Staring off with a bang - my top five list!

Always one to show up late for the party (fashionably late, of course), I've decided to jump on the "best of" bandwagon with this first post by sharing a list of the top five games I'm looking forward to this year.

Sure, all the other "corporate" gaming sites put their lists up long ago, but they didn't have my sense of style. Or something like that. And likely they weren't gay--or at least as gay as I am.

Anyway, here are the games I'm eagerly awaiting on a number of platforms (in no particular order):

1. Super Paper Mario (Wii)--I think I wet my pants when I first saw mention of this game during last year's E3 show. I loved Paper Mario on the N64 and I loved the sequel on the GameCube even more. Sure, this version is more of a return to Mario's platforming roots, but as long as it maintains the paper cut-out look and quirky sense of humor of its predecessors, I'll be picking it up the day it's released!

2. Final Fantasy Tactics (PSP)--I know, this one is a remake, and it has a longer name than what I've shared here (I'm too lazy to go look it up), but I don't care. FF Tactics was one of my favorite games throughout my college years--I wiled away many hours playing through this epic adventure, and if the extra characters and classes are included as promised, well, it may be worth finally picking up a PSP just to play through it again.

3. Kid Icarus (Wii Virtual Console)--I'm sure this one will make a few people go "huh?" Yep, I'm looking forward to playing this old NES classic on the Wii this year. Nintendo mentioned it would be available on the VC long ago, but has been mum on the subject ever since. The wait has me going a bit bonkers. Sure, I bought the import version when it came out for the GBA a few years ago, but the game is too damn hard to play on such a small screen. Bring it out soon, Nintendo!

4. Fable 2 (Xbox 360)--I hate to admit this, but I never played the original when it came out, so I'm not sure why I'm looking forward to its sequel. Maybe buying this version will prompt me to buy the original as well. All I know is that part one allowed players to effectively choose their sexuality, which is pretty damn cool in my opinion. The man behind the game, Peter Molyneux, has said part two will maintain that option, so call me stoked for its release.

5. Heroes of Mana (DS)--Here's another game that made me shiver with delight when I first saw mention of it. I loved Secret of Mana when it came out for the SNES all those years ago, and even though pretty much every other entry into the series has sucked (with the exception of the Japan-only sequel, of course), this iteration just looks too good to be true. Tactical RPG mixed with Mana characters and storyline? I'm there!

Oh, I could include 20 more games on this list, but I'll stop here so you can run off to whatever other gaming sites you tend to peruse. Don't worry, I'll blab about more games often enough!