Games you didn't expect to turn out GREAT.

[redisforever]

Honestly, I didn't think the Godfather game would have been that fun.
Knowing other movie based games that were boring, and sometimes unplayable, I was expecting a crappy tie-in, but no. That game was very satisfying. If you go into it with the right mindset, you'll enjoy it.

 

[Singularly Datarific]

Just Cause 2, it jut bought it because it looked interesting and was fairly cheap. The game however was extremely addicting and huge, I played it for about 60 hours over about 20 days before stopping. One of my favorite sandbox games this gen.

I just thought it'd be interesting, so I downloaded the demo.
Fairly standard- crappy voice-acting accompanying the horrid lines.
Get dropped somewhere, walk around, shoot your guns.
THEN-
"Hookshot?"
Okay, I try this and-hmmmm.
Now I see the prompt for parachute deploying, and hit the button and WHOOOOOO!
I sail up to a military outpost and IMMEDIATELY steal the transport helicopter, pulling up to see just how damn big this world is. I see a massive desert, full of opportunities and explodables, and start effing shit up.
I pause to check the map and HOLY CRAP! That huge-ass desert is a tiny blip in the corner compared the the whole deal!
Okay- big map. VERY big map. Howbout the gameplay?
Gameplay sold me when I surfed an airplane into a helicopter gunship, somehow survived, and stole the other one, all in midair.
That demo sold it for me.

 

[sbb]

I was really excited for Alpha Protocol until it was delayed multiple times and then got middlin' to terrible reviews. I never forgot about it though, because I have a lot of faith in Obsidian's ability to craft some truly compelling gameplay. I bided my time until I could get it for under $20 and I bit. I was pretty impressed and I didn't think it deserved half the shit it got in reviews.


Also, I had no interest in Uncharted until I finally let my friend shove it down my throat. It just seemed boring to me, plain 3p shooter with no real fantasy elements. Boy was I wrong. So fun to play.

 

[beastly97]

honestly little big planet got and thought it was just a little kiddy game, now whenever i have friends over we go from 11:00 p.m. to 9:00 a.m. playing little big planet.

 

[GodEmperor47]

Alpha Protocol, since I'd heard it was crap but I really enjoyed everything but the wonky combat. That sounds odd, but really my main complaint was how incredibly stupid the AI managed to be, as if they all spotted a chokepoint and decided I really needed to start using more full auto and less brain cells.

Chrono Trigger, because it was my first RPG ever and I was skeptical about the idea of turn-based combat and those (at least in my opinion at the time) ridiculous looking characters on the box. But it was an amazing game, and I now own it for the DS so I can boot it back up any time I please.

World of Warcraft, after playing the strategy games I thought the idea of making it into an online RPG was the stupidest thing I'd ever heard. Who would want to play what amounted to a lore sandbox from a strategy game franchise? Boy, was I wrong.

 

[FinalHeart95]

Lost Odyssey. I just saw the reviews and thought it would be average, and now it's one of my favorite games this generation. Yeah, I know about the bum review copies NOW, but I didn't when I was reading them.

 

[Darknacht]

Minecraft. It did not look that good but I got it cheap so i figured what the hell I like open world games.
It of course has now eaten up more of my time then any game since Arcanum.

 

[Diablo27]

Bulletstorm - I thought if I'm preordering it for the Gears beta I might as well check out the demo. Turns out that it was one of the best FPS games ever.

Darksiders - I was interested but didn't expect it to be as good as it was.

Splatterhouse - I thought it was going to be mindless gore but the story actually intrigued me. I hope there will be a sequel.

Mass Effect - I thought it looked unique so I got it...best game series ever.

Medal of Honour - After hearing horrible reviews for it I thought I might just rent it. It was AWESOME!

Aliens vs Predator - I don't think I need to elaborate.

 

[PolygonPimp]

Can I say Portal?

 

[Wayneguard]

Shadow of the Colossus. I just bought it because I generally like fantasy stuff and it looked kinda fantasy. I had no idea what awaited me...

Also, Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood. I really just bought it awaiting RDR but I ended up liking it better. It has a great narrative and likeable characters. It's a good game.

 

[WorldCritic]

Final Fantasy VII, a game I was completely convinced was just overrated and didn't actually have anything good in it. Well I was right about it being overrated, but holy crap I love that game.

Also Metal Gear Solid for the same reason, except to me that game wasn't overrated at all.

 

[Sn1P3r M98]

Metro: 2033. Thought it looked interesting and found it for $20 on Ebay, so I bought it. It turned out to be my favorite game, and I'm currently on my 4th or 5th playthrough (I've lost track )

 

[Clive Howlitzer]

Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines. I had played Redemption and was very unimpressed so I thought this game would be similar. It also gets bonus points for the fact I played it in 2010 and it still wowed me.

 

[Commissar Sae]

Mount & Blade.

$5 on steam. 200+ hrs later....

This, except make it 500+ hours later. I miss the sun sometimes, but those damn Swadians need to learn to give up.

 

[jthm]

Mass Effect 2. I hated the first game, but everyone kept telling me how much better 2 was, so I picked it up a week after release. Still loving it. Loved it enough to reply the first one twice just to have opposite character decisions set up for the second game.

 

[Defense]

Dragon Quest V. I thought the archaic nature of the game would make the game boring and bland. It's one of my top DS games ever now.

Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep. I didn't have much experience with the Kingdom Hearts series, and the experience I did have with it was mostly negative. But damn BBS was extremely fun. Too bad I didn't care about the characters.

 

[Mark Flanagan]

Chromehounds, I hate mech games but CH has 'realistic' modern day mechs that just feel so solid. Loved the multiplayer of that game.

Enslaved:OttW was awesome and I just got Majin on a recommendation from another thread.