Ok ok… it might be a little hokey, and it might be a little late. Better late than never though right?

10. Splinter Cell: Conviction

Why buy? Good old Sam Fisher returns, but on the other side of the law! Fugitive on the run puts a new twist on the popular gameplay. You can also say goodbye to the stealth suit - replaced with a scruffy Jack Bauer look.

Why pass? Good old Sam Fisher returns…. for the 5th? 6th? or is the the 7th time. Lets hope cracking police officers in the face is more entertaining than cracked the 9 billionth terrorist in the face.

9. Vegas 2

Why buy? Rainbow Six Vegas is one of the best FPS to come out in a while. More recently Call of Duty 4 has taken the throne as THE FPS. New multiplayer modes, incorporated multi-tier XP system (like CoD4), classic Rainbow Six MP Maps, New MP Maps, revamped cover system to remove abuse and a flesh out co-op online campaign could be the fresh new taste to give the boot to the current champ.

Why pass? Campers abusing the “revamped” cover system giving you no chance whatsoever at being competitive.

8. Warhammer Online

Why buy? Anyone who thinks that there is a better PVP MMORPG to DAOC needs a slap across the mouth. Warhammer Online builds on that formula to give you an MMO that is built around PVP. Warhammer expects to pick up all the players that have been in limbo for the last 5 years playing WoW on and off and getting really bored with their pvp system.

Why pass? Constant delays to “get it right”… will they? It will be hard to mess up with this formula, but its been done before. Also, can a game stand up to the monster that is WoW - especially with no real end-game PVE?

7. Age of Conan

Why buy? Because you are sick of WoW and this game is another PVP oriented MMO built from the ground up to rely on decapitations and limb tearing realm vs realm combat. But why instead of Warhammer? For two games that are turning out very similar, AoC seems to be more mysterious and with prettier graphics. Oh and not to mention I love cutting off peoples arms and heads.

Why pass? Funcom? Did anyone play Anarchy Online?

6. Fallout 3

Why buy? Fallout may have been the best turn based action/strategy/rpg game of all time (sorry X-Com fans, I don’t care if it was around first… and sorry Jagged Alliance fans, but you are mentally retarded). After about 10 years of being MIA its time for it to come back. On top of that, its being developed by our good friends at Bethesda (think Oblivion and Morrowind) and promises to be quite epic.

Why pass? Unsure of why this is called Fallout. It is a first person RPG. It really should be called The Elder Scrolls 5: Fallout. Fans of the Fallout series should be (and are) quite outraged - but Bethesda doesn’t seem to care. Nonetheless, if you can get passed the point that we may never see another great Turn-based Strategy/Action/RPG, and try this new one, you should be impressed.

5. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed

Why buy? Three intense new Physics engines combined with a game where you play as Darth Vader’s secret apprentice and literally explode everything in your path? Can you get any better? Oh and those three physics engines. The first one deals with the matter that composes everything on the screen. Glass shatters better, wood splinters, and you actually die in real life when your character dies. The second allows for hundreds of characters to be animated on screen at once. Where else can you blast 250 stormtroopers simultaneously in to another dimension? Finally, and most interestingly “Euphoria” brings a new level of self-preservation to the AI of the game. People will scramble instinctively to try to stay alive. Watch them grab on to bars and hold on for dear life, use their arms to cover their face, and do anything possible to prevent being catapulted into the sky by your awesomeness.

Why pass? Because long drawn out single player campaigns bore you, despite them having amazing graphics and a sure fire win storyline.

4. Spore

Why buy? Because this game has been in development for about 8 years, so you at LEAST owe them that. If that isn’t enough, Spore is defined as SimEverything. SimSingleCelledOrganism right through to SimSpaceship Exploration Finding New Single Celled Organisms On New Planets. Keep your eyes peeled for the character generator being released eventually. Apparently they are populating the game with creatures that you create. I got dibs on the one eyed one horned flying purple people eater.

Why pass? Only reason I can think of is that you are still pissed off at Maxis for working 100 hours on an epic Sim City only to have a tornado ravage your creation while you were on the can.

3. Tom Clancy’s EndWar

Why buy? This game hasn’t shown up on many top tens, and to be honest I’m actually leaning towards putting it higher. In summary it is an RTS exclusive to consoles. I know, I was scared at first too. First of all, RTS is stale. Second of all, where is my god damn mouse. Then I heard its fully voice activated. Hmm… could work? Then I read its accurate. Now I’m interested. 3 sides including your standard single player campaign and multiplayer modes, but a new MMO mode as well. An ongoing EndWar that you can join or leave at any time, with all EndWar players joining in for ultimate destruction. I’m interested…

Why pass? You have Laryngitis.

2. Grand Theft Auto 4

Why buy? Strippers, guns, Russians and crime- all without STDs or criminal consequence. If you need to be sold on this game then it might be time to take your 5th attempt on suicide. Fingers crossed for you this time…

Why pass? You succeeded on your 4th attempt.

1. Fable 2

Why buy? I know I know… Fable 2 you say? Let me explain. If you haven’t done your time in actually looking at Fable 2 then you might be in for a good surprise. Fable 2 is everything that Fable 1 claimed to be (and tried to be) but came up short. In more detail, Fable is supposed to be the ultimate open ended adventure. Do what you what, live how you want, beat the game how you want. Unfortunately, Fable 1 was more like 3 games, all with a direct path. Be the good guy, the bad guy, or flip flop. Ohhhhhhhh I grow horns if I’m Evil! Fascinating - for 30 seconds. Fable 2 really is panning out to be the ultimate adventure. Every character, city, and mission all work to have a life of their own. If you burn down a city and come back 10 years later, there might be an encampment there, or maybe there will be nothing. If you trade a lot with a city, it will grow. If you terrorize a city they will run and hide when you come in. People remember you and have feelings for you. More interestingly, there is multiplayer. You can bring in a lackey and what they do in your world stays permanent. Careful who you invite in. One situation had a dev kill another devs wife. Bastards…

Why pass? You are blind deaf and dumb and therefore would experience nothing from this except the controller vibration. Come to think of it, that might offer a joy for the blind deaf and dumb that they could enjoy.

Ye Olde Honourable Mentions: Ghostbusters might snag my number 10 spot depending on how Conviction pans out. This is an epic style game being written by Harold Ramis and Dan Aykroyd. Bring on Ray Parker Jr and I’m pole-vaulting it to number 5. Also worth mentioning are The Agency (which I left out because I doubt we’ll see it in 08) which is a James Bond MMORPG, Halo Wars brings Halo to RTS, Far Cry 2 should be epic (but will it be any good), Too Human is Canadian made, and originally a PS1 title (yes its been in the making longer than Duke Nukem Forever), Ninja Gaiden 2 might sell a few more people that are behind the times on the 360, Street Fighter “is this even out this year” 4, Borderlands combines Gears of War with Auto Assault, and finally the mysterious Alan Wake finally comes to light in a Max Payne style looking game.

All in all, we’re in for a good year ladies.