E3 2014: Some Of Our Favorite Video Games: Nintendo's 'Splatoon,' 'Batman: Arkham Knight,' 'H1Z1' And More

We're back from the Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles, where we were lucky enough to experience some of the event’s most anticipated games firsthand. This year, we saw several zombie games, MMOs and awesome action titles that we predict will be really popular. Some of the titles won't be available until 2015, but good things come to those who wait. Here are some of our favorites.

H1Z1

“H1Z1,” which takes place after a zombie apocalypse has ravaged the United States, will be available for the PlayStation 4 and the PC sometime this year.

“We’re going to make sure our alpha is super polished," game designer Adam Clegg told IBTimes during E3. "We could go Early Access on Steam tomorrow, but we wouldn’t be proud of it, and it wouldn’t be something we’d want to showcase to the players. There’s things we still need in this game. When we are ready to launch the game, it’s going to be a nice, polished version. We want to make sure it’s a solid product, even though it’s alpha. Especially for a survival game. We don’t want things you have to hurdle over in order to play the game.”

Essentially, players are dropped into the game with just an axe and a flashlight. You can chop down trees, collect firewood, search for other survivors or kill wolves and deer for food. Though the premise may seem familiar, “H1Z1” isn’t just another “DayZ” clone.

“This is our own take on zombie survival. It’s set in anywhere America. ...We’re creating our own persistent world and our own take on zombies. With the vehicles and all the stuff that’s in this game, it feels like it’s our own,” Clegg insisted.

Alien: Isolation

Creative Assembly’s “Alien: Isolation” looks scary. The company will launch the title for the PC, Xbox One, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 on Oct. 7.

“'Alien Isolation’ features a dynamic, reactive, wholly unpredictable alien AI,” Jude Bond, the title’s lead artist, told us during a 10-minute game demo. This means the alien in the game is programmed to actively hunt the player by sight, sound and smell.

The first-person game takes place in 2137, 15 years after the events of the original “Alien” film. Players will take on the role of Amanda, who is investigating the disappearance of her mother, Ellen Ripley, the original film’s protagonist.

“Obviously, we want people to be scared,” Bond added. “But we also want people to connect to the game on an emotional level.”

Splatoon

How can we describe “Splatoon”? It’s sort of like a really intense game of paintball. Two players team up against two other players, with all of them appearing as cartoon-like characters that can also morph into squids. The goal is to move about the level and cover as much of the area as you can in your team’s colored ink. You can also shoot the other players with your ink gun and morph into an invisible squid to travel through your own colored ink without getting harmed.

“I’m really excited about ‘Splatoon.’ The colorful nature of those graphics, the four-on-four multiplayer -- it’s just a hoot,” Scott Moffit, Nintendo’s executive vice president of marketing, told us.

Nintendo will launch the game for the Wii U sometime next year.

Batman: Arkham Knight

We’re excited for the last installment of Rocksteady’s “Arkham” series, but we have to admit that we’re really looking forward to one particular thing: driving Batman’s awesome car.

“I’m most excited about the Batmobile,” Guy Perkins, “Arkham Knight” game manager, told IBTimes during E3.

“The Batmobile is awesome," he said. "It’s the big innovation we’ve brought about in the franchise. It’s something we always wanted to have in the game, but we haven’t had the technology or the horsepower to do that justice. Sefton Hill, our game director, is adamant it’s the ultimate vehicle and addition to the game, so we have to be true to that. With the advent of next-generation technology, we’re finally able to deliver on that promise.”

“Arkham Knight” was originally slated for a release this fall, but it won’t launch for the Xbox One, PC or PlayStation 4 until next year. Though we’re not too crazy about waiting, Rocksteady promises it will be worth it -- everything will be bigger and better in “Arkham Knight.”

“Making something that big in intricate detail was a challenge," Perkins said. "It’s five times bigger than in ‘Arkham City,’ [and] 20 times bigger than ‘Arkham Asylum,’" Perkins said. “It’s no small undertaking, making sure everything works. Progress has been challenging.”

Dying Light

Don’t get it twisted. Techland’s “Dying Light” is not just another zombie title.

“We don’t think of ‘Dying Light’ as another zombie game,” game producer Tymon Smektala told us. “It’s an action game with zombies in it. What’s most important is the natural movement system. It’s a very unique way of traversing the environment. We try to give players unlimited freedom in moving around our fictional city.”

In the game, which is told from a first-person perspective, you can explore the open world, search for items and battle the undead. Players can equip themselves with weapons like a spiked baseball bat, a pistol and an electric ax. You can also swim through water, climb walls and explore the rooftops of buildings. It’s Parkour [a training discipline that uses movement, developed from military obstacle course training] with weapons and zombies.

“We really think it is something that will evolve the genre," Smektala added. "In normal FPS games, you have to move through corridors, you stick to a path. In our game, you can go everywhere. If you see anything you can reach, you can go there.”

"Dying Light" will be launched in February for the PC, Xbox One, Xbox 360, PS3 and PS4.

Were you at E3? What were some of your favorite games? Leave a comment below.