It's funny how any of the *really* good games released in the last few months and the coming months could easily win GotY any other year. Think of all the games not even being considered:

Halo 3
Rock Band
Uncharted
Metroid Prime 3
Zack & Wiki
CoD4
Ratchet and Clank
Assassin's Creed
Guitar Hero 3
Phantom Hourglass (how awesome would it be for a handheld game to win GotY)
RE4: Wii (possibly)
UT3
Portal
TF2

and I'm sure there are others I'm missing. It's just amazing the year of games we've had and the insane competition this year.

Personally, I'm thinking it's going to be a tough race between these three games:
Bioshock - I don't think the fact it's fading in people's memories is going to affect too much. It's a game that did an absolutely incredible job of placing the player in a place that felt so real (best I've ever experienced) and it told a wonderful story. The only negative was the basic gameplay and I think that's why it isn't going to win GotY.

Mass Effect - Even though it hasn't been released yet I'm still expecting a lot from this game, though like Shams this could be its downfall. With a game that does so much it's so easy for it to fail at one of those many things (even while succeeding so well on everything else) and stick out in peoples head. It's kind of like a jack of all trades-- it could be a master of none.

Super Mario Galaxy - I'm fairly sure this is going to be the Game of the Year. It has all the great things about Mario64, improves on things that were wrong in previous Mario games, adds new gameplay to the already impressive series, and completely rejuvenates the platformer genre. This is a pretty ambitious game and from everything I've heard it has pulled everything off beautifully.

im guessing bioshock mass halo 3 or SMG

Shams once again, with so few reviews you know we dont know where SMG will end up

Halo 3 was also at 96 for quite a while, until the bad reviews came in and im afraid the same will happen to SMG

Halo 3 is a great game but it's just outclassed by Bioshock and SMG. If you've noticed, it's even dropped drastically in popularity since release, again with the TF2 release, and more than likely again with CoD4. The main thing that will keep Halo 3 from being GotY is that it's a pretty Halo 2 which was a pretty Halo.

I know you're just going to come back with SMG is just a pretty Mario64, and in a sense it is, but it's also more. Watch the GT Review and it gives you a good idea why SMG is special. Halo 3 didn't rejuvinate a genre, Halo 3 didn't make old gameplay feel completely new, and Halo 3 didn't really do much new to differentiate the game from the previous ones. Super Mario Galaxy does all those things and I'm fairly confident that it will keep up the high scores (with of course the occasional 85-90 score).

Metroid Prime 3 won't win cuz it's a wii FPS or should i say FPA and you have to solve puzzles and think

 Yes.  Who cares about individual sites, there are hundreds of those at this point.

I agree with twesterm, it's between Mass Effect, Super Mario Galaxy, with BioShock third.

The only question is does the Orange Box get evaluated as a package or each game separately. By itself Portal may be too small to be in the running, but with HL2E2 and TF2, the Orange Box may be third or fourth.

The other wild card is Uncharted, we'll have to see how that does. I think although Assassin's Creed may be a decent game, it won't be at the level of those top games.

Games like CoD4, Halo 3 and MP3 just aren't going to cut it this year because there is just too much competition  (unlike last year when there were only 3-4 contenders).

Biochock, my favorite 360 game, has this on lock.

 The Orange Box is a package, you can buy all three game seperately on Steam.

But you can't buy all three separately on the 360 (or the PS3 whenever that EA port comes out).  Personally I think it should be treated like one game.  The fact that the single player and multiplayer are so very different should be rewarded not punished.  What if the single and multiplayer for Halo 3 and CoD 4 were sold separately on Steam?

Yes, but does it make it any less special? Just because it feels newer, doesnt make it better, BUT i do agree that since it feels newer, more likely for game of the year.

Still, i dont know if SMG can remain that high with scores, any less then 95 are gonna hurt