10) Rise of the Argonauts

Mix the great team at Liquid Entertainment with the world of Classical mythology and action RPGs and you've got a recipe that we just can't resist. Focusing mostly on Jason's quest for the Golden Fleece, Rise of the Argonauts manages to bring in characters and creatures from the most popular Greek myths and presents them in a format that allows for fast-paced combat and rich storytelling. Now if we could just convince them that Hercules should actually be called Herakles, we'd be set.

9) Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3

Yeah, we miss Westwood too, but we're glad that their Command and Conquer series has found a good home at EA LA. After handling C&C 3 and Zero Hour, the team is finally ready to tackle Red Alert 3. This series is a favorite of many of the editors here at IGN, so we're particularly excited to see it return. EA LA promises to deliver all the zany hallmarks of the series, from parachuting bears to time-traveling Commies. This time around, the conflict escalates as the Empire of the Rising Sun enters the fray. With an entirely new faction, the game promises to be even more exciting and satisfying than any Red Alert title to date.

8) Crysis Warhead

Crysis was a fantastic shooter, but Crysis Warhead promises to be much more action packed. We've seen the game in action and it looks hot. What's not to like? You still have large battlefields and the wild powers of the nanosuit, but there's a lot more kinetic energy in Warhead. And the state-of-the-art graphics engine still looks unmatched a year on. It's just simply beautiful to see in motion.

7) Left 4 Dead

It's crazy, but even though we've played the same Left 4 Dead demo over and over again for the past year, we simply can't get enough of this cooperative online shooter. The best way to describe Left 4 Dead is sort of like you being one of the Army soldiers in the horror movie 28 Weeks Later. Sure, you and your buddies have got automatic weapons, but there's an ocean of zombies hurtling at you. Have fun.

6) S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky

Despite having some significant flaws, S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl got under your skin like few games before it. It was incredibly immersive, atmospheric, and unforgettable experience, challenging you to explore and survive in the radioactive wastes around Chernobyl. Clear Sky is the follow-up, and if GSC Game World can deliver a more polished game, this is definitely going to be one to play.

5) Alpha Protocol

There are few RPGs set in the modern world, and even fewer still focused on espionage. The fact that Alpha Protocol is such a game and that it's being developed by Obsidian should be enough to generate a lot of interest. Obsidian did a bang-up job with Neverwinter Nights 2. If Alpha Protocol lets you indulge your inner Bond or Bourne, that's a great thing.

4) Spore

The gaming world's been waiting for this one for quite a while, and now we're suddenly only a few months away from release. We all got a chance to try out the game's creature creator released a few weeks ago to see how powerful and intuitive Spore's tools are, but what about the actual game? Will it be more of a passive experience where you just create and observe, or will there be a significant amount of gameplay to engage? We'll only know for sure after the game comes out, but before then we're always excited to see whatever Maxis is working on.

3) Far Cry 2

Yeah, it's a sequel, but don't expect Far Cry 2 to be anything like the original. First off, it's a different developer. Ubisoft took over from Crytek, and the sequel seems set to offer an interesting take on open-world first-person shooter mechanics in the vein of something like S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl. With a wide assortment of upgradeable weaponry, a dynamic narrative, and stunning visuals, we're hoping this game lives up to its potential.

2) Empire: Total War

Creative Assembly's Total War series has always been able to deliver some of the most ambitious and visually thrilling historical strategy games we've ever seen, so it's no surprise that we're really looking forward to their latest sequel. And though we've loved fighting in feudal Japan, ancient Rome and medieval Europe, we're especially excited to see Empire Total War finally bringing the series the global war of imperial ambition of the 18th and 19th centuries. It's the perfect setting for a total war game with colorful battles, varied technology and lots of powerful nations in direct conflict with each other. Oh, and we mention that there are fully playable sea battles? What's not to like?

1) Fallout 3

It's been over a decade since the first Fallout released and any who played it have likely been keeping a close eye on Bethesda. The developer best known for its open-world Elder Scrolls RPG series made some controversial decisions with Fallout 3's design, most notably moving it into a first-person perspective. Those concerned whether or not the "spirit" of Fallout has been retained or lost will have to wait until the game's release date, which at this point remains nebulous. We can say so far Fallout 3 is certainly looking pretty, has some interesting ideas, and seems to retain some degree of humor in the dialogue and game world. We'll bring you more at E3.

Jason's Prediction:
I don't really expect to happen, but if 2K revealed its rumored X-Com game at E3 I'd probably lose it. Even though it's 14 years old at this point, X-Com remains in my top 3 games of all time. It was an incredible blend of global strategy, harrowing tactical battles, and UFO mythology. It's possible that X-Com was a game of its moment. After all, it came out as The X-Files was gaining popularity and belief in government conspiracy was rampant. But it has always amazed me that no major publisher has tried to clone it in the way that Diablo launched a thousand action RPGs or Doom ushered in countless shooters. Meanwhile, I'd also really love to see a Mass Effect 2, as well as another BioWare RPG, Dragon Age.

My biggest prediction is that this is the last year of E3. This is clearly a show in search of a format, and almost no one appreciates the year-after-year changes that have been going on; it makes it almost impossible to plan for the show. However, the sheer fact that major publishers are deserting E3 is the biggest blow. The epic-scale E3s died after the major publishers got together, fed up with the escalating costs, and demanded a change. Well, the only thing worse than wanting something is getting it, and now that E3 is a shadow of its former self the publishers now seem to want little to do with it.

Steve's Predictions:
Jason's already covered three of the biggest games that I'd like to see at the show. I'm definitely wondering about BioWare and Irrational's presence this year since they're just coming off of big projects and gearing up to reveal their future plans. If BioWare doesn't have something to show, I'd be very surprised. I'd actually not be that shocked if they revealed details on a couple of projects. As long as we're wishing, I might as well add Star Trek Online and Mafia II to the list. Right now we'll just have to wait and see what happens with those two.

I'm not expecting much from the Microsoft conference this year, at least not for PC gaming. Every year we meet with the Games for Windows group, and every year we hear more and more about how committed they are to PC gaming. Then they announce a Viva Pinata port. Sure, we'll be getting some new ports and the odd PC exclusive, but Microsoft's PC catalog won't have any new IPs this year.

I don't know about this being the last year of E3 like Jason says, but I agree that the show is on the way out unless it seriously changes its overall format. Ever since IGN began we've encouraged publishers and developers to host their own events prior to the show just so we could get a jump on the coverage. But now it seems that many publishers are avoiding the show altogether in favor of smaller, cheaper and more easily controlled events. Until E3 can provide some sort of focused benefit to publishers, there are fewer and fewer reasons for them to pay the big bucks it takes to show their games at E3.

Charles' Predictions:
Hmm, predictions, predictions. It seems with E3's more structured format there's less room for surprises. In the old, circus-style layout with press and fans roaming a massive convention hall full of blaring music, flashing lights, and dancing girls, it was easy to forget there were games on display buried underneath it all. Yet it was because of the general chaos that surprises were possible, big or small, as editors for online publications discovered things by accident and spread the word amongst colleagues, resulting in waves of news items or previews nobody really expected to be written.

Since everything's pretty much scheduled ahead of time, surprises are more a result of publisher planning than intrepid editors. Major companies are, like last year, all holding their own press conferences, and I think the Microsoft, Electronic Arts, and 2K sessions might be interesting, though with Microsoft I'm not all that hopeful. We'll likely hear a bunch of figures about how PC gaming is going strong, some talk about the benefits of a Games for Windows retail box branding, and potentially some info on something boring like Halo 3 for PC. The chances of a PC exclusive original IP from Microsoft being revealed aren't very good at all.

I don't want to just list PC versions of console games that already released (GTA IV, for instance) here, so I'll say that I'm looking forward to hearing more on BioWare's Dragon Age. It's been years since we've heard anything substantial on the game and considering Mass Effect PC released, it seems like a good time for the company to start talking. Maybe we'll hear something about their MMO as well, and hopefully Bethesda's MMO.

BioShock 2 is another game I'd like to see more on, mostly just to see where the story goes. Will it be set in the events before the first, putting you in the role of one of Rapture's citizens as their social and physical framework decays, or will it go somewhere even stranger, moving out from Rapture into the world at large. The latter direction would be pretty weird considering how reliant, thematically and gameplay-wise, the first was on its self-contained setting, but hey, you never know.

Like a lot of gamers, I want to know more about Diablo III, but alas, Blizzard isn't at the show. Until Blizzcon 2008, I suppose.