Hype Dreams: The 15 Games We Hope Are Announced At E3 2011

E3. How can one letter and one number stoke such anticipation in millions of gamers? The Electronic Entertainment Expo is where the industry's publishers and developers proceed to blow our minds and stake early claim to our pre-order money by announcing their upcoming projects. Last year, we were treated to the hardcore fanfest from Nintendo, the first appearance of road rager Twisted Metal from Sony, and from Microsoft...well, let's just forget that white-poncho Kinect reveal if we can. The show's 2011 edition is getting closer every day, and we're already dreaming of some games that would cause the message boards to go into a frenzy. Join us as we count down the 15 games we're hoping to freak out over at E3 2011.

By Elton Jones

Last Notable Release: Darkstalkers Chronicle: The Chaos Tower (PSP, 2005)

Complex Says: The Monster Mash of fighting games hasn't been given a proper sequel in 13 years, which is a an eternity to fans of the series. Darkstalkers's most popular femme fatales (Morrigan, Felicia, and Hsien-Ko) have gotten the guest star treatment in Marvel vs. Capcom 3; maybe Capcom is gauging fan interest for a fourth entry in the fighting game series by going this route. What? It's possible!

Will It Be Announced?: Sad to say, but we're gonna go with no. The fighting devs at Capcom have enough games on their plate at the moment. We still have yet to see any more footage of the upcoming Street Fighter x Tekken, plus the arcade edition of Super Street Fighter IV and online edition of Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike are still being worked on. Another round of ghouls-and-goblins combat may have to wait a bit longer.

Last Notable Release: Soulcalibur: Broken Destiny (PSP, 2009)

Complex Says: So we got to shank a few foes on our handhelds; big deal. Now we're ready for some home console versus-style swordfighting, and what better game to do it with than a new Soulcalibur. The fourth iteration was simply breathtaking graphics-wise, and the gameplay never got old. We even got to wield some lightsabers with some heads from the Star Wars franchise. The fifth version would have to be just as epic and geive us some even doper choices for outside characters.

Will It Be Announced?: We think it's highly possible. Namco has given us proper sequels to the 3D brawler Tekken, plus they're working on their version of a Street Fighter vs. Tekken showdown. Amidst all the hooplah for those games, Namco could be secretly cooking up Soulcalibur 5. We can already hear the confusing pre-battle announcer babbling...

Last Notable Release: Bayonetta (PS3/360, 2010)

Complex Says: Devil May Sarah Palin? That's the first thought that popped into our heads when we laid eyes on Bayonetta. Platinum Games' trippy action game that pitted a badass witch against angels was a blast from start to finish. The battles were frantic, the moves were fresh, and the enemies were plentiful. After we ran up a rocket and laid waste to a god, we were ready for a follow-up.

Will It Be Announced?: Maybe. Platinum Games is hard at work on their next release, Anarchy Reigns, so there's a good chance that they're full attention is on that title. But we truly believe in our hearts that those devs are also secretly putting together Bayonetta 2. If our main witch becomes a playable character in Anarchy Reigns, then the chances for a sequel will go waaaaay up.

Last Notable Release: Strider 2 (PS, 2000)

Complex Says: We applaud Capcom for blessing us with new renditions of franchise favorites like Bionic Commando and Mega Man. But one of our long-forgotten favorites has yet to be revisited. WHERE'S OUR STRIDER 3? The future ninja who defies the laws of gravity and battles robotic politicians needs to get a comeback game. Everyone seemed to love the guy in the Marvel vs. Capcom series, and his games weren't too shabby either. An HD remake or fully realized sequel would be the move.

Will It Be Announced?: Nah. We hear that the rights to the Strider franchise aren't in Capcom's hands, so getting them sounds like a tough task. Might be the reason why we didn't get to see the blue menace in Marvel vs. Capcom 3 too. We'll still hold out hope for a proper sequel. Kinda like the Bionic Commando reboot, just 100x better.

Last Notable Release: Capcom vs. SNK 2: Mark of the Millenium 2001 (PS2/XBox/Gamecube, 2001)

Complex Says: The other fighting game series that hardcore tournament players go crazy for. Capcom vs. SNK 2: Mark of the Millenium 2001 had a deep roster that pitted Capcom against SNK in a war to settle the score. Ryu throwing hands with Terry Bogard? Zangief battling Raiden for wrestling superiority? M. Bison taking on Geese for the title of "Most Reviled"? It was all possible. Now, with all the brand-new faces added to both franchises' fighting staples, we think it's time for Round 3.

Will It Be Announced?: Not this year, but sooner rather than later. Capcom and SNK are both a lil' busy making their respective fighting games, so any future meeting between the two seems distant. The fans demanded Marvel vs. Capcom 3 and they got it, though; could the same thing happen for Capcom vs. SNK 3?

Last Notable Release: Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner (PS2, 2003)

Complex Says: Jehuty. Dingo Egret. Orbital Frames. If you're sporting a grin on your face, you're no doubt a fan of Zone of the Enders. Hideo Kojima's mecha based game was the definition of a japanese anime in playable form. Both entries in the series were standouts in the PlayStation 2 game library, and a huge following eventually grew for the games. We'd like to jump back into our Jehuty, take flight, and blast some more robo baddies out of the sky for the unnannounced sequel.

Will It Be Announced?: Nay. Hideo Kojima and the crew at Konami are giving us another iteration in the Metal Gear Solid series, entitled Rising. We all know how long those games take to get made, so any side projects pertaining to another ZoE is out of the question...for now.

Last Notable Release: Resident Evil 5 (PS3/360, 2009)

Complex Says: We've been the masters of unlocking and zombie blasting for years now. Resident Evil took us from the infected suburbs to the shantytowns of Africa, and we've endured the worst creepers Umbrella Corp. has to offer. We've all had a ball gettin our Last Action Hero on in RE's last installment, but we'd like to see a return to the series roots for the sixth edition. More zombies, more lickers, more horror, and less ammo? Survival horror at its finest.

Will It Be Announced?: Yup yup! There's been some rumblings in the industry about Capcom's development team cookin' up another sequel for our favorite horror series. The 3DS is gettin some RE love, plus a HD rendition of Resident Evil 4 and Resident Evil: Code Veronica are heading our way soon. Preparation for number six, perhaps?

Last Notable Release: Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts (360, 2008)

Complex Says: That last title still makes us ayo! just a little bit. Anyways, we were excited as hell when word came around that Rare would be blessing us with another Banjo & Kazooie game. Then we saw it, played it, and felt a little underwhelmed. Putting together our own custom rides and racing like madmen was fun and all, but we longed for the series' platformer roots. Jumping around, collecting doo-dads, and hearing Banjo's bear laugh was the ish back in the day, and we want that old thing back.

Will It Be Announced?: Probably not. Rare's been pretty quiet on the gaming front, Kinect Sports notwithstanding. New game? No dice. We want our bear-and-birdie combo back, but it looks like it may be a while before that happens.

Last Notable Release: Killer Instinct 2 (N64, 1996)

Complex Says: How this game hasn't been created yet is a question that has irked us for several painful years now; the last time we got to bust fools with an Ultra combo was way back in ’96. Someone at Microsoft or Rare needs to bring up Killer Instinct again and get some buzz going. After all, Balrog can't see our man TJ Combo in the ring.

Will It Be Announced?: Anybody peep the Killer Instinct 3 mention in Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts? We got a Christmas card from Rare and a music sheet that contained the opening theme to the game. Hmmmm. Rare has supposedly expressed some interest in making a Killer Instinct for Kinect, so let's keep hope alive.

Last Notable Release: None

Complex Says: So we've gotten our shits and giggles from playing the casual games released for the Kinect so far. Fun times have been had petting our pet tiger cubs, doing yoga, and doing the Roger Rabbit. It's been real, guys, but now we're ready for some hardcore, hands-free gaming. We were pleasently surprised by how dope and intuitive Killzone 3 played with the Playstation Move, so imagine how fun such a game could perform on the Kinect. Gears of Kinect? Halo Kinect? Too Human Kinect? Wait, scratch that last one.

Will It Be Announced?: We say yay. Microsoft has hit the casual market hard with all types diversion titles, but now it's time for them to please the millions of hardcore gamers that have kept them at the top. A motion-controlled FPS or GTA would do just fine, thanks.

Last Notable Release: Project Gotham Racing 4 (360, 2007)

Complex Says: And here's another reason to mourn the loss of development studio Bizarre Creations once again. These guys blessed us with a breath of fresh air for the racing genre; PGR introduced us to the Kudos systems and had us drifiting around every single turn. Now we're hyped up on energy drinks and ready to hit the road again. Somebody bring on the fifth one!

Will It Be Announced?: There's a possibilty. Even though Bizarre Creations has been permanantly disbanded, there's still hope for a sequel from development team Turn 10 Studios. We call it a 50/50 chance when it comes to a future announcment for the series at E3.

Last Notable Release: Sonic 4: Episode 1 (PS3/360, 2010)

Complex Says: Trust us when we tell you we're ready for the next episode. The first installment of Sonic 4 was an enjoyable old school romp that featured our blue hedgehog compadre going back to 2D roots. We can't fault Sega for playing it safe with that one, since the series has been tarnished by most of the releases before it. Now Sonic's gotta venture out of his comfort zone and introduce us to new levels with new design and even crazier loop de loop moments. Gotta go fast, yo!

Will It Be Announced?: The blue bomber beat the Eggman once again, but for those who copped all

the Chaos Emeralds before the big fight in Episode 1, an ending cutscene popped up depicting a

familiar villain. Episode 2 is already in development, so expect to hear some tidbits about it real soon. It might be too early to unveil some footage, but we'll keep our finger crossed and our bubble shield glowing. But please, Sega, no Big The Cat.

Last Notable Release: Halo: Reach (360, 2010)

Complex Says: Reach was the franchise's swan song for the former developers Bungie. Their final installment marked the end of a fantastic run of games under the Halo banner. So who's got their hands on Master Chief now? 343 Industries, a Microsoft gaming development team, has been handed the reigns to the series; we're a bit tentative about the possibilty of a post-Bungie version, but we trust that the guys at 343 will prove our fears wrong.

Will It Be Announced?: We hope so. There've been some rumblings about 343 Industries making an HD remake of Halo: Combat Evolved, but we haven't seen any proof of that yet. If there's any right time to unveil the latest installment of the deep space epic FPS, though, E3 is definitely it.

Last Notable Release: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (PS3/360, 2009)

Complex Says: And here's the reason why we've already packed our bags for sunny L.A.: We have to be there in person if any type of announcement is made about the next edition of the Modern Warfare sub-franchise. There's a ton of legal drama going down between the former heads of Infinity Ward and megapublisher Activision that has us worried about the franchise's future, but we know as well they do that the Call of Duty series is a money-printer, so there's bound to be another one.

Will It Be Announced?: No question. We've already heard some solid info on the game: the game is slated for a November 2011 release; the single-player side of things is being helmed by Sledgehammer Games; the multiplayer component is being worked on by Raven Software; and it's rumored to be a prequel starring our old buddy Ghost. C'mon, E3, show us the cookies.