The Super Bowl/Wrestlemania of video games, E3 2010, is quickly approaching and this year appears to be jam-packed with reveals, major sequels, new intellectual properties, booth babes, and hands-on opportunities with the gaming industry’s most buzzworthy titles. E3 2010 is officially scheduled to run from June 15th through June 17th, but the action unofficially kicks off with pre-show press conferences starting on June 13th. Rest assured, the Game Rant staffers will be in attendance and will be providing coverage of all the major breaking announcements and our impressions of the playable titles at the show.

As fellow gamers ourselves, we’re looking forward to getting our hands on all of the new titles on display, but of course we Game Ranters have our own must-sees:

Deus Ex: The Human Revolution

Do I really have to explain myself here? I mean, did you see the trailer? Ok, no actual gameplay footage was shown, and Deus Ex: Invisible War was a major letdown. So why get excited? For those who have never heard of this series, the original Deus Ex, which was released for the PC in 2000, was universally lauded as a breakthrough in RPG/FPS gameplay and in my opinion, was one of the best PC games ever made. The game contained a complex-branching story line riddled with conspiracies, which made for a very addictive experience. Deus Ex: Human Revolution appears to take place about 25 years prior to the events of Deus Ex and this prequel still contains the cyberpunk and conspiracy elements that made the original such a blast to play. I’m really hoping that Square Enix will at least show off some of the gameplay at E3.

The Witcher 2

Earlier this year, CD Projekt Red announced that it would be showing The Witcher 2 via appointment only at E3. When I heard that, I quickly contacted the good people at CD Projekt Red to ensure that I would get an up close and personal viewing. The original Witcher title, based upon the fantasy novels by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski, was one of the best PC RPG titles in recent memory and was clearly a labor of love. When the title initially released, many gamers loved the complex morality system and overall gameplay, but complained about persistent technical issues, the awkward inventory system, and some of the below-average voiceovers for some of the game’s characters. Showing that it did indeed care about the fans and its product, CD Projekt Red fixed these issues through updates, and recorded all new voiceovers for many of the characters. The resulting product was an experience that no RPG fan should have missed.

The Witcher 2 promises an all new graphic engine, a more robust combat system, and a story that requires players to make more moral decisions that carry heavy consequences. And similar to Mass Effect 2, your Witcher saved game, and the choices contained within, can be imported into The Witcher 2. Hopefully, CD Projekt Red will have some news as to whether the series will come to the consoles at some point as well.

Mafia 2

I was never a huge fan of the Grand Theft Auto III games. Dodgy controls, missions that had nothing to do with being a thug, and having to repeatedly drive back to a mission restart point when you encountered a particularly hard mission always made me lose interest. Still, I loved mobster movies, so when Mafia was released on PC, I immediately picked it up and fell in love with the game. Mafia had more of a Godfather/Goodfellas vibe than GTA, great voiceover work, and the missions were a lot more realistic than those in the GTA III series. Mafia 2 appears to offer all of the great qualities of its predecessor, but with an all-new game engine and a script that has almost twice the dialogue of the original. Most importantly, Mafia 2 is retaining the series’ realistic feel. “Tommy, they got heaters!”

Anything Shown by Bethesda

One of the best developers/publishers in the gaming biz at the moment, Bethesda has confirmed that they will be showing Brink, Rage, and Fallout 3: New Vegas in some capacity. Previewing just one of these titles would make most fanboys drool. But three titles with AAA-potential? Book it. Adding to this embarrassment of riches is the current rumor that the next installment of the Elder Scrolls series will be announced as well. Need I say more?

Click to continue to page 2 where we discuss more titles we’re hoping to see at E3!

Jeff Schille, Editor

The Last Guardian

Fumito Ueda’s The Last Guardian is easily my most anticipated game for E3 this year. Ueda’s previous games, Ico and Shadow of the Colossus, remain stunning examples of their creator’s singular vision. Spare, poetic, and emotionally resonant, there are simply no games like them.

That said, neither game is flawless. For its time, Ico pushed character animation to the limit. Perhaps as a result, the game’s environments (originally designed for the PSone) were extremely repetitive and suffered from bland texture work. Shadow, with its sprawling, desolate world, nearly broke the PlayStation 2. Neither game featured particularly smooth control.

Enter The Last Guardian. In development seemingly forever, the game is sure to benefit from the massive jump in horsepower offered by the PlayStation 3. Comparatively little has been revealed about The Last Guardian. Excited though I am to learn more about the game, I hope this remains the case. Discovery is an important componant of Ueda’s work, and what his games first appear to be may not reflect what they become by the end.

Sony has given Ueda an enormous amount of time (and, presumably, money) to perfect his newest vision. I cannot wait to see what he has to show us.

Jon Lavallee, Writer

Counter Strike 2

This year at E3, I’m hoping for an unlikely announcement. I say unlikely because there hasn’t been anything in terms of buzz (besides the Facebook group/petition), but I would love to see Counter-Strike 2. Many people are pointing to Half Life 3 (Or Half Life 2: Episode 3) as the major surprise planned by Valve, but how awesome would it be if Valve instead announced that they are reviving the Counter-Strike franchise and progress is well underway? I’ve spent countless hours playing CS in it’s heyday, and I’m looking forward to getting back into it now that Steam has been released for Apple’s OS. I’m afraid I won’t get the same experience as I initially did, since the original game may feel a bit outdated. Hopefully, Valve can alleviate that potential issue by releasing a true sequel for the series.

Click to continue to page 3 where we discuss more titles we’re hoping to see at E3!

Steven Pendlebury, Writer

Like Jeff, the game I’m most looking forward to seeing more of and, more importantly, learning more about is Team Ico’s The Last Guardian. I am unabashedly in love with Ico and Shadow of the Colossus, and The Last Guardian looks to have all the smokey symbolism, silent heroism, and sense of isolation that the previous games portrayed so expertly. This is my number one most anticipated game of E3 2010.

Half Life 2: Episode 3

It has been long overdue, and I’m certain Valve is as aware of our mounting impatience as we are when it comes to Half Life 2: Episode 3. The recent cancellation of the Portal 2 media event mentioned that it had been replaced with a “surprise.” Like many others around the net, my guess is that Episode 3 is the surprise. As successful as Portal has been, the only thing Valve can top that game’s sequel with is the final Half Life episode. I’m calling it: Valve is showing Episode 3 at E3 2010.

Doom 4

Though Doom 3 ultimately disappointed many (myself included) by its lack of variation and total abandonment of its own legacy, my hopes are still astronomically high for id’s newest take on the franchise. My hope is that Doom 4 will combine the atmosphere and cinemtic flair of Doom 3, but retain as much of the heart and soul of Doom and Doom 2 as possible. The bottom line here is that I want to see a B-Movie vision of hell that matches the original Doom’s cover art.

Zelda Wii

Nintendo could literally remake Ocarina of Time over and over again for every new console generation, and I’d still buy and play them all to death. My hopes are high for this one, but I’m also hoping against hope they don’t throw in a new mechanic that subtracts from the overall experience, like wolf-transformation and riding around on a train. Don’t let me down, Nintendo!

Pilot Wings Wii

This hasn’t been announced, discussed, mentioned, or even rumored, but I know it has to exist. It can’t not exist. The Wii controller suits the gameplay of Pilot Wings so well that I am absolutely at a loss to fathom exactly why we haven’t seen or heard anything about a Wii iteration of this game. In either case, my money is on it existing, and the time to show it is now!

That’s just some of the games we here at Game Rant will be looking for when we arrive at E3. What titles are you looking forward to (or hoping are announced)? Let us know in the comments below!