Anyone who spends ten minutes with me will realize that I am one of the nerdiest girls out there, raised on a healthy diet of Star Wars, Indiana Jones, 70's rock and classic literature.  Think Beowulf in original Middle English.  That joy of adventure, good writing and awesome music definitely affects what I enjoy in my games.  And by “affects,” I mean I can’t enjoy a game, even if everyone else loves it, if even one aspect I value is crap. With that in mind, here are my top picks – my 5 all-time favorite video games.

KNIGHTS OF THE OLD REPUBLIC

My bizarre love/hate relationship with Lucasarts started with their now classic Knights of the Old Republic, the Star Wars RPG that won so many awards. The story is superb and I honestly had no clue on the big reveal until it finally happened. I played this one on my old, half dead Xbox that promptly died after my sixth play through of the game. I still play sometimes on my 360!  I’m sure it’s shaking its virtual head at me whenever I decide to waste hours of my life on it. Sure, the graphics are not as pretty as they could be, but for when it came out, it was pretty cutting edge. And the music always gives me that little swell of "awesome" as the game made me feel like a god. Knights of the Old Republic is a game that I will probably continue to play until I am too feeble to see the screen and read the horrible blue text.

LEFT4 DEAD

The Zombie Apocalypse genre is something that has always scared and intrigued me.  From the ancient mythology of Central American voodoo to the modern-day zombie flicks, I enjoy it all. And that’s probably why I love Left4Dead so much. Not being a big FPS player, I was a bit apprehensive to try it out, but after some “gentle” encouragement, I gave it a try and fell in love.  It’s gritty and dark and the soundtrack give me nightmares.  The story is simple but brilliant, and I am actually a decent player at it. Shocking many of my male counterparts, I frequently have the highest head shot count, and I love my assault rifle like a child. The unholy love of this game has crossed over to my son, who mimics the boss zombies with a frightening proficiency.  It’s been decided that when he’s older (being only 4 now), he gets to slaughter zombies with mom and dad.

THE FORCE UNLEASHED

Remember that love-hate thing I have for Lucasarts? Yeah, here it is again in their release of The Force Unleashed. I waited nearly three years for this game, and while I do have some complaints (too bloody short and linear), the pure, unadulterated joy of flinging storm troopers out of windows has won TFU a place in my black little heart. There is something about beating on various villains (and heroes) from the Star Wars Universe that makes every Star Wars nerd happy. Sure, I got my butt handed to me several times in the final boss fight, but I had to cackle in glee when I finally got to beat on the Emperor himself. And a small hint to those who haven’t played it: play it, then download the extra mission.  It’s got some great back-story that just enhanced the whole experience.

ROCK BAND 2

Rhythm games are great casual fun for me and big giant headache when I play with my husband, but only because he’s WAY more talented than I am. This brings me to Rock Band 2: sometimes a thorn in my butt, but full of excellent music that I can always enjoy. It’s the only game that has Eye of the Tiger and Hungry Like the Wolf as playable songs. Rock Band has an ever-growing track list of great songs, and I could play and listen to it for hours. Plus, it’s always fun to put my character in next to no clothes, and see if I can distract my husband while we're playing.

PLANTS VS. ZOMBIES

I know I said a game has to have a good story for me to enjoy it, but I’m making an exception, because I love Plants vs. Zombies. And now zombies have been mentioned twice, creating a theme to my preferences. PvZ is a simple “protect-your-base” strategy game where you use various plants to help you protect your home from waves of cartoonish zombie invaders. The end level messages from the zombies are amusing and great cause for giggles. There are tons of extras and mini-games, and it’s fully worth the $9.99 I paid for it. It’s an excellent bargain and so much fun to play. PopCap knows how to make a game become like crack for people, and they definitely did it with this one. Plus, it’s really amusing to blow up zombies with cherries and jalapenos.

I am, sadly, very aware of the theme of my fave upcoming games. That theme is, “See How Much Cash My Darling Husband Will Let Me Waste Every Month”. So without further ado, and with LOTS of hope that he'll just hand me his wallet: my top five upcoming games.

DC UNIVERSE ONLINE

The number five spot was originally meant to be for Batman: Arkham Asylum, but since that poor game is in my grubby paws now, I had to pick something new: DC Universe, the new MMO that Sony is developing in the hopes of cashing in on that juicy monthly subscription fee that a lot of people are willing to play. I am stupidly excited about this game; the idea to fight evil alongside Batman just makes me happy in places it shouldn’t. There isn’t an official release date for this one, but it’s due out in the next two years, and I have to say, I hope they don’t disappoint.

THE BEATLES: ROCK BAND

Rhythm gaming rears its ugly head again in The Beatles: Rock Band. I shrieked like an old-school fan girl when I heard about this title. Having been raised on The Beatles, among other classic rock bands, this title just reminds me of good fun. The developers have been working their butts off making this one right; the entire thing looks gorgeous, and there are even replica controllers shaped like the iconic instruments.  With the Paul McCartney seal of approval, it’s going to find its way into my Xbox 360 very soon.

STAR WARS: THE OLD REPUBLIC

Here is the hate part of my relationship with LucasArts: The Old Republic MMO, based on probably my all-time favorite game. Set many years after the events of Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords, it’s got this wonderfully written story, and the behind the scenes what I have seen of it just makes me drool like a helpless idiot. Everything I see makes me more and more excited about this game. They seem to have developed some impressive new features, and the design is just to die for. This is another title that will probably make my husband sad on the inside, but will be totally worth it.

STARCRAFT II

I played StarCraft when it first came out, and was the only girl I knew who played for a long time. I was horribly teased for being a “geek” but I’m proud to say I was one of the first girls to play this game, and I still enjoy it. StarCraft II looks so well done, and while I share the same annoyance at the always-pushed-back release date, I do like developers who refuse to put out a sub-par product. I’m not sure how I feel about the lack of LAN support, but since I'll probably spend a lot of time playing solo, or doing quick matches with friends, it may not be that big of a deal. I am patiently waiting for this one, and know it won’t disappoint.

FALLEN EARTH

I picked this game mostly because of the high amount of controversy surrounding it. A town with more than 200 corpses just hanging around? Yeah, I have to see that. Fallen Earth is another MMO, the third one on the list for those of you keeping track. But there is just something that calls me to the horror/survival genre of gaming, despite the negative repercussions to my psyche. I am very interested to see the sort of story and NPCs they create for this game. It promises to be truly disturbing!