As others have state, I have troubles seeing Halo 3, GTAIV, and SSBB on the game of the year list. I'm sure they will all be great games that people will eat up, but they haven't done much at all to evolve the genre in any way. There are some sequels that can make it on the game of the year list (Zelda for instance), but most can't because they are generally just upgrades from the version before.
I originally put Assassin's Creed on my list, but the more I watch and read about it, the less I'm thinking it's going to make it on the list. Don't get me wrong, it looks great and I'll likely end up getting it, but from what I've read the combat system isn't there yet and there's not a lot to do other than explore.
As for Heavenly Sword, I'm not convinced yet that it's something other than a God of War clone and I just don't think it's going to make it on the list. I already pointed out earlier that just being pretty doesn't guarantee you position on the game of the year list. So far, Heavenly Sword hasn't shown anything to make it stand out other than being pretty.
Lair is pretty much in the same boat and things on screen doesn't always equal good. I admit, I actually haven't read much at all about the game but if things on screen at once is it's selling point, well, we've already seen that doesn't do much for a game.
