E3 is generally that time of year when all the publisher’s go announcement crazy… and that’s why we love it. Sure, you can rate an E3 on how good the games on show are, but E3s are generally remembered for the game announcements. You’ll always remember E3 2009 for its Left 4 Dead 2, Halo: Reach and Forza 3 announcements, and the same can be said for E3 2010 and its Codename Kingdom and Bad Company 2: Vietnam – granted, E3 2010 paled in comparison to E3 2009!

With Kinect being a huge focus for E3 2010, we’re hoping that the focus shifts back over to all the core games at E3 2011 and this rambunctious bunch of games are our most wanted game announcements of this year’s shows. Some are outsiders, while others are almost certain to be announced, but that doesn’t make it any less fun to speculate and cross our fingers that we get a few treats. If half of these are even announced then you can colour us happy chappies… yes, happy chappies is a colour!

10. Far Cry 3

Rocking in at number 10 is Ubisoft’s Far Cry 3, a title that’s long overdue and a sequel that can’t be far away from getting announced, surely. Far Cry 2 was an acquired taste for most, but the engine that Ubisoft Montreal had harnessed in the title was sublime, from its wildlife and its superb environments to its wind effects and day/night cycle.

There may have been a bit too much backtracking and mundane travelling for some, but there was a potential there that Ubisoft Toronto – the new studio rumoured to be working on the game – can take advantage of to create a title of epic proportions. OPM back in Feb said that we might see Far Cry 3 before the end of the year and if that’s to be the case, E3 2011 would be the perfect time to announce such a title.

9. Borderlands 2

Bit of a long shot this one, but hey, it’s a wishlist, not a “what we think will be announced” list. Considering it’s been nearly 2 years since the original Borderlands and the art of sequel creation usually dictates that it takes 2-3 years to create a sequel – unless you’re Ubisoft Montreal or Valve – we’re thinking that a Borderlands 2 announcement can’t be far off.

E3 2011 is a bit of a long shot though, especially considering that 2K will be wanting to push BioShock, XCOM and The Darkness II, but we can cross our fingers right? Gamescom 2011 might be a better bet if we’re being honest, you know, because they used it to propel BioShock Infinite into the stratosphere last year and Gearbox will have shipped the hell out of Duke Nukem Forever, but hey, we’re crossing our fingers anyway!

8. New Splinter Cell

It’s no surprise that Jade Raymond’s studio, Ubisoft Toronto, is hard at work on Splinter Cell, I mean, she’s mentioned it already in a promotional vid, and although Splinter Cell: Conviction was only out last year, we’re hoping that we at least get an announcement or some sort of the Sam Fisher sequel.

This is probably the least likely of all the games in this top 10 to get announced, but hey, we like to throw in a few curveballs in here and there. That’s what makes writing these lists so fun! We were huge fans of what Ubisoft brought to the table with Conviction, although it did lack a little direction of what we expect in a Splinter Cell title as the game got on, but sequels are there to correct the mistakes of the past and to improve upon them. Both of which we expect Splinter Cell 6 to deliver.

7. Syndicate

The return of the Syndicate franchise is another one of those things that’s been long rumoured and one that’s been in the headlines for quite some time. In fact, it was only a week or so ago that excerpts of the game’s script appeared online, but quite why it’s taken EA so long to announce it officially, we don’t know.

I mean, we’ve been seeing trademarks galore for sometime now and it’s fast becoming one of the industry’s worst kept secrets, but despite all that, we still have no game announcement. How about E3 2011? Well, we certainly hope so!

6. Diablo III for Consoles

Call this one part wishful thinking and one part common sense. Releasing Diablo III on consoles is not only a wise business move - after all, the console market is too big to ignore now - but it’s also something that Blizzard themselves has said they’re exploring.

Considering that Torchlight – a Diablo clone created by one of Diablo’s original designers – was such a raging success and worked like a treat, there’s no real reason that console gamers shouldn’t be able to sample the delights of the popular sequel from the comfort of their couch. Gamers like me, who only use their PC for work and such, would certainly welcome this move from Blizzard and we hope that they take that on board.

5. Gears of War: Exile

Consider this one of the more obvious game announcements for E3 2011. Gears of War: Exile, which is rumoured to be a Kinect-ready Gears of War spin-off, has been common knowledge for quite sometime, whether you’re talking about the trademark filings, the insider reports that mention it’s an on-rails shooter for Kinect or the whisperings that it was meant for a VGA unveiling – that didn’t happen, obviously.

It was mentioned as recently as this week as well with the cat effectively out of the bag. Kinect owners have been screaming out for a more core-orientated experience for quite a while now and Gears of War: Exile looks set to be just that. Colour us intrigued!

4. Halo: Combat Evolved HD

From the obvious to the obvious, and another leak from the latest issue of Xbox World 360 magazine, Microsoft’s HD remake of the original Halo is set to be announced at this year’s E3. After being rumoured and leaked for quite sometime, the news this week really confirmed what we already knew.

With Timeshift’s Saber Interactive reportedly on development duty, Halo CE HD is set to be a full revamp of the original that set the foundations for Microsoft’s rise to prominence. Expect more details on what we should expect from the title this fall, being released on the 10th anniversary of the original, including things like whether it’ll ship with online multiplayer, online co-op and whether Saber can remake the Bungie title without too many issues.

We’re not sure about you, but we can’t wait to relive the magic all over again in beautiful HD.

3. Alan Wake: Night Springs

While the announcement of Alan Wake: Night Springs isn’t as clear-cut as Gears of War: Exile or Halo CE: HD, we do know that an Alan Wake product – not Alan Wake 2 – is on its way. Alan Wake: Night Springs is the rumoured product, an Xbox Live Arcade title no less, with rumoured Kinect support, but quite how true that’ll turn out to be remains to be seen.

Regardless, we were huge fans of Alan Wake, a title that fell victim to the huge success of the 8+ million selling Red Dead Redemption, and to get any chance to re-enter the world would be great news for fans of the franchise, of which there seems to be a lot.

How an Alan Wake orientated Kinect title would work or what Remedy would do to fit it an Alan Wake experience into an XBLA title are two of many questions we hope to get answered at this year’s E3. We’re hoping that Microsoft pulls Alan Wake out of its bag of tricks. We really are!

2. New Rainbow Six

Ubisoft simply must announce one of its huge franchise returns at E3 2011 and the third Ubisoft game on our most wanted game announcements list is the one we really want to see most of all: the new Rainbow Six game. It’s a franchise – like Far Cry – that’s been out the limelight for much too long and like Far Cry 3, it’s a franchise that’s recently been in the headlines.

We know they’re working on it. We know they’ve registered a domain for Rainbow Six BD. We know that we want it. After all, it’s been well over 3 years since Rainbow Six Vegas 2. Dear Ubisoft, we miss Rainbow Six, please rectify that. Preferably at this year's E3. Thank you. Lots of love, X360A.

1. Grand Theft Auto V

Was there really going to be any other game at number 1? No, is the answer. GTA V is a game that’s long overdue an announcement and with Rockstar having shipped LA Noire recently, we kind of get the feeling that they’re all go on GTA V… Oh, and Max Payne 3... and Agent... but they do have multiple studios after all.

We’re predicting that GTA V will be there in some form or another this year – maybe at a platform holder’s conference – and if it is, we’ll consider this E3 a resounding success, regardless of what goes on elsewhere.

Seeing as it’s a game that’s snagged a few headlines recently and considering that it’s been 3 years since GTA IV shipped, chances are GTA V’s inevitable announcement is just around the corner. Let’s hope that corner begins and starts in Los Angeles.

Stick with us during E3 2011 and you won’t miss a thing. If it’s news, screens, trailers, previews and interviews that you’re after from the show, then look no further.