Tony Mitera, Staff Writer (Yep, he's the one)

1) StarCraft 2: Wings of Liberty -- You know, I hate myself for putting this as my number one. I mean, I truly think that it may live up to the original, and the new campaign mode just sounds awesome. No, I hate it purely because even after I ranted against Blizzard fracturing the title into three purchases rather than one I’ll still be waiting among all the other loyalists at a midnight launch somewhere. StarCraft has that sci-fi appeal in which humanity just seems to be dimly screwed without being too gritty. Well, that and there’s my secret man-crush on Jim Raynor.

2) Star Wars: The Old Republic -- Seriously, it is likely a billion dollar franchise by now, can us Star Wars geeks finally get our MMO? Galaxies was great, wasn’t ruined by the NGE, exists sure enough, but hearing the developers talk about their intent to make an MMO that has actual weighty decisions means I may actually read quests now. At least they don’t have a scout class that they can delete from the game and force me to reroll with later on.

3) Alpha Protocol -- A little less Bond and a lot more Jack Bauer, I’m probably looking forward to this mostly because the genre just lends itself well to an RPG rather than a shooter. I love Goldeneye as much as anyone, so please don’t let readers kill me in my sleep, but really giving the player their own choices to make from “do I upgrade this skill” down to “do I kill this guy or not” sounds like a lot of fun.

4) Half Life Episode 3 -- Jeff already nailed it, though methinks that Valve time and reality differ when you think of the “short” turnaround time that episodic content is supposed to have. Poor Lamar though. I would say it would be the first headcrab known to leave Earth, but that is probably because I still have a mental block on the horrors of the Xen levels. Either way, there are few gaming pleasures sweeter than applying some crowbar to those freaking head humpers.

5) Prototype -- Yeah Brandon, it’s like Crackdown, only you can straight up murder people. It’s hard to not like playing as the anti-hero when you can stare down a tank a think eh, I will consume your mortal coil. Ahem.

StarCraft 2: Wings of Liberty

Cole Jones, Staff Writer

In an effort to blabber on about things that haven't been blabbered about yet, I'm opting to skip over the Blizzard and BioWare favorites for these few games. Of course that doesn't mean that I'm not excited about Dragon Age or Diablo 3 (don't fire me!), but I figured these overlooked gems deserved a little limelight, too. I also tried to stray away from February releases, since I felt like we needed a long term forecast.

1. Dragon Quest V -- Alright, alright. I'll admit it: I'm a bit biased when it comes to classic RPGs. But with that said, even those who are getting a bit annoyed with the recent onslaught of RPG remakes have to buckle a little bit at DQ5. It's the first time the foreign masterpiece has ever been localized for release outside of Japan, and it's sporting the same updated look that make Dragon Quest IV such a breeze to play through last year. Even though I haven't been able to get my hands on it yet, the storyline looks to be far deeper and filled with more character development/interaction than ever before. To say I was a fan of DQ4 is an understatement, but this updated and mysterious remake just might knock it out of my top ten, so consider it a "must-play" for anyone who enjoys RPGs.

2. Henry Hatsworth in the Puzzling Adventure

3. Bionic Commando

4. Final Fantasy Dissidia

5. The Conduit

Dragon Quest V

William: Wow, Cole opting not to blather about his other picks. Risky move, Mr. Freelancer. Is that even allowed? So just to recap, we have Dragon Age (2 votes), Puzzle Quest, Sims 3, StarCraft 2, Resident Evil 5, and Dragon Quest V as top choices. Quite the eclectic group. I'm still calling The Sims 3 and Troy a rouse. And I don't have anything against Sims 3. It's just the idea of Troy and Sims is breaking some Newtonian Law.

Troy: Sometimes a man gets tired of invading Russia and all he wants to do is find a sofa that matches his new wallpaper.

William: Just stop. You're dead to me.

Danielle Riendeau, Staff Writer

1. BioShock 2 Sea of Dreams - Because I'm nothing if not a dreamer (ha!) I'm going to put this sequel to my favorite game of '07 on top here. Since the first title was absolutely groundbreaking in terms of its sophisticated storytelling, unique atmosphere and fun RPG-lite meets traditional FPS gameplay, I can't wait for more no matter when it ships. Whether it actually comes out in 2009 or not depends on how hard Ken Levine Cracks the proverbial whip.

2. Puzzle Quest: Galactrix - Since I nursed a raging Puzzle Quest addiction for the better part of a year, I'm pretty sure my productivity will take a nosedive once this baby comes out.

3. Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena - A remake of the original Xbox' best game (next to Psychonauts. Yeah - I said it) with updated graphics and tons of new content? Yes, please.

4. Ghostbusters - I've been rooting for this game ever since it was orphaned back in the summer. I'm a sucker for original IPs that feature wacky 80s icons and sweet ghost-capturing gameplay. Not that those are common features.

5. Madworld - I'm not normally a fan of hack n' slash, but Madworld's interesting art style has me quite intrigued. Plus, we need a little hyper violence on the Wii.

Troy: I hope you're right about Bioshock 2.

Danielle: God, me too.