*Disclaimer*
I rarely buy games new..I just can't afford it. I tend to buy them 1+ year after release and second hand. Thus some of these games will be from years past but I only played them this year.
This year I had the great luck to be given a new PC (due to my laptop dying on me) that could actually run modern games. I also picked up a pre-owned PS4 which I later managed to sell for a profit of about the same that I paid for it originally.
My most used system was probably my Vita followed by Ps3. I'm glad that Sony seems to allow development of Vita ports alongside Ps3/Ps4 games as I don't really want to buy any more consoles in the near future. I intend to stick with the Wii U and Vita/3ds going forward as far as consoles.
First Edit: DA:I comes off the list because it no longer works on my system post patch. I don't really care about excuses etc, this is an automatic disqualification. Replacement? Super Punch Out
Second Edit: Late Arrivals - Weapon Shop de Omasse kicks out Destiny, Phantasy Star Online 2 kicks out Second Son.
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(Wii U) Sometimes I wonder if I'm the only person that gets the joke. As much as MGS is a parody of 80s action and spy films, Bayonetta is a parody of DMC. Nothing in this game is serious..apart from the combat system. A refinement of Bayonetta (and as such far easier..especially with wicked weave attacks) this keeps the tongue in cheek style but covers it in Audrey Hepburn chic. The haircut + Moon River..hilarious. I can understand that people may find Bayonetta offensive or simply don't get the joke..but I think they're confusing the real offenders with pure parody, which is a shame.
(pc) Co-Op power house but boring as hell to play alone. D3 essentially allowed Dudeglove to wax lyrical on the state of Russia, Ukraine, Pando media, Media itself, Dan Ryckert and others, Destiny, cats..well lets just say it was a great excuse for a Skype conversation and talking about how much better D2 was. I think I sank 100+ hours into D3 so it must be doing SOMETHING right..I just don't know what it is.
(PC) Take Batman, sprinkle some Assassin's Creed, a hefty dose of Middle Earth bollocks and add the Nemesis system and you have a fun open world murder fest..just don't think too much about Orc oppression and kissing your wife. Some work could have been done on the script (considering it was by RDR's writer a LOT more could have been done) but it was fun and that's what counts. Also poetry spitting orcs trying to kill you is worth the entry alone.
(Vita) As you will see I have a love for Visual Novels. Danganronpa is a great visual novel (especially on the Vita which lacks translated VNs) but I don't really enjoy the 'game' part. It tries to evolve the Ace Attorney trial system but just over complicates it. It also suffers from the same 'you must answer the question this way' problems as the Ace Attorney games..which as a trained Lawyer can make you twitch. As with P4 it's really the murder mystery and characters that make the game worth playing.
(PC) Thank god for low PC prices. Shinji Mikami's Evil 'totally not RE4' Within is..well the evolution of his previous Survival Horror game whose name escapes me. It's clear that TLOU had quite the impression on Mikami during production and for me the Stealth sequences are probably my favourite parts of the game (and I don't like TLOU). Unfortunately the chronological mess of the plot and the need for 'The Assignment' DLC to clarify exactly what happened puts a damper on some fun gunplay and trap setting. I had no problems with either frame rate or FOV/Black bars but YMMV.
I didn't have a SNES growing up..In fact I don't know anyone who did at the time. The Gameboy was the only Nintendo console I had since a brief rental of a NES by my brother back in '91..lasted an hour or something. Anyway I have only recently been able to get around to playing some old SNES games and so far Super Punch Out is my favourite. A simple arcade game with surprising depth and great graphics and character design..it scratches my Hajime No Ippo itch while being straight up fun. Remember when games were fun?
(DS) Finally (Sic) playing the DS version of a game I have started more than once only to have save data disappear on my psp. Generally I'm in the '2d sprite or fuck off' camp having grown up in the early 90s of Megadrive and SNES games..but I really like the models and the way the camera angles allow scenes to be framed differently in this remake. It's a tough game but it's still one of the better FFs.
(PC) Remember I said I grew up back in the early 90s with the Megadrive? Well this game brought back all the best memories of Saaanic, Megaman, Ristar, Gunstar Heroes..all in one game. Multiple characters that all play differently, wonderful sprite work, great music..it's got it all. With sonic the way he is these days (despite the obvious GOTY Sonic Boom) this is as worthy a successor as we're ever going to get. Demo is available so check it out..please..
Dark horse coming in at the end of the year. A rhythm game with a fantastic premise (blacksmith in an RPG) with some nice touches..all for the sale price of $3-4.
(Wii/DS) Ugh..it's Centre for god's sake. Anyway returning to this game reminds you that somewhere, out in the mists of time, are people willing to make different and interesting games/genres. Essentially Operation using the wii controls or DS touchpad this game uses the controls brilliantly. Why this series hasn't been revived with the Wii U controller is beyond my reasoning. Nintendo understand that not ever game has to be a shooter or RPG. Sort it out Atlus.