarce. Rumors of re-jiggered multiplayer include a supposed survival mode with waves of enemies and the absence of a Tactical Nuke killstreak. We’ll see what joint developing studios Raven, Infinity Ward and Sledgehammer have cooked up for multiplayer next week.

What We’ll Probably Find Out: Elite integration. Activision’s made a big bet on building out a digital platform, especially for the millions of people who play COD games every day and, while the beta this summer will be tested with last year’s Black Ops game, Modern Warfare 3 will sport all the bells and whistles that entice players to plunk down cash for premium Elite subscriptions. The publisher claims that the Call of Duty Elite service will unite and ignite players. E3’s where they’ll have to start proving it.

(More on TIME.com: New ‘Modern Warfare 3’ Screens Take the Battle to the Streets)

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

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What We Know Already: Bethesda Softworks’ award-winning fantasy RPG universe takes things to the mountaintops, as another prophecy come true bodes ill for earthbound citizen under attack by flying dragons. Players will be able to dual-wield weapons, meaning that swords and spells can deal out damage in rapid succession. You’ll also be able to mix disciplines so your mage can add some heft to his melee attacks, too

The Big Mystery: Story, story, story. So far, the only details outed about Skyrim have been gameplay mechanics in previews and plot details teased by the above trailer.

What We’ll Probably Find Out: How long this sucker’s going to be. The Elder Scrolls games have always asked for ridiculous time commitments if you want to complete all the main missions and the panoply of side quests. Skyrim will probably be another time-suck in the 60 to 100 hour mold, but a brand new game engine should make it a gorgeous place to lose yourself in.

(More on TIME.com: The Elder Scrolls Skyrim Looks Like Park City, Utah)

Nintendo Project Café

What We Know Already: After months of speculation, Nintendo announced that their next home hardware console–codenamed Project Café–would make its public debut at this year’s E3. Scheduled for a 2012 release, Project Café’s supposedly been making the rounds in the game development community for the last few months. Nintendo apparently just confirmed whisperings that the system would sport touchscreen controllers that also have buttons.

The Big Mystery: Um, everything? Rumors abound about what exactly the system’s capabilities will be, including reports of Blu-ray support, a built-in projector and a three-core IBM PowerPC chipset paired with new GPU by ATI.

What We’ll Probably Find Out: How it plays. E3 attendees will get hands-on time with the new system, assessing its motion-sensing capabilities and whatever other differentiators lie under its hood as well as various launch games. Nintendo didn’t make games from their bigger franchises available for the debut of the 3DS, but it’s unlikely the Zelda, Mario or Metroid franchises will be AWOL for such an important new product debut.

(More on TIME.com: Nintendo Confirms Successor to Wii in 2012, More Powerful than Xbox 360 or PS3?)

Deus Ex: Human Evolution

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What We Know Already: Human Evolution serves as a prequel to the storied 2000 Deus Ex game designed by Warren Spector and Harvey Smith. Players control private security specialist Adam Jensen, made into a bionic man after an attack on a cybernetic research company. The gameplay’s a blend of action and role-playing elements with a first-person perspective in a cyberpunk world deeply influenced by Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner.

The Big Mystery: Will Human Evolution be tightly bound to the original Deus Ex? The first game dealt with a secret conspiracy that kept a select few in power, so it stands to reason that this new adventure will show us how the world wound up that way.

What We’ll Probably Find Out: Info on alternate endings. All the Deus Ex titles have featured open-ended designs where players can choose different paths and strategies to meet various objectives. The game world would react to your choices and the final sequence of events came about as a direct result of your actions. It’d be a shame if Adam Jensen’s story doesn’t have the same kind of endgame, but hopefully that won’t be the case.

(More on TIME.com: Fauxnonymous Strikes Again? Eidos Site Hacked, User Info Snatched)

Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception

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What We Know Already: Nathan Drake’s third go-round on the PS3 will bring him into conflict with a secret society called the Cabal, whose history stretches back to Victorian times. Cabal’s leader wants the ring of Sir Francis Drake that Nathan wears on his neck, and events lead our hero to the Arabian desert in search of yet another powerful artifact. Naughty Dog’s latest will also delve into the relationship between Drake and mentor Sully, while shedding more light on Drake’s past.

The Big Mystery: “Deception”? Which Drake are we talking about here? Deceiving who? From what? And when? Needless to say, plot details about the single-player storyline aren’t exactly forthcoming.

What We’ll Probably Find Out: All about the Buddy System in multiplayer. Naughty Dog’s stated that they want Uncharted 3‘s online component to become a go-to destination for PS3 owners. Their new Buddy System lets players re-spawn wherever a partner is and hi-five over fallen opponents to earn more in-game cash. The Buddy System will shake up a lot of the more common dynamics of online competitive play, which also features different modes like a three team deathmatch. All this will take place in the franchise’s best-looking environments yet, as the devs have upgraded all their environmental graphics and effects.

(More on TIME.com: ‘Uncharted 3′ Gets First Gameplay Demo on ‘Late Night with Jimmy Fallon)

Sony NGP

What We Know Already: The new handheld from the PlayStation people offers a front touchscreen and a touch panel on the back, as well as a long-asked-for second control stick. Codenamed NGP, the unit purportedly pumps out PS3-level graphics and will also have 3G cellular capability. Games from the Uncharted and Wipeout franchises are in the pipeline, as well as new games like touch puzzler Little Deviants and experimental hybrid platformer Sound Shapes.

The Big Mystery: What’ll it cost? Sony’s notorious for premium pricing on its products, but the NGP’s about to arrive in a world where supercharged smartphones go for $199 and great game experiences can be had for a dollar. Given the lukewarm reception so far to the competing 3DS, old pricing rules may not apply anymore and hopefully Sony understands that.

What We’ll Probably Find Out: An exact launch date and the games that’ll accompany the NGP when it lands. The Nathan Drake adventure on NGP will be called Uncharted: Golden Abyss and it’ll be the highest profile game that’s been revealed yet. Hopefully, Sony will pull out Ratchet & Clank, Kratos and some of their other first-party big guns to make the NGP irresistible.

(More on TIME.com: NGP vs. 3DS vs. iOS vs. Android: Which Gaming Platform Will Earn Your Love?)

Microsoft Xbox 360

What We Know Already: The powers-that-be in Redmond will show off the second wave of first-party Kinect games, which supposedly skew more towards hardcore gamers. Big games like Gears of War 3 will also be an important part of the 360’s slate at E3, and Microsoft’s also holding two unannounced titles up their sleeves to reveal on Monday’s press conference.

The Big Mystery: “Home entertainment”? Press releases and a post on the Official Microsoft Blog are positioning the Xbox 360 as not just a games console, but as a home entertainment device unlike any other. In previous years, Microsoft’s used E3 to announce their partnerships with Netflix and ESPN and speculation is that another similar announcement will happen next week. If the buzz is true, a reveal of IPTV functionality–which essentially lets your console work as a cable box–might be the thing that energizes Microsoft’s home entertainment plans for the Xbox 360.

What We’ll Probably Find Out: Whether there’ll be a birthday party for Halo. Bungie may be gone, but Microsoft’s owned Halo outright for years now so they’re the ones who’ll be in charge of Master Chief’s 10th anniversary. Rumors have been percolating that a remastered HD version of Halo: Combat Evolved will come out this year, making a splash during the press conference. Meanwhile, 343 Industries–the internal studio in charge of all things Halo–has yet to reveal what they’re working on. So, either way, expect to hear something Master Chief-related this year.

(More on TIME.com: Rumor: Remake of the First ‘Halo’ Game Coming Next Year?)

Dark Souls

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What We Know Already: It’s going to be difficult. Dark Souls is a spiritual sequel to 2009’s Demon’s Souls. That game cast players as a medieval warrior battling through the hellish dungeons of Boletaria where you’d constantly get trounced by the demons plaguing the landscape and die…lots. But once dead, your ghost could choose to leave a message for other players with hints on how to beat the enemy that just killed you. In an era where every game feels like it needs to constantly hold your hand, this action/RPG won accolades for its punishing difficulty and innovative use of asynchronous co-op.

The Big Mystery: How hard it’s going to be. Demon’s Souls was a PS3 exclusive, but its sequel’s headed for both the 360 and PS3. That said, developer From Software isn’t making Dark Souls more accessible for new players; they’re actually ramping up the difficulty. So, if you thought the last game was a challenge, this one may well be torture.

What We’ll Probably Find Out: How we’ll deal with the challenge. From Software’s mentioned that the multiplayer will be changing, so E3 should offer a glimpse of that. The weapon upgrade system will supposedly be easier to figure out, too. That’s good news, because with a game like Dark Souls, you’re going to need all the help you can get.

(More on TIME.com: Made in Japan: Highlights from the 2010 Tokyo Game Show)

Dead Island

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What We Know Already: No trailer’s ever generated the kind of buzz that the promo clip for Dead Island did earlier this year. The horror of a zombie apocalypse is driven home by watching a hapless family on vacation get attacked by the undead, with a gut-wrenching sequence in which a daughter gets bitten and must be abandoned by her mother and father. The game itself unfolds as a first-person adventure.

The Big Mystery: What caused the outbreak? Banoi’s the vacation paradise where Dead Island happens and you’ll get to play as one of four characters who, luckily or unluckily, survive the chaos. Why the survivors are on the island, why they lived and what turned ordinary folks into abominations are all questions that playing the game will answer.

What We’ll Probably Find Out: Will it make you cry? Dead Island combines the elements of lots of different zombie games: weapons crafting from Dead Rising, co-op from the Left 4 Dead series, the specific dismemberment of Dead Space and Dead Space 2. But the end result promises to feel like something new. You’ve got speedy zombies, ones who use weapons and others with special abilities fighting against human survivors who will themselves have upgradeable skills. And if all of that’s in service to a powerful story, then Dead Island could reap rewards all its own.

(More from TIME.com: My Favorite Zombie: The Boomer from ‘Left4Dead‘)

Tomb Raider

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What We Know Already: Signs of a total reboot for gaming’s first sex symbol surfaced earlier this year when news surfaced that a new Tomb Raider was coming down the pike. Then, screens and previews indicated that this was to be a younger, less worldly Lara stranded on a remote island where she’d have to survive by her wits and archery, without the use of those trademark pistols.

The Big Mystery: Who is this Lara Croft? The previous iteration of video games’ most prominent heroine became an icon because of specific qualities: aristocratic toughness, ingenuity under pressure and over-the-top sexiness. Two of those things, at least, appear to no longer be in play in the trailer above. But, New Lara might just find other ways to be a compelling character in her own right.

What We’ll Probably Find Out: What’s going on with that weird island? While most of that trailer unfolds in a deeply realistic fashion, the scenes of Lara waking up show a lot of shipwrecks on the shore of the mystery island. Tomb Raider games always added a bit of the otherworldly to their plots and there just might be supernatural elements in this reboot as well. Lara may not be an archaeologist anymore, but that doesn’t mean she won’t be able to uncover secrets

(More on TIME.com: Lara Croft to Get Reboot in New ‘Tomb Raider’ Game)

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