You know what? I'm going to try to narrow it down as far as possible. these are in no particular order
Donkey Kong Country Returns (Wii)
After such a long wait for a proper Donkey Kong game, Retro hit it out of the park by making not only a damn good platformer, but a challenging throwback to the SNES days. I just started playing it a couple days ago and I can hardly put it down. PS3... PS4... You guys are gonna have to wait for some loving until DKCR is finished
Killzone Mercenary (Playstation Vita)
Maybe not the best shooter on the market, but hands down the best the Vita has to offer. The controls are smooth and responsive - especially for a handheld title. The multiplayer made great strides by making it possible to have any and all unlocks carry over from the campaign to the online multiplayer. Also not a groundbreaking advancement in gaming, but something I wish more developers would adopt
Borderlands 1/2 (Playstation 3, Xbox 360)
A fun colorful lootathon that's equally as enjoying playing either by yourself or with 3 friends. With a bijillion different weapon combinations, frantic action, great controls, and tons of DLC for both games, Gearbox found a way to rejuvenate the FPS genre right when it was getting to be way too stale
Gears of War series (Xbox 360)
A chainsaw on the end of a gun... Need I say more?
Batman Arkham series (Playstation 3, Xbox 360)
Right when I had given up hope on there being any good Superhero games EVER, Batman Arkham Asylum showed up and blew me away. Each installment (IMO) has just gotten better and better with new implementations and better visuals. All we need now is for Rocksteady to take all of the series' greatness and channel it into a Batman Beyond game
Tomb Raider (Playstation 3, Xbox 360)
I never played a Tomb Raider game before the 2013 reboot, so naturally I went in sceptical about all the high praise it was getting at first. Without much of a tutorial and being thrown headfirst into the action, I was almost immediately hooked. Aside from bland characters and piss-poor multiplayer, Tomb Raider is not only one of the best games of 2013, but also one of the best games to get on a last-gen console
The Last of Us (Playstation 3)
I didn't follow a single story regarding this game before launch. I kept hearing people talk about how sweet it looked on just about every gaming forum I visited, but didn't pay it much attention. Once it was released and the reviews started popping up, I had to see what all the hype was about. Needless to say, I didn't regret dropping those $60 for even a single second. Sometimes things are popular for a good reason - because THEY'RE GOOD
God of War 3 (Playstation 3)
After the ball slap God of War 2 left us with before it walked out of the room, I was kind of pissed at the series for pulling a Halo 2 on us. Once march 2010 rolled around and it was time to start cutting the heads and limbs off the best Greek mythology had to offer, it was clear Santa Monica Studios was hard at work the past 4 years crafting one of the most visually pleasing and fun games video games had ever seen. It's a shame the series started plummeting in quality after GoW3, but this game can still be held up as one of Playstation's finest