Gaming gems you almost didn't play

[VanQ]

The point of this thread is pretty much in the title. Have you ever played a game you weren't sure about or a game you discovered years after realease and loved it?

I only learned about the existance of Persona 4 through these very forums and given the 100% approval rate and the fact that I unexpectedly came into possession of a PS2 I decided to give it a try this week, needless to say, I love it and can't believe I almost missed this gem. 50 hours in and still loving every single minute and can't wait to start my second playthrough and do everything right.

So what about you my fellow escapists, have you almost missed a game you loved?

 

[Ranorak]

I got Mass Effect on the (constant) whining of a friend.
Damn was he right.

 

[RaphaelsRedemption]

Psychonauts.

I only played it because my fiance had a copy.

Drives me nuts, that game, but it's so much fun and brilliance!

 

[MattyDienhoff]

I probably wouldn't have played Fallout 3 if not for a good friend raving on about it and insisting I get it. I don't regret it for a second.

 

[The Last Hunter]

I tried COD 4 to prove to my friend that Halo was better
Not gonna comment on how I feel now

Oh, and Battlefield

 

[badgersprite]

I almost didn't play FFIX because of the art style. It's my favourite of the series.

 

[Mace Tulio]

Rome: Total War and Crackdown, both games I borrowed from an insistant friend, both games I would've otherwise overlooked. Now they're amongst my most loved games.

 

[Carbonic Penguin]

Almost missed out on Elder Scrolls (suppose I would have found it eventually)... My dad bought Morrowind for my brothers' birthday... and when it was my turn, he took me into the shop, and I looked, even though I didn't realy want to... and saw Oblivion... so much time wasted

 

[TehIrishSoap]

Empire Earth: I was visiting my mom's friends house, and she had an old PC with Empire Earth. I could go down to the shop, or stay. I chose the later. THE END!

 

[thenumberthirteen]

Star Trek: Bridge Commander. I saw it once in a shop years ago, but given the massive amounts of Star Trek Shovelware I didn't buy it. Then a couple years ago I looked up all the Star Trek games to see how many awful ones there were. I read the Wiki article on BC and was intregued. A couple months later I found a copy in a bargain bin (I love small games retailers) and it is now up there with "Birth of the Federation" as my favourite Star Trek game, and I still play it all the time. Thanks mainly to the strong modding community that keeps on adding awesome new features and ships.

If the thought of pitting the original Enterprise against a Cylon Basestar sounds interesting then this is the game for you. BTW the Basestar generally wins. It has no shields, but the Enterprise just doesnt have the firepower.

EDIT: I just looked to see how much a copy costs on Amazon. £80 for a new copy!! £30 for a used one. That bargain bin was well named!

Also I can never stop gushing about this game. So here's a Screenshot to show how amazing this game looks (it was released in 2002)

<img height=400>http://screenshots.filesnetwork.com/8/potd/1243282493_56.jpg
that's In-Game graphcs, and not a cutscene. Open in new tab for bigger picture

EDIT THE SECOND: 5555 posts

 

[AvsJoe]

Disgaea: Hour of Darkness

My friend was hyping it up like mad but it wasn't sinking in right away. It just didn't sound appealing. But he kept badgering me so I watched him play it a bit. The first time I saw a Prinny, I was hooked. Prinny, d00d!

 

[TheMarkedOne]

Europa Universalis III
When I first tried it, I almost gave up because it was so overwhelming hard.
Then later I picked it up again, and kept playing through.
Now I've played it over 400h

 

[Mistermixmaster]

I only learned about the existance of Persona 4 through these very forums and given the 100% approval rate and the fact that I unexpectedly came into possession of a PS2 I decided to give it a try this week, needless to say, I love it and can't believe I almost missed this gem. 50 hours in and still loving every single minute and can't wait to start my second playthrough and do everything right.

Ditto, with a few modifications. I learned of Persona 3 on the Escapist, had a blast playing through it and the FES story (damn, that was HARD D. Then I played Persona 4, which improves everything in every single way. I was more or less addicted to it during my first playthrough. Loved the subtle references to Persona 3 as well

 

[adderseal]

Europa Universalis III
When I first tried it, I almost gave up because it was so overwhelming hard.
Then later I picked it up again, and kept playing through.
Now I've played it over 400h

Definitely, absolutely this. First time I played I started with Korea and within 15 minutes had my ass served to me by Japan. I went away, came back to it about 2 months later and now I'm starting with the small German country of Anhalt and trying to turn it into a merchant republic to rival Lubeck.

 

[Vanalosswen]

I only learned about the existance of Persona 4 through these very forums and given the 100% approval rate and the fact that I unexpectedly came into possession of a PS2 I decided to give it a try this week, needless to say, I love it and can't believe I almost missed this gem. 50 hours in and still loving every single minute and can't wait to start my second playthrough and do everything right.

Ditto, with a few modifications. I learned of Persona 3 on the Escapist, had a blast playing through it and the FES story (damn, that was HARD D. Then I played Persona 4, which improves everything in every single way. I was more or less addicted to it during my first playthrough. Loved the subtle references to Persona 3 as well

Kinda of ditto. My first roommate had a PS2 he wasn't using much (he was addicted to computer games and left the PS2 downstairs for me to use), and I decided on a whim to try Persona 3. I *STILL* haven't finished either 3 or 4 (Dragon Age happened...), but I plan to get back to both of them when I'm done moving.

 

[adderseal]

Star Trek: Bridge Commander. I saw it once in a shop years ago, but given the massive amounts of Star Trek Shovelware I didn't buy it. Then a couple years ago I looked up all the Star Trek games to see how many awful ones there were. I read the Wiki article on BC and was intregued. A couple months later I found a copy in a bargain bin (I love small games retailers) and it is now up there with "Birth of the Federation" as my favourite Star Trek game, and I still play it all the time. Thanks mainly to the strong modding community that keeps on adding awesome new features and ships.

Is it like Freespace 2, just seen from the Commander's viewpoint instead of an individual pilot's? Cos if it is then that's reason enough for me to buy it.

 

[KineticFaction]

Tribes!!
Came free with Starsiege ended up playing the game for about 7 years online.

 

[Shade184]

I bought Morrowind on a whim for ten bucks off the cheap rack at EB. I'd never heard of it before.

That game changed my life forever.