A few random mentions:
XCOM: Enemy Unknown - God damn. What a great reboot this is. Having played the original X-COM and Terror from the Deep a few months before it's release, and enjoying them greatly, I had a good grasp on the originals and I was very curious to see how the new XCOM would match up against the old.
It really exceeded my expectations. Although it got rid of a lot of the depth and freedom of the original game, and yes I do miss being able to dress a guy up head-to-toe in high explosive bombs, or manually aim my heavy plasmas at every wall in sight, the loss of clutter and simplified combat worked out great. A fine example of streamlining done right. The game did a fantastic job of providing the right amount of challenge for anyone, whereas the originals were all-around ballbusters (FUCK trawler missions in TFTD). Players seeking a good time can tackle the game on Easy or Normal. Whereas masochists can dive into Ironman Impossible, plus a slew of Second Wave options to further fine tune challenge in any difficulty level. A damn good job all-around (Except for the bugs.)
Resident Evil 4 - Sure it's technically a sequel, but it really is more of a reboot. Even Capcom and Shinji Mikami at the time were calling it so. And it truly is. Not only is the entire gameplay restructured, it focuses around an entirely new enemy and begins a new saga. It is a reboot. And it will go down in history as probably one of the best games ever made. The story, dialogue, and characters might reek of ass. But dat gameplay. It refined and practically gave rise to an entirely new genre. And is one of the few games I come back to, year after year, and replay beginning to end every time. Enjoying it all the same each time.
Mortal Kombat 2011 - I used to love the MK series when I played it on SNES and arkades. But fell out of it after MK4. The transition to 3d just did something to the game that I kouldn't put my finger on, but my interest in it waned greatly and I just didn't bother playing MK ever again. Until MK9 came out.
3D animated, but 2d gameplay? That sounded great. But I kouldn't imagine just how much more there was to it until I played it. The new kombo system with a meter that allows for enhancing moves, further improving kombos, breaking kombos, or unleashing hilariously graphic X-Ray moves. The best presented story mode I've ever seen in any fighting game. And the bloodiest most over-the-top fatalities I've ever seen. They did it! They returned a series that was dead in the water for me, as one of my most favorite fighting games ever. Oh man, I kan't wait for MKX.
But they missed the essence of it somehow. 
