A to C
Alien Isolation
Announced for PC? Yes
Release date: October
Creative Assembly hope to redeem the Alien franchise after Gearbox's Colonial Marines by rejecting action, and instead recapturing the fear and desperation of the first film. Find out if they succeeded with Evan's hands-on report .
Armored Warfare
Announced for PC? Yes
Release date: TBA
That Obsidian are making a free-to-play tank MMO is strange, no doubt, but it also means Armoured Warfare has a chance to be more than just a World of Tanks clone. Built in CryEngine 3, its makers are promising destructible environments, customisable vehicles, and—as TJ discovered during his hands-on time session the other month—a viable PvE mode.
Assassin's Creed Unity
Announced for PC? Yes
Release date: October 28, but Ubi's games often slip a few weeks on PC
Unity will let you freerun across the barricades of Paris in the height of the French Revolution with up to three allies in co-op. The latest annual dose of Assassin's Creed has made a significant visual leap beyond its predecessors, but took criticism during E3 week for only allowing you to play as a male assassin , a state of affairs which, as Tim noted, is more than just “unfortunate” .
Batman: Arkham Knight
Announced for PC? Yes
Release date: 2015
The follow up to Batman: Arkham City feels like a known entity, given the familiarity of its combat and traversal systems, but Sam discovered unexpected depth in the addition of the transforming batmobile. In the case of the Arkham series, if it ain't broke, don't fix it, just make it bigger and prettier. As you can see from the footage, they seem to have done exactly that.
BattleCry
Announced for PC? Yes
Release date: 2015
Art direction from Half-Life 2's Viktor Antonov brings a touch of class to this free-to-play team brawler from Bethesda. The developers describe it as “Team Fortress meets the brutality of 300”, so expect lots of bloody dismemberment when it's released on PC next year.
Battlefield Hardline
Announced for PC? Yes
Release date: October 21
A curious cops vs. robbers take on the Battlefield formula, a team of criminals faces a team of cops, armed with RPG launchers and assault weapons, and must battle to secure loot in heist scenarios. The beta went live during the conference, but Evan and Tyler already had a chance to play, saying the whole thing felt a bit more like a mod than a new Battlefield experience.
BloodBorne
Announced for PC? Not yet
Release date: Unconfirmed (reportedly March 31, 2015)
The announcement that From Software's new Dark Souls meets Nightmare Creatures RPG will be “exclusive to PS4” hit the Dark Souls fans in the office like a stake to the heart. We've poured hundreds of hours into From's games, which did make it to PC eventually. We can only pray that the exclusivity expires, and we'll see Bloodborne on our machines. It's set in a city that resembles a glistening gothic London, and the main character wields both a hand-scythe and a shotgun to maximise his demon-killing efficiency.
Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare
Announced for PC? Yes
Release date: November 4
The new Call of Duty is reaching further into the future to find new gadgets to spice up the 'follow senior officer and shoot pop-up terrorists' formula. That means laser rifles, and mines that dampen the sound in a given area, allowing for sneakier stealth. In spite of these flourishes, Evan discovered a familiar experience when he saw a couple of levels demoed at the show.
Civilization: Beyond Earth
Announced for PC? Yes
Release date: Unannounced, but likely late this year
Firaxis get to have fun with the Civilization formula in this outing to procedurally generated alien planets. Each human faction will evolve along three philosophical tangents, the plant-loving Harmony track, the conservative human Purity path, and the post-human machine path, Supremacy. Find out more in our massive reveal interview , and Wes' interview from the E3 show floor.
Crackdown
Announced for PC? No
Release date: Unannounced
Crackdown was the superhero crime-fighting game that no one knew we wanted when it first released for the Xbox 360; so much so that it became a hit largely because each copy came with a key for the Halo 3 beta. Once gamers had our hands on it, though, its sense of scale and power became addicting. Crackdown and its sequel have always remained console exclusives, though, so don't hold your breath on seeing this one come to PC. Instead, check out Saints Row 4 for your hit of high-octane power fantasy.
