Carlos Santuana (Sly Boogie1993)

With the yearly Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) just around the corner, the excitement is building as everyone waits in anticipation to hear more about the next top title which they'll be spending their hard earned money on. With so many games on show each year it can be quite tough to know where to look first, so for a helping hand here are the top 5 AAA titles that we want to hear more about at E3 2016.

Raiden V is the fifth title in the long running and popular action packed Raiden shoot-em-up series which is developed and published by MOSS. This latest version plays very similarly to previous entries in the franchise as we see the player tasked with taking down the Crannasians, and alien race who are hell bent on destroying the Earth. However, achieving this is by no means an easy task.

Upon starting my return to the island of Banoi, my first look had me feeling generally very pleased. One thing I had previously disliked when playing through the original games was that they didn’t quite deliver on the visuals. Despite the tropical island setting proving a delightful view and a nice change to what is often seen in other horror games, the game's new setting simply looked rather rough and edgy during play, while simple movements, if made too quick, could result in screen tearing. I was therefore pleased to see the game simply looking much smoother, with screen tearing no longer an issue and everything looking like it should have the first time round.

In 1982 however came the release of Ms Pac-Man. Developed from the success of the original Pac-Man and as a thank you to all the female players of the original game the name Ms. Pac-Man was decided. It became a very quick success, selling a huge number of arcade cabinets and quickly placing it’s stamp on the golden age of arcade games as another great title. In doing so, it gave the final encouragement needed for Namco to adopt Ms. Pac-Man as an official title. But why? Why was a game that was essentially the same thing as that seen just two years previously becoming such a big success? What was different about this Pac adventure? And was this simply about to become gaming’s biggest clone!

Dig Dug is an arcade title developed and published by Namco in 1982. Released to mixed praise in 1982 with many initially loving the game, Dig Dug was quickly turned into an arcade smash hit, one which even today is still rated one of the most popular coin operated video games of all time. For many this is seen as quite an achievement and rightfully so. Now though, we've seen it arrive on Xbox One as part of the Bandai Namco Game Arcade Series.

In the 1980’s, videogames had hit a real golden age. Some of the best arcade games released to date are the reason for this golden era, and despite the various remakes and remasters available on the market, one popular choice is that of Galaga.

Pac-Man is one of the most influential games in history and the highest grossing videogame of all time. Originally released in 1980, it has been the subject of as many as thirty officially licensed spin off titles and remakes over the years. However, nothing quite captures the classic tense and frantic gameplay of the beloved original better than the original itself, and with that in mind that’s exactly what we have here - a classic, original re-release of Namco Bandai’s best-selling I.P, Pac-Man.

Paranautical Activity is a first person shooter with rogue-like elements that has been developed by the independent studio, Code Avarice. With the rise of rogue-like games over the past few years, seeing Paranautical Activity arriving on console simply adds another title to the fine selection on offer.

Resident Evil 6 received mixed praise upon the initial release mainly due to the lack of horror, instead with more focus on action sequences. For any gamer looking for a true horror experience take note - only five minutes into the opening prelude to the game and you could be forgiven for thinking you were watching the latest Michael Bay movie, with explosions and quick time events running the show over more traditional game tutorials.

Letter Quest is a game formed by two-man indie studio Bacon Bandit Games. It is very much an RPG-Scrabble hybrid and gives a greatly unexpected twist to the usual word games. But in what way?

Over the last few years remasters have gained a lot of popularity, with many publishers deciding to return to the already proven formulas instead of rushing straight to a sequel - something which causes a lot of controversy in the gaming industry. However, that’s because more often than not fond memories of a game can be ruined due to a remaster not giving the same classic experience or bringing the quality it once had. When it does goes right it can reignite the passion for a franchise for both the new and old generation of gamers alike. So how does Cel Damage HD fair in a market full of remasters?

Shantae and the Pirate’s Curse is a platform game developed by WayForward Technologies. It is the third game in the well-received Shantae series, however it’s only the first of the series to so far to arrive on the Xbox platform with a second titled Shantae: Half-Genie Hero expected later this year. Shantae and the Pirate’s Curse continues on from the events of the second game, Shantae: Risky’s Revenge in which Shantae lost her genie powers and became human. Despite now being a simple being, the formula of the game is mostly unchanged, and the one ability not taken from the previous outings is the character defining ‘hair whip’ that Shantae uses to attack enemies (after all it doesn’t take a genie to ‘whip her hair back and forward’... I will stop now).

In 2009, Chair Entertainment released an instant classic to the Xbox 360 Arcade market. It was Shadow Complex, a game quickly praised by critics and gamers alike for its Metroid inspired gameplay and simple but rewarding progression system. Shadow Complex was nominated for, and received several Game of the Year awards, becoming one of the fastest selling arcade titles with 200,000 sales within the first week of release. By the end of 2011 sales had racked up to 600,000. With that in mind the surprise announcement of a remaster on Xbox One excited many people, myself included, but can it shine again or will it be forgotten as ‘just another remaster’.