E3 2009 officially kicks off next week at the LA Convention Centre and as usual, the week before, we put our speculation caps on and tell you what we want to see at the show. Welcome to the first of two features we roll out before the show starts, this time discussing our Top 10 Most Anticipated E3 Titles that are currently unconfirmed for the show. Remember unconfirmed, so don’t expect your Modern Warfares, Mass Effects and Assassin’s Creeds to show up here. Okay then, let the speculation begin, huzzah!!

10. Onimusha 5

Capcom have been hinting that they’re announcing a new game at this year’s E3 and before they could put the phone down, or click the refresh button, the internet was alight with rumours that the title was Devil May Cry 5. Capcom were quick to shoot that down stating that the upcoming title is a fan favourite and one fans have been screaming for but definitely not Devil May Cry 5. So that leaves us with three thoughts ... Marvel vs. Capcom 3, a new Megaman, or the most likely (in our opinions), Onimusha 5. Considering the enormous success that the series has had for the publisher and the general love for the series, it makes perfect sense ... and it’s an announcement we’d welcome with open arms.

9. Ghost Recon 4

Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 1 and 2, were two fantastic games that truly did the long standing franchise justice. With Ghost Recon 4 already planned for a fall 2009 release, where better to show it off than at the pinnacle of the gaming calendar? With the last title being over 2 years ago, we’re expecting a huge improvement in quality not just in terms of graphics, but gameplay as well. Whilst it’s currently unconfirmed that the title will show at E3, we’re pretty hopeful it’ll make some sort of appearance ... even a trailer would tide us over ... for a bit.

8. Forza 3

We’re absolutely itching to see what Microsoft and Turn 10 Studios have up their sleeves for this beast but the reason it doesn’t feature higher in our list is simple ... it’s been rumoured to be part of the Microsoft’s E3 frontal attack for so long now that we debated putting it on the confirmed list. Rumours suggested last year that the title would feature 400+ cars, 100+ tracks and there would be that much content that two discs was a reality. It’s not been confirmed as part of the line-up, but Microsoft are keeping their cards close to their chest this year and have announced nothing. Or at least they tried to. 2010 could be the year of Forza 3 vs. Gran Turismo 5. It’s mouth-watering, it really is.

7. Perfect Dark Zero 2

You’ve all heard the rumours by now that Microsoft is set to unveil an unannounced AAA title at this year’s E3, so it’s time we speculate, because that’s what we do best. Of course, that title could be Forza 3, but with that pretty much common knowledge, what other bombshells could they drop? In what is the first of two speculative guesses as to what could be in the offing, we’re hoping to see a little Rare action that revitalises the hugely popular Perfect Dark franchise. It’s been over 3 and a half years since we last heard from Joanna Dark and co, and it’s about time that Rare churned out a more action-orientated title and mature title. What better than with one of their biggest franchises? Imagine that, a Perfect Dark Zero 2 announcement and the announcement that the rumoured Perfect Dark XBLA remake was on its way. We can dream, right?

6. The Ballad of Gay Tony (AKA GTA IV DLC Episode 2)

We know technically it’s not a game, but after playing The Lost and Damned, we’re inclined to give it the temporary pass of “retail worthy.” After this week’s official announcement we find it hard to believe that Microsoft won’t push this through their press conference as one of the console’s major selling points ... and let’s be honest, we totally agree. With The Ballad of Gay Tony looking to take advantage of the vibrant night life of Liberty City, players can expect to see a totally new side of the city as to what we experienced in The Lost and Damned, which frankly excites us. Variety is the spice of life my friends and although Rockstar aren’t attending the show (they say), we’d still love to see The Ballad of Gay Tony there in some form, specifically a trailer at the Microsoft Press Conference.

5. Final Fantasy XIII

Ever since last year’s E3, Xbox 360 owners have had the pleasure of being able to look forward to a Final Fantasy title for the first time on their Microsoft console (yes, that’s right, we’re discounting Final Fantasy XI because Final Fantasy games are all about the single player role playing). After seeing the Japanese release of the demo so well received, we can’t help but think that we have a Game Of The Year already chalked up for next year. We’re not expecting to see much of Final Fantasy at this year’s show, but we’d definitely walk away happy if we saw another trailer, or even better, bumped into the demo on the show floor that we could sink our teeth into. Wouldn’t that be marvellous!?

4. Beyond Good & Evil 2

The original Beyond Good & Evil title, despite its poor sales performances, was a critically acclaimed success and has featured in many top Xbox games features run by various publications. Ever since the game announcement of the title at Ubidays last year and the subsequent trailer that dropped with Pey'j making his first next gen appearance, we’ve been excited. However, it wasn’t until the leaked footage from the second game made its way on to the net at the beginning of May that realised how epic the sequel could be. A funny time to “leak” a good quality gameplay clip if you ask us ... you know, a month before E3, in a year where Ubi scrapped Ubidays to concentrate on the big shows. Interesting huh? Either way, we’re pining to see some more action and E3 seems like a good bloody stage for it!

3. Crackdown 2

The original Crackdown was possibly the most under-appreciated Xbox 360 game to-date. Whether it was the fact that they shipped the Halo 3 Beta with it, thus detracting from the spectacle, who knows? Either way, we frickin’ loved it. Every second of it. Whether Realtime Worlds are publishing it (who are attending showing off APB) or the newly formed Ruffian games are, we’re not sure. What we are sure about, is that Microsoft recently released a Crackdown theme on the Marketplace ... a theme for a game that is two years old? If they weren’t trying to remind us of the original title and bring the franchise to the forefront of our minds, I have NO idea what they were thinking.

2. Halo: ODST

Whilst Halo ODST might not be a full retail title and has no Master Chief, we’re still excited to see it at this year’s E3. To date the public has seen no in-game footage of the title in action and we’ve not even caught so much as a screenshot. The title currently sits on the unconfirmed E3 titles list, but so does every Microsoft game, and common sense tells us that this title will be there, AND playable on the show floor. Expect Bungie’s last Halo title to be top billing at this year’s Microsoft press conference. Not bad for a “budget” game really.

1. Alan Wake

This is it Alan ... last chance saloon. It’s been too long and we can’t keep going through the same emotions every year and coming out at the end without our fix. Whilst Alan Wake is currently unconfirmed as being part of the show, it would be a perfect selling point for Microsoft this year at their press conference. What do we know though? We know that Alan Wake reared his fantastically rendered head last year at the Finnish premiere of Max Payne which happened to be more interesting than the film itself. And we also know that Xbox 360 World reported that Alan Wake would see a 2009 release according to Remedy. An Xbox 360 console exclusive, that looks simply amazing, that’s due out in 2009 ... not at E3? We’re not buying it and can’t wait to see Alan Wake in some form or another. If it’s not there, that’s it Alan ... me and you are over. O-V-E-R!

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A pretty fine list of games there if you ask us, with 6 of the 10 being Xbox 360 exclusives and we’d call it a pretty successful E3 if we saw just half of those. Check back over the weekend for our second pre E3 anticipated titles piece, this time focussing on the already confirmed. We’ll also breakdown what we intend to be doing as far as coverage goes whilst we’re out there.