Get ready, gamers: The National Video Game Hall of Fame in Rochester, New York has announced its nominees for the Class of 2024. They include an addictive open-ended building simulator, a popular horror survival franchise spawning dozens sequels & spinoffs, and one of the first big CD-ROM hits of the early '90s.

12 games were nominated in all, in a press release from March 14th by Rochester's Strong Museum, which houses the World Video Game Hall of Fame.

Let's level up by taking a look at this year's nominees:

• ASTEROIDS (1979)
• ELITE (1984)
• GUITAR HERO (2005)
• METROID (1987)
• MYST (1993)
• NEOPETS (1999)
• RESIDENT EVIL (1996)
• SIMCITY (1989)
• TOKIMEKI MEMORIAL (1994)
• TONY HAWK'S PRO SKATER (1999)
• ULTIMA (1981)

MY PREDICTIONS

Personally, when I look at this list, there are a few standouts: I think SimCity is a lock for induction. And I'm not just saying that because I spent countless hours playing it, but think about the plethora of other sim games it inspired. There's even a Goat Simulator game now.

Other strong contenders (in my opinion) include Asteroids, one of the most popular Atari games ever, Resident Evil, solidly ingrained in pop culture with its sequels and movie spinoffs, and Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, which was a must-play for kids of a certain age group.

WHEN WILL THE WINNERS BE ANNOUNCED?

The three games that receive the most public votes will form a single ballot and will then be combined with the top three choices from the International Selection Advisory Committee.

Fans have until Wednesday, March 21st to vote.

Mark your calendars for the induction reveal on Thursday, May 9th at 10:30 a.m.