when was the last time you "discovered" a console game?

[Oly J]

Hi all, y'know, a thing I miss about previous console generations (gen 6 in particular...that is the PS2/Gamecube/Xbox generation right?) is that often I could be browsing around my local GAME having just traded in a few old titles I was bored of (this was back before I had disposable income AND when trade-in prices were relatively decent mind you) and I'd come across a game I'd never heard of, but that looked good, and was within my price range, so when my mom pressed me for a decision because I liked to spend around an hour looking at games to make sure I didn't pick the wrong one, I'd end up going with this unknown game out of curiosity.

Nowadays when I go to my local CEX or GAME or HMV, every game I see on the shelves I already know of, even in the "coming soon" sections and this is sort of depressing, I don't look for news on the internet any more now than I did then, but there just aren't as many games coming out.

the last game I discovered like old times was Yakuza 3, it was pretty cheap at the time, so I thought, why not? from the title "Yakuza" I figured it was gonna be a crime simulator like GTA.

Boy was I surprised, and as a massive fan of Shenmue you can imagine how pleased I was,
after I finished it I found out Yakuza 4 was due for release in a few weeks, how's that for timing?

anyway, how about you? when's the last time you took home an unknown game on a whim and it ended up being a good move? how much does this still happen? (not enough I'm betting)

 

[Foolery]

I found a copy of Sengoku Basara Samurai Heroes about a year ago in a bargain bin. Sweet game. Other than that, nah. I order most of my console games online and pick them from the local post office. It's easier and usually cheaper that way. I rarely buy or browse any titles at a regular retail place.

 

[Elfgore]

Mass Effect 1. I walked into a Gamestop with sixty bucks and no clue what I was going to buy. I look around and find it sitting in the new games section. Instantly take an interest in it and buy it. Best buying choice of my life.

 

[Oly J]

Mass Effect 1. I walked into a Gamestop with sixty bucks and no clue what I was going to buy. I look around and find it sitting in the new games section. Instantly take an interest in it and buy it. Best buying choice of my life.

it's just more satisfying if you have no idea what you're in for isn't it? I'm glad this still happens (if nowhere near often enough)

 

[Ikasury]

i think the last game i 'discovered' was... wait, wait... let me pull out the stack of games... *rummages for most 'recent weird one'* i'll go with 'Folklore', a weird rpg for the ps3, 15 bucks, woo~ and its actually pretty fun in a weird celtic-pokemon/smt kinda way...

but yea, know what you mean, most things i already know them, even the 'used' stuff thats like 10 bucks, i've at least heard of it... .-.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

I "discovered" a lot of stuff on the PS2. Kuon, ObsCure, Cold Fear, Rule of Rose, Vexx, Trapt, Odin Sphere, Grim Grimoire, Okami (back when it wasn't THAT popular), The Warriors.... I'm sure I'd still be discovering games if I were looking for PS2 stuff. They have an expansive library. I never reached the bottom.

 

[krazykidd]

Metro 2033. I bought that game full price when it came out despite not knowing anything about it. I saw the cover thought it looked cool. Lol and behold it became a cult classic.

 

[Jessabi]

Probably Saints Row 2. I'd just gotten a PS3 and my step-dad's work friend gave him a bunch of games for me to borrow and try out - it was one of them. I'd never heard of it and actually didn't think it'd be my sort of game, but I loved it!

 

[KarmaTheAlligator]

Bravely Default. Never heard of it until I saw someone mention it a couple weeks ago on another forum, saying it was a must have game. Was very surprised to see that it's a Squeenix game.

 

[Artina89]

Today I discovered Borderlands for the PS3 for £5, bought it and had a little bit of a play around with it, and I find it a really fun game. I am currently contemplating getting Borderlands 2: game of the year edition as I could get that new for £15, but I don't really want to spend all my money on games that I am currently too busy to play at the moment.

 

[Nadia Castle]

'Warhammer 40k: Space Marine'- I like my Warhammer lore okay but that game looked like the worst kind of Gears rip off. Picked it up for £4 anyway and it turned out it's Gears of War crossed with Dynasty Warriors and it's a TON of fun!. Not to mention the environments and voice acting are pretty spiffy and fit it perfectly to boot.

 

[MysticSlayer]

Honestly, I can't even remember the last time I bought a game I knew nothing about. It would probably have been back during the N64 era when I started playing games and hadn't been introduced to online game sites and magazines yet. Since then, I always know a little bit about the game I'm getting.

I guess the game that comes the closest recently would be Etrian Odyssey Untold: The Millennium Girl. Based on the art style, genre, and developer (Atlus), I could guess a few things about it, but outside of the obvious, I knew nothing about it. I haven't completed it yet, but it's been exceeding my expectations so far.

 

[Flutterguy]

American McGee's Scrapland on the original xbox one. I had 5 dollars and it was the only thing that wasn't an old sports game or boring concept in the bargain section. Looked like a pretty bad kids game, but I gave it a chance because I had really enjoyed American Mcgee's Alice. Ended up being an amazing game, not for being like Alice, rather for being it's own thing. It's hard to describe, like GTA and Ratchet and clank put together staring robots.

 

[nvzboy]

Well i don't let myself get surprised that often but I once decided to spend some money on buying xcom enemy unknown because else I would have gone empty handed from a family shopping trip that had been lasting all day. I walked out of the shop genuinely believing I had some action shooter or something with me that yahtzee gave a good review on. I guess I didn't remember enough of the review to make out it was a turn-based strategy. I was really surprised but not a single second that I found it was not a pleasent discovery.

 

[FPLOON]

Hmmmm... Technically, the last console game I discovered for myself was Hyperdimension Neptunia for the PS3... At the time, the game only came out about a few months ago in the US and I was mostly fascinated with Neptune's... uh... "character design" on the game cover...

Spoiler: This game cover, to be more precise...

http://www.gamers.de/attachment.php?&thumb=2&mode=download&id=64130
(Plus, I had nothing better to play, at the time, as I was waiting for Rayman Origins to come out...)

Anyway, I only thing I knew about it, after it became my fifth game for the PS3, was that it was "a JRPG with hot anime-looking chicks"... (which, to me, already sold me on two points right off the bat...) But, after spending my summer playing it, I looked up to see if they were other games in this series... Afterwards, the next two games that were released in the US, mk2 and Victory, I immediately pre-ordered them and have never regretted those decisions... (The mk2 pre-order came with the game's soundtrack, by the way...)

 

[Flammablezeus]

Gone Home and The Stanley Parable (mod version) were recent games I bought (or downloaded in the case of TSP) that I knew nothing about before going into them. Both scratched an itch that I didn't even know I had.

I think the last one before them was Lego Star Wars on PS2. I figured a cross between Lego and Star Wars would be amazing. It was nothing at all like I expected, but I still really like the Lego games anyway. Going into it, I thought it would revolve around customisation. I'm not sure why they use the Lego brand at all since you can't actually build anything in the games, but oh well. They're still fun.

 

[JagermanXcell]

Persona 4.

I knew of the PS2's massive library but never had the time to dig into some of the more bread and butter titles to come from the console. God Hand being the first, loved every second of it, until my cousin suggested I get Persona 3 on PSN since copies for PS2 we're more or less gone. Loved the game and was curious about the 4th game which I knew NOTHING about (this was all in the beginning of 2012 mind you, PS3 gaming was the only thing on my mind). So he let me borrow his vanilla PS2 version.

And the rest is history... sweet sweet life changing history...

 

[Lotet]

The last times I can remember buying games that I never heard of were shortly after I started my first big job and was able to afford a computer and internet. Fallout 3 was one, though I bought it because it said it was made by Bethesda. Then later a game with a rusty metal case caught my eye, which was the only reason I bought Bioshock. Also Rome: Total War.