What's going to be G.O.T.Y?

[Final-Fan]

I think that it will come down to Galaxy, Bioshock, Halo 3, Brawl, and Phantom Hourglass as a dark horse.  

While I agree with others that Halo 3 and Brawl, while very, very good, may not bring enough freshness to the table to qualify, there is always a certain amount of popularity contest to GOTY, and those two have that category down cold.  

Metroid Prime 3 and Mass Effect aren't on the list, and it's because although MP3 is an incredible game with stunning potential to change the way FPSes play, and Mass Effect may well also be an incredible game, they are simply overshadowed in what I'm confident is the biggest year in gaming to date.  

(Tangent:  it's always dangerous to make that kind of judgement without the benefit of hindsight, but the number of legendary games that have/will come out this year is so ridiculous that it's at least in the top 3.)

Phantom Hourglass would be an odds-on favorite in any normal year, but up against masterpieces and juggernauts even 39/40 Famitsu scores are no guarantee.  

Bioshock will probably lose a little of its luster with a few months' hindsight -- I think it already has -- but that in no way makes it anything other than a truly marvelous game.  Nevertheless, I think it will be outmatched by a good margin when up against

Super Mario Galaxy, my pick for Game of the Year.  The least of its strengths is that it's by all accounts ridiculously good-looking.  It combines the best of Super Mario 64 and the suits of Super Mario Bros. 3.  It is utterly fresh and new in style -- it's in space, for the heavens' sakes, with "The Little Prince"-style planets to play on; nothing like this game has been done before to the best of my fairly extensive knowledge.  (I also realize that other sections of the game are not like the "space" section.)  As stated above, everyone who touches it loves it, melting the hardest of hardcore hearts along with captivating those new to gaming.  

I don't think it detracts at all from Bioshock's immersive experience, Halo and Brawl's multiplayer and popularity, Metroid Prime 3's likely long-term legacy, or any of the other stellar games out this year to say that Super Mario Galaxy (based on preliminary reports, of course) comes closer than any of them to being the mythical perfect game.