Games that took you by surprise

[Imperioratorex Caprae]

Whether its a great game you never expected to like, a game that had you in tears of frustration because of a huge difficulty curve or even games that looked so awesome only to be the biggest letdown of all time, we have all had at least one of these.
When I was younger I went to Colorado with my parents on my first Ski vacation. At the lodge there was an arcade and I heard words that would change my life "Finish Him!" It was there I met Mortal Kombat... Fast forward a few years and I hear my favorite character Sub-Zero was getting his own side story (I was a kid, and kids are allowed to have stupid ideas). So I wait patiently and even purchase an N64 with my hard earned dollars (which also gave me the gem that was Shadows of the Empire). Finally the day came and I rented it from Blockbuster (my local stores didn't carry "mature" games and the closest big store was 60 miles away). Oh my god I was so fucking pissed I broke the controller.
My N64 lay dormant for almost a year because of that letdown.
So whats your story?

 

[krazykidd]

Dark souls . I didn't expect to like it half as much as i did . It's my favorite game this generation by far . Never have i had so much fun dying and overcoming challenges .

Pokemon diamond/pearl. I didn't play a pokemon game since i was a kid ( red/blue) and i suddenly realised how in depth and strategic it was . It's like playing chess on crack when you play competitively .

 

[Kyrdra]

I think the greatest surprise I had was in Dirt 3. I never played any racing game in the last 10 years and then I decided to get a new one when Dirt 3 was on Sale. I was taken complettly by surprise by the whole load of "Hey that was awesome wanna upload it?" "hey you were great and I will now talk about 2 minutes before you can get into the game"
I never expected this and after it didnt get less but more I decided that modern racing games arent for me

 

[Amethyst Wind]

Games I didn't expect much from but ended up really liking: Alpha Protocol (this one I cannot endorse enough), Driver: San Francisco, Fallout: New Vegas, Red Faction: Guerrilla, Prince of Persia (2009).

Games I expected to like but didn't: Final Fantasy X-2, Infamous, Chromehounds, Soul Calibur V, Deus Ex: Human Revolution.

 

[Wyvern65]

Biggest disappointment the past few years: Dragon Age 2. Mass Effect 3 was a worse disappointment in some ways but because of DA2 my opinion of Bioware was such that ME3 came as more of a confirmation of how they'd changed rather than the outright slap in the face that DA2 felt like.

Game I was surprised I actually enjoyed: The Witcher 2 (The original Witcher may be the only RPG I've bought and never finished in 30 odd years of gaming. The female trading cards combined with Geralt's lack of character and a fighting system I truly lothe make it so I've never gotten past the second chapter.)

Game that I'd never have expected to have sunk as much time into as I did: Saint's Row the Third. (Yes, it was idiotic, but it's idiotic in that gloriously stupid way that made me keep playing and playing.)

 

[AnthrSolidSnake]

Games I didn't expect to like:

Driver: San Francisco I was one of the few people who enjoyed the open world nature of the original games. It was cheesy and nowhere near GTA standards, but it led to some great fun when it was the only alternative I had to GTA when I was younger. Surprisingly, I really enjoyed San Francisco and found it had very fun driving mechanics and a decent story

Bully- I heard a lot about this game, how it was like GTA but for teens. It was interesting. I thought I wouldn't enjoy a game in a school like environment. I quickly found out how very similar, in a good way, that the game was to GTA, and how the story was still just as witty and well written as ever.

Portal- I'm not a big fan of puzzle games. I know Portal had a neat twist on them, but puzzle games could never keep my attention for more than an hour. Portal changed that, having such amazing personality, and the physics made the game a blast.

Sleeping Dogs- True Crime games were hit or miss with me, and hearing that this was started as one of those, I didn't see myself enjoying it. BOY WAS I WRONG! I loved this game. The atmosphere was great, graphics were great, and it had a lot of mechanics that rather than feeling crammed in there, they all felt playable and well developed. The story was engaging, and the open world environment was a blast to travel.

Catherine- This was the same as Portal. Not a big puzzle game fan, but the story and characters kept my wanting to play until I beat it.

 

[Frezzato]

I think a poorly placed game fell on my head once at home, does that count?

Spoiler: Psychonauts

No, the real surprises--as in pleasant surprises, are few and far between for me. Like Psychonauts on Xbox. I bought it brand new for just $5. This must have been during the early years of the 360, when everybody completely forgot about the awesome, 10-lb. console that was the Original Xbox. I found Psychonauts in a clearance bin at Toys R Us (seriously, they do crap like that all the time). I figured $5 was worth the price of curiosity and was pleasantly surprised.

Spoiler: Fahrenheit

Another random title for me was Fahrenheit on Xbox. Playing the first five minutes, I was constantly thinking to myself, "Holy CRAP, this is a COOL GAME!" Unfortunately, the last five minutes of the game had me thinking, "Holy SHIT, THIS GAME IS RETARDED!" So it evened out I guess. I do regret selling it though.

Spoiler: Kingdom Under Fire: Heroes

Also on the Original Xbox, Kingdom Under Fire: Heroes. It's...how do I describe it? A real-time 3rd person hack-and-slash with battlefield control over upgradeable units. I do miss that game. I bought it sealed from one Game Stop for $10, became disillusioned when I ran across a game-breaking bug, then sold it to another Game Stop for $16. I think that must be the first time anyone's ever made an actual profit while dealing with Game Stop.

Spoiler: Far Cry Instincts

Far Cry Instincts for Original Xbox. I love that game. It surprised me not only because of the superpowers, which I loved, but because it was backwards compatible on 360. I found out you could upload a custom map from the Original Xbox to a 360 and play LAN games with that setup. Seriously, think about it. That's like playing a network game using a PC running XP and the other on Windows 7 running the game in an emulator. That's seriously fucking cool! Too bad nobody cares. I wonder if that would work with Halo....

Spoiler: Oni

Oni, A PS2 game that looked and played like Ghost in the Shell. Except better. And it was made by Bungie. Go figure.

Other games I bought at random and loved:

Sid Meier's Pirates
Chronicles of Riddick
Saints Row 3
Beyond Good and Evil
Call of Cthulu
Dreamfall: The Longest Journey
Morrowind

 

[MetalDooley]

Games I didn't expect much from but ended up really liking: Alpha Protocol (this one I cannot endorse enough)

Me too.I only bought AP because it was part of a special offer and wasn't expecting much seeing as it got mostly average reviews but it turned out to be one of my favourite games from this gen

 

[shrekfan246]

Spoiler: Kingdom Under Fire: Heroes

Also on the Original Xbox, Kingdom Under Fire: Heroes. It's...how do I describe it? A real-time 3rd person hack-and-slash with battlefield control over upgradeable units. I do miss that game. I bought it sealed from one Game Stop for $10, became disillusioned when I ran across a game-breaking bug, then sold it to another Game Stop for $16. I think that must be the first time anyone's ever made an actual profit while dealing with Game Stop.

I wish Kingdom Under Fire 2 would come out of development hell... though all information points to it having turned into another Korean MMO, even though it's going back to the gameplay of the original few KUF games. *sigh*

OT: Considering how much negativity is already in this thread, I'm going to stay on the positive side.

Sonic Colors - I didn't mind Unleashed, but it had major issues with level design and the night stages were far too long. Colors took everything that the day stages of Unleashed did right and then did it even better, and it was glorious! Then Generations came along and was even better. Woohoo! And now we've got Lost World coming, which is looking to be some sort of step between the speed of modern 3D Sonic games and the better platforming of the classics. Awesome! Hopefully they don't balls it all up...

Persona 4 Golden - I figured I would like it. As few of them as I've played, I am a fan of JRPGs, and Persona is one of the more unique series' out there. What I didn't expect was just how much it would completely blow me away. One of the few games over twenty hours long that's managed to keep me interested enough to play it through without switching to anything else in between gaming sessions.

Of Orcs And Men - Now, I don't know if I really want to include it because I haven't finished it yet, but even with the laundry list of grievances I have against the title, there's a lot to love about it and there's a lot of charm beneath the surface.

EDIT: Steins;Gate - What an amazing VN that was. I just wish it had an official English release instead of a simple fan translation, but it was still good enough that it got me interested in the anime adaptation and I went on from that to watch a whole bunch of shows I'd missed because I never really watched anime when I was younger.

 

[The Wykydtron]

Starting with the bad, Tomb Raider. Fuck me, I was hopeful but THIS is what counts as a good character driven story now? Dear me... Nevermind the gameplay taking a huge disguised QTE route later on.

Ok, onto the good.

I was really surprised by how much I loved BlazBlue when I was just getting into it. I found out just how much I prefer single 1v1 fighters over team based ones. My major problem with UMVC3 was even after ages of playing it I never had a solid third team member. A cast of 50 characters and only I only found two of them that really fit me.

I only need to get good with ONE character instead of fucking three in BlazBlue and P4A. I can play Mu-12 and fuck all else so i'd be fucked if BB was a team game. Actually everyone would pick Team Arsehole: Ragna, Jin and Hakumen.



Oh and the Ace Attorney games. I knew they were going to be good but they were REALLY good. It helps that a good mystery story is my favourite thing ever too >.<

It also goes without saying that this applies to Persona 4 as well.

Annnnnnnd Katawa Shoujo comes to mind. How well written could a Visual Novel based around dating disabled chicks be? Surprisingly, fucking great. One of the best written character stories i've seen for ages, and that is just counting Hisao himself as the main character. It also approaches the obviously touchy subject of disabilities with incredible tact and respectfulness while still asking the tough questions. It's mostly down to how well they write Hisao.

I'm not even going to go into the other characters specifically. Except to say that Hanako route is best route okbye!

 

[Frezzato]

I wish Kingdom Under Fire 2 would come out of development hell... though all information points to it having turned into another Korean MMO, even though it's going back to the gameplay of the original few KUF games. *sigh*

Interesting, it looks as if it'll be released either late this year [http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/05/15/kingdom-under-fire-ii-gets-2013-launch-window-in-se-asia/] or early 2014. Honestly, I think KUF: Heroes was a fluke. It looks as if they removed all of the squad control elements from later titles, which is all I enjoyed.

Oh cool, here's a good sign:

"You will be able to control more than twice the number of troops than you did in the previous games."

--Giant Bomb [http://www.giantbomb.com/kingdom-under-fire-ii/3030-24451/]

Things are looking up.

 

[shrekfan246]

I wish Kingdom Under Fire 2 would come out of development hell... though all information points to it having turned into another Korean MMO, even though it's going back to the gameplay of the original few KUF games. *sigh*

Interesting, it looks as if it'll be released either late this year [http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/05/15/kingdom-under-fire-ii-gets-2013-launch-window-in-se-asia/] or early 2014. Honestly, I think KUF: Heroes was a fluke. It looks as if they removed all of the squad control elements from later titles, which is all I enjoyed.

Oh cool, here's a good sign:

"You will be able to control more than twice the number of troops than you did in the previous games."

--Giant Bomb [http://www.giantbomb.com/kingdom-under-fire-ii/3030-24451/]

Things are looking up.

Yeah, I've been keeping my eye on it because it looks like exactly the type of game I'd absolutely love (directly controlling a general in the midst of battle while also taking time to customize and control your army), but I can only find conflicting information on whether it'll actually have a single-player mode or not, which worries me. I don't want another MMO/online game, I've got enough of them as it is with WoW, Star Trek Online, Diablo III, and now Path of Exile. :/

 

[Frezzato]

Games I didn't expect much from but ended up really liking: Alpha Protocol (this one I cannot endorse enough)

Me too.I only bought AP because it was part of a special offer and wasn't expecting much seeing as it got mostly average reviews but it turned out to be one of my favourite games from this gen

Damn it, you two. I've got enough trouble with Remember Me, The Last of Us, Beyond Two Souls, and Rain coming out this year. Argh, it's only $12 on Amazon...grrrrrresist....

 

[TrevHead]

A recent one is Infinite Space on the DS, I only bought it because it had Platinum's name on the box and I initially found the game to be a chore but then I found myself loving the story and grinding to upgrade my fleet and find secrets that I ended up putting over 100 hrs into it.

 

[Amethyst Wind]

Games I didn't expect much from but ended up really liking: Alpha Protocol (this one I cannot endorse enough)

Me too.I only bought AP because it was part of a special offer and wasn't expecting much seeing as it got mostly average reviews but it turned out to be one of my favourite games from this gen

Damn it, you two. I've got enough trouble with Remember Me, The Last of Us, Beyond Two Souls, and Rain coming out this year. Argh, it's only $12 on Amazon...grrrrrresist....

Poor guy. I only paid £3 (roughly $5) for my copy. One of the best cost-entertainment ratios I've ever had in a game.

 

[Goofguy]

Most definitely Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay. That game came out of nowhere in 2004. I thought it would be some crappy movie spinoff and what we got instead was a fun, visceral, and well designed stand-alone, stealth game. It was a blast from start to finish and it's a game I can't thoroughly recommend enough.

 

[Maximum Bert]

Good surprises

FFVII (fully expected to hate it)

Okami (didnt know anything about this game)

Valkyria Chronicles (didnt know much about this game either but it was cheap so I bought it even though its a strategy game and I do not generally like those but I am so glad I took a chance this time)

Tomb Raider (most recent one I hate the Tomb Raider games but wanted to see if it had changed and ended up thoroughly enjoying this game after P4A its my favourite game released this year actually)

Katawa Shoujo (dont really like Visual novels but its free so I though eh give it a try and I really liked it, I have a lot of respect for the people who made this game and released it for free)

Bad Surprises

GTA3 (I thought this would be amazing GTA in 3D hell yeah I was so hyped but the game slowly destroyed all my hype and destroyed any want of experiencing anymore of this style of game which the series finally finished with 4, seriously I am staying the hell away from 5)

COD4 (ok I didnt hate this game but I was hearing so much about it even the amazing single player game and especially gillies in the mist or whatever that stupid mission was called I borrowed the game played that mission and was just wtf seriously thats it I was really disappointed in the crap single player tbh)

Animaniacs on SNES (I am not going to go back too far because a lot of those old games were seriously dissapointing but I do remember this it cost me a bomb as well and what do you get a real shitty platformer that is zero fun.)

Mario Galaxy 2 (loved galaxy 1 so a bigger better sequel what could go wrong? I dont know either I cant fault the design except the ridiculous adherence to the life system and the map system making zero sense in a space setting but this game left me so cold, everytime I played it I ended up in a terrible mood I just despise this game)

 

[MetalDooley]

Damn it, you two. I've got enough trouble with Remember Me, The Last of Us, Beyond Two Souls, and Rain coming out this year. Argh, it's only $12 on Amazon...grrrrrresist....

For that price it's well worth it.I've beaten the game 5 times now and am planning a 6th playthrough soon

 

[Frezzato]

...Diablo III....

Crap, you just reminded me that Diablo 3 is coming to PS3/PS4 [http://www.joystiq.com/2013/05/16/take-a-peek-at-diablo-3s-new-menu-system-controls-for-ps3-ps4/]. I wonder if they'll be able to pull it off.

Regarding the OT, another surprise for me was Halo: Combat Evolved. I'm talking about the single player of course. I loved it, but every time I ran into another Halo player, turns out they only ever played deathmatch. What a waste of an excellent campaign. It's similar to everyone I ran into who owned GTA San Andreas. It was always cheat codes with them, and nobody bothered finishing the actual story, which I thought was outstanding.