Silly me made a topic, not knowing about this one, so I'm just basically gonna copy my list from that one, and post it on here. Here's a top ten list I made for this year ^_^
#10: Project X Zone (Nintendo 3DS)
Sadly I actually did not beat this game. I had to sell my 3DS for funds before I was able to see it through to completion. That being said, I still put a lot of time in this game, and I really enjoyed in my time with it. The combat starts out easy enough, and progressively got more challenging later in the game at a pace that I found comfortable as someone who doesn't play a ton of SRPGs. The story is complete nonsense, but I still found the dialogue humorous, and it's fun seeing so many characters from different franchises interact.
#9: Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate (Nintendo Wii U)
I had never been able to get into a Monster Hunter game previously. The games localized on the PSP suffered to me from having horrible controls, and the previous version of Monster Hunter 3 did not feel nearly as easy to sink myself into as the Wii U version. I felt like the series was finally able to live up to its potential a bit by finally being made available on an HD console. The art style looks gorgeous, and has never been able to shine on a handheld, or SD system. It took a long time for the game's mechanics to finally sink in for someone so unfamiliar with this style of game, but once I got into it, it really became a blast to play. I would love to play more with people online, but sadly no one I consider a close friend has a Wii U.
#8: Final Fantasy XIV - A Realm Reborn (Sony Playstation 3, and PC)
This was a bit of a surprise for me, because I didn't think this game could be fixed. I bought the original version of Final Fantasy XIV when it came out, and just felt ripped off, and didn't want anything to do with it anymore. When this 2.0 version of the game was preparing for release this year, I still had little interest in it. Since I was an owner of the original game though, I was technically an owner of ARR as well, so I thought I would give it a try. It took a while, but I really started to see the appeal. The game looks and runs beautifully, the combat is fun, and some of the systems in play to get players to work together are really fun. As far as content goes, I'm sure it could use some more, but the foundation is there for it to be a great MMO. I eventually picked up the PS3 version as well, and I was blown away by how well it ran on the system. I felt like the frame rate was really solid, and it just looked beautiful on the system, even if it wasn't as high res as the PC version.
#7: Lost Planet 3 (PC)
This game may have been the biggest surprise for me this year. I was never a huge fan of the first two Lost Planet games, and I was so ready to just overlook this game after hearing who the developer was. It wasn't until I saw some footage of the game via Giantbomb's quick look of it that I started to become intrigued. I decided to just take a chance and got the PC version, and what I played was a huge pleasant surprise. Maybe not revolutionary from a gameplay and design perspective, but it was very well made. It looked gorgeous at times on my PC that I was always taking screenshots. Not only that, but the story kept me very interested, with very well written and performed characters. It's sad that this game probably didn't sell well, or will never get the recognition it deserves, but it will at least be on my list as one of my favorites of the year.
#6: Papers, Please (PC)
I have a hard time explaining this game to people who don't play the same type of games as I do, because it's such a unique game concept, and you don't really understand that it works as well as it does until you see it. The game concept alone would've been enough for me to want to rate this game so high, but there are additional pieces like the intriguing story, the music, and unique visual style that make it all so great in my opinion.
#5: Super Mario 3D World (Nintendo Wii U)
Anyone who's played this game, it's not surprising to see it somewhere on their top ten list. It's the HD Mario game I feel I've been waiting for, and I hope we see more of it on the Wii U. While some folks might be disappointed we didn't get the next iteration in the Super Mario Galaxy style of Mario game for the Wii U, I am personally happy and prefer a game like 3D world with its world and level design. It's one of the most refined, and visually appealing Mario games I've played, and it's just a blast to replay the levels over and over. I am so happy to finally see the return of the Super Mario Bros 2 style of character choices in a Mario game again as well.
#4: Bioshock Infinite (Sony Playstation 3)
It's not surprising to also see this game on a lot of top ten lists this year, but for me personally, I am a little surprised that I have a game with Bioshock in the title in my top ten, because I was never as big a fan of the first game as many people were. I enjoyed the first Bioshock, but I find it's story to be a little lacking, and hard to follow since so much of it was hidden away in voice logs. A lot of that is still the case in Bioshock Infinite, but everything else is just done so well in the game. It was such a more interesting city to explore to me, and the characters were so much more engaging. Unlike Rapture, Columbia looked like a city that was lived in to me. Combat may have been a little lacking in the game, but it was still a blast to play at the time and I thought the story was such a great concept that I don't really see enough in video games.
#3: Tomb Raider (PC)
I feel like this game gets a lot of undeserved shit, and I'm not quite sure why. Maybe it's too similar to Uncharted, maybe the upgrade system isn't deep enough for people...but this game was just so damn fun to play for me, that I don't see what the problem was. People say it's a lot like Uncharted, and I won't deny that completely, but I'd like to say it takes ideas from Uncharted, and does them better. I personally didn't even like Uncharted 2 or 3, and I never liked any previous Tomb Raider games, but I had so much fun playing this, that I can't express my joy with it enough. If I was also to give an award for best looking game, Tomb Raider would also win for me, because there were so many moments when I was playing that I just said to myself "Wow, this looks awesome."
#2: Saints Row IV (Sony Playstation 3, and PC)
I actually did not finish Saints Row The Third until right before I started playing Saints Row IV. However, I did play The Third when it came out, and I did like what I had played at that time. Saints Row IV may not be as unique or stand out as much because it's so similar to The Third in some ways, but I still think Volition managed to find a way of taking their concepts to the next level with SRIV. This feels like the first open world game to finally give the player all the freedom they could possibly want, without any restrictions, or boundaries, and still keep it fun all the way through. A lot of times when games try to remove the chains like that, it can get boring fast, but the basic mechanics, and just running around the city in SRIV never ceases to be fun. The humor of the series remains intact also, with some of the funniest writing in any game. As off the wall, and crazy the Saints Row series has become, I still find it so crazy that they still manage to have these characters that I find myself invested in as well, and as silly as their universe is, they stick to their timeline very well too. Great game, but I find myself wondering what the possible future could be for this series after this game. I hope it's not the end.
#1: Fire Emblem Awakening (Nintendo 3DS)
The fact that this game is my number 1 would be a shock to me a year ago. Not to say anything bad about the quality of any of the Fire Emblem games, but I have never been able to get very far in strategy games before, because I was never very good at them. Fire Emblem on the 3DS was a very welcoming entry in the series for newcomers like myself, by having elements I enjoy from other games like building strong character relationships, but then also introducing me to strategy elements of this series at a comfortable pace. I found myself wanted to replay some missions just to try out new strategies. I also really just loved the look of the game. The character designs were great, and I liked the look of the sprites were looking at the map. It has a good mix of old visual style, and new I feel. I find myself eager to play another Fire Emblem game since this one, but have been sad that I can't seem to afford a copy of the GameCube entry. Hopefully Nintendo doesn't take too long to bring the series to Wii U.
Edit: Yeah, sadly I didn't get around to playing games like The Last of Us, and Zelda ALBW yet this year =/, but I can only rate what I've played