E3: The games we're most excited about

It's E3 this week. The mere mention of the annual expo sends shockwaves of excitement through the gaming industry, but prompts barely even a ripple of interest from everyone else. But just because you haven't heard of it, it doesn't mean the news, announcements and unchecked geekery won't filter through to you in some form. Like via ShortList.com perhaps where we'll be blogging every day and handing out awards to the best the show has to offer. With the opening ceremony just hours away, here are the 10 things we're most excited about.

Far Cry 3: The FPS is heavily rumoured, but not actually announced yet. Hearsay suggests a tropical island setting and a bunch of grumpy natives intent on killing you. Confirmation is due Tuesday.

Battlefield 3: The Call Of Duty killer? No, of course not, that'll still sell by the bajillions no matter how accomplished this is. But it has emerged as a very strong rival. Can it be as good as the trailers and screenshots suggest? We'll find out this week when we finally get to play it.

Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3: As we've talked about Battlefield 3, now would probably be a good time to mention MW3. The just released trailer was staggeringly good, and there's such excitement about this game that you can already walk into a shop and pre-order. A shop that's sells games of course, you won't have much luck in M&S.

Gears Of War 3: Burnt out by all the first person shooters we've mentioned so far? Well how about a change of pace? This is a THIRD person shooter. The closing chapter in the battle between the humans and the Locust and presumably, on completion, the one where you finally get to actually win the war.

Dead Island: Have you seen the trailer? If not, stop reading, click on this link, then come back when it's finished. We'll happily wait. Done? OK... You might be a little jaded by all the video game zombies at the moment, but that promo will no doubt have refuelled your enthusiasm for them. But a great trailer doesn't make a great game. We'll play it this week and report back.

Ghost Recon: Future Soldier: At last year's E3 this looked nice but hardly set pulses racing. Perfectionist publishers Ubisoft agreed, and sent the team back to start again. Their second attempt will be on the show floor this week. Will it have been worth it?

Batman: Arkham City: The sequel to the Bafta winning, best Batman game ever Arkham Asylum. Much bigger in the scale than its predecessor, the asylum has been relocated to Gotham City itself and it's recently been announced that Catwoman will not only be in the game (she was absent last time), she'll be a playable character.

Uncharted 3: PlayStation found itself in a spot of hacking bother recently (specifically $170million worth) so it needs a stellar week. With it's new handheld to show off and the latest adventure for Nathan Drake available to see, that shouldn't be too much of a problem.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim: Way back at the start of the Xbox 360's life, Oblivion was one of the must own games. Skyrim is its sequel, and it's engine will form the basis of future Fallout games too. With unparalleled control over the story, this is the RPG to beat.

Project Cafe: The final item isn't actually a game. "So what's it doing on a list of the 10 best games?" you have every right to ask. Well before we answer that, let's drop the next bombshell - it won't actually be called Project Cafe either. What's so special about this mis-named non-game? It's a brand new console, Nintendo's Wii successor, and it'll be announced on Tuesday. See? It was worth including.