Well, it's the end of the year, so I might as well spout off a list of my ten favorite games released this year.  Also, despite the fact that I liked the game, I promise that this list is 100% free of Resident Evil 4.

10.  Kessen III
I liked Kessen II quite a bit, but Kessen III improved on just about every aspect of the gameplay, making me feel like I was more in control of my army's actions.  It's an interesting hybrid of RTS and action game with deep levels of customization, interesting missions, and a storyline that, for once, doesn't depict Nobunaga Oda as a demonic overlord or a one-dimensional black-hearted villian.
9.  Advance Wars:  Dual Strike
Take Advance Wars 2, add some new units, dual screen support, CO swapping and Dual Strike powers, and the end result is a hundred times better.
8.  Meteos
This is the only traditional puzzle game that made it onto my list, but it's definitely deserving.  Meteos's touch screen controls give the whole falling block formula a new twist, all backed up by clean, cool visuals and an excellently varied soundtrack.  This is the puzzle game to get if you own a DS.
7.  Mario Superstar Baseball
I haven't touched a sports simulation game in I don't know how long, and I couldn't care less about them at this point.  Mario Superstar Baseball takes all of the fun of the old school arcade baseball games like Baseball Stars, plugs in characters from the Mario universe, and delivers a solid game of baseball, Mushroom Kingdom style.  The game isn't without its flaws, particularly in the base running department, but MSB is still preferable over the flood of simulation games featuring the MLB license.  Now if Nintendo could just get about to making an American football game...
6.  Soul Calibur III
When I first got this game, I was pumped to play it.  Soul Calibur II is one of my favorite games of this generation, and for the most part, Soul Calibur III lives up to the pedigree.  It does have a few unfortunate flaws that prevent it from achieving the same level of greatness, but it's still a fun game, and the character creation feature and strategy game mode are much more interesting and detailed than a lot of people would give credit for.
5.  Tekken 5
I'm going to say it right now.  A couple of years ago, I never, ever would have put a Tekken game on a list of this sort.  It was never a series that I found particularly enthralling; there have always  been aspects of it that have intrigued me, but none of the games have kept me hooked for an extended period of time.  However, from the first early impressions to its release in arcades, Tekken 5 has always struck me as being different from the previous incarnations for some reason that I can't seem to name.  It's challenging, fun and polished, and the home release gives even more in the form of character customization and arcade ports of the first three games.  It surprised the hell out of me, but this is my favorite fighting game of the year.
4.  Kirby:  Canvas Curse
I make it no secret.  I hate Yoshi Touch & Go with every fiber of my being.  Yet Canvas Curse, which uses a few mechanics refined from Touch & Go, is an incredibly fast-paced, entertaining romp.  Canvas Curse was arguably the first game for the DS that began to prove a lot of the system's doubters wrong because of all of the things that the game does right.
3.  Castlevania:  Dawn of Sorrow
Simply a beautiful game all the way around.  Although it lacks the gothic character art that is the series standard, Dawn of Sorrow fits perfectly into the Metroid-esque series of games that first began appearing on the GBA with Circle of the Moon, improving on the handheld entries with better graphics, some DS-specific gameplay touches, and some of the best music to grace the series since Symphony of the Night.
2.  Fire Emblem:  Path of Radiance
Of the three Fire Emblem games that have graced North American shores thus far, Path of Radiance is my favorite.  The cast of characters and storyline are as compelling as ever, but they're backed up with gameplay features unseen in either of the previous two games on the GBA.  The addition of the laguz units gives another dimension to an already complex web of strategy, and new features such as the forge, bonus experience and the skill system give character enhancement that extra personal touch.  This would have been my game of the year had it not been for a certain other game...
1.  Nintendogs
Wait, what?  I know what some of you are probably thinking, but for me, Nintendogs was a unique experience that made use of most everything that the DS has to offer, and it's undeniably cute.  On the surface, it's essentially a highly evolved form of the virtual pet; there aren't any major goals beyond what you set for yourself and for your puppy.  At the same time, however, the dogs act so lifelike and behave in such a way that after a while, the fact that that they're virtual doesn't really seem to matter.  They act very much like real dogs, and as a person who grew up around dogs, but currently lives in an apartment that doesn't allow them, Nintendogs is a perfect alternative.  It's the best, truest evolution of virtual pet games in that the dogs tend to evoke life-like responses from players, and despite its simplicity, the milestones that Nintendo set in creating this game make it deserve to be my game of the year.