Your current-gen "surprises" and "regrets"?

[Hawkeye 131]

With this console generation coming to a close in a few months I figured it's a good time to sit back and take a look at those games that were initially a gamble or an uncertainty at first but, later turned out to be a pleasant surprise. Unfortunately you can't have the good without the bad and I'm sure I'm not the only one with buyers remorse from those games that didn't live up to the hype or expectations.

As for me?

Surprise/good gamble:

+ Deus Ex: Human Revolution
+ Red Dead Redemption

Regrets:

- Rage
- Homefront
- Brink

So, what are yours?

-Hawk

 

[tippy2k2]

Favorite Surprise: Valkyria Chronicles

I had no clue if this game was good or not when I looked for PS3 exclusives. Yahtzee reviewed it and his description, though hate filled, got me really intrigued and I decided to roll the dice. I'm glad I did for it was one of my favorite games of this generation. I absolutely love tactical RPG's and was very pleased with the game and it's story. It was like a much more polished "Operation Darkness" (another pleasant surprise but not quite excellent due to game-play issues).

Regrets: Homefront

So very much potential and it was all just pissed away. I did hold off getting it late due to how it was destroyed critically and I'm glad I did. It was an average shooter at best that SHOULD have been so much better. The game hints at this greatness but never takes advantage of it's unique setting and characters. Such a shame

 

[MysticSlayer]

Best Surprise: Xenoblade Chronicles

I've always been somewhat skeptical of JRPGs, but I had heard Xenoblade was really good so I picked it up with next to no knowledge of it. It was not only an instant top-5 game, but it also got me interested in the genre again.



Greatest Disappointment: Battlefield 3

I was a huge fan of BF2, and when BF3 was announced I became incredibly excited, especially since the Bad Company spinoff games weren't that enjoyable. But then DICE started talking...and talking...and talking. I began having some doubts about the game, but I remained optimistic that it would be a true sequel to BF2. Then the Beta came out, and I really don't care at all about the "BUT IT'S A BETA!!!!!! YOU CAN'T JUDGE A GAME BASED ON A BETA!!!!" cries that came out from fans and DICE. I can handle bugs, balancing issues, and the like in a Beta. What I can't stand is horrible map design, a lack of incentive to follow through with Battlefield's primary draw (team-based gameplay), and watered-down mechanics. After that, I just couldn't bother with the full game.

 

[everythingbeeps]

Can't even remember the whole generation. I can't name all of the surprises or regrets, so I'll pick a few examples of each that I can think of quickly.

Surprises:

1. Saints Row 2, primarily because SR1 was so mediocre. However, SR1 was a little surprising in its on way, for managing to rise above being a simple GTA clone. But SR2 took the series to a whole new level.

2. Yakuza 3. Never played the first two. Not remotely interested. Don't even remember why I started this one, except that I think I was desperate for PS3 exclusives. Still haven't finished it, but it was really a pleasant surprise.

3. Gears of War trilogy. Mostly because I tried and failed several times to get into the first game. I'd start it, get unbelievably bored after an hour or so, and abandon it. Finally I pushed through, and the rest of the series completely captivated me.


Regrets:

1. GTAIV. What a piece of shit. I've also tried several times to push through all this game's bullshit, and there's no end to it.

2. Far Cry 2. Hated it before FC3, gave it another try after FC3 (which I loved) to see if I'd like it any more, and I didn't. Just a tedious drag of a game.

3. Halo 3. Liked the first two a lot, but Halo 3 bored me to tears. Haven't bothered with the series since.

 

[ResonanceSD]

Side note: This console gen is 8 years old.

Regrets: Pretty much everything I've bought for my 3DS.
Space Marine
Darksiders
^ thank fuck these guys went out of business
SimCity
Dragon Age 2
The Witcher
Crysis
Planetside 2
Guild Wars 2
(Assassins Creed brotherhood and revelations just skips this list, but damn was it close)
Driver: SF left me with a huge feeling of "eh"
GTA 4. Most. Boring. Game, Ever.

Surprises:
DE:HR
Homefront I enjoyed it XD
Fallout: New Vegas (and all of the DLC)
Assassins Creed 2
Bioshock
Spec Ops: The Line

 

[gmaverick019_v1legacy]

Good Surprises:
Mount and Blade: Warband (the initial premise sounded like a snooze fest for my tastes..but damn was i wrong.)
Spec ops the line: Loved so many aspects of this game, i was so surprised about this one.)
the witcher (after seeing the combat intro level, i thought i'd hate it..but damn did i eventually get immersed in the game and came to tolerate the combat just fine)
just cause 2: I hate most open world style sandbox games, but fuck this game is just so much fun, between the free falling, hookshot, and insane physics in this game, i get a new surprise each time i play it.


Regrets:
Mass effect 3 (god dammit, i really wish i could go back in time and prevent myself from ever buying this game. then again, i'd do alot of things pre emptive before that..)
Diablo III (fuck all this noise, although i did get it as a gift so can't complain too hard..)

i'm sure there are others, but these two are the ones that are really coming to mind.

 

[GeneralBigG]

Surprises: Dust: An Elysian Tale - Only bought it recently because it was on sale, but bugger me sideways if it isn't a damn good game. Combat is relatively simple, with very few combos but when they come together they make you feel like a god. Some of the writing was a bit corny at times, but the main characters had some great banter between each other that

Spoiler

made the ending where Dust dies full of feels

Mass Effect 3 Multiplayer - I was initially of the same scepticism as the rest of the internet, but it turned out good enough that I'm still grinding through it now The slew of free DLC for it certainly helps.

Regrets: Brink - Good ideas, but missed opportunity in terms of execution. Ghost servers by the time I bought it didn't help much either.

Halo: Combat Evolved: Anniversary - It really pains me to say this as a big Halo fan, but this was a big disappointment for me. I really wanted this to be a good remake, but it was nothing more than a texture pack with some achievements and terminals. The terminals themselves were cool, but the rest of the game was just the original with nothing done whatsoever. The lake of four-player co-op was a disappointment, and for God's sake, Chief still doesn't walk while throwing a grenade. With the bandana infinite-ammo skull on, you can watch you partner move around the map without walking just by throwing grenades.

EDIT: Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings - Enhanced Edition Heard quite a lot of good about The Witcher series, and I might have got to them in number 2 if it wasn't such a slow, boring grind to get to it. Geralt is such a boring character. Combat is just tedious. The dialogue is atrocious.

 

[Asuka Soryu]

Luigi's Mansion 2. I never thought we'd see a sequel to this game, a game I love.

Fable 3. What a let down...

 

[Atmos Duality]

Not too many surprises for me.

-Deus Ex: Human Revolution
I was stunned that they actually put some thought into the level design; I was expecting more of the usual hyper-linear bullshit, and it turned out to be pretty good. Shit-tacular ending though.

-Borderlands 1
It's kind of like the concepts for Hellgate:London, but with the worst parts surgically removed and the best parts emphasized.

Regrets:
-3DS
I've found the "awesome Capcom titles" to be mediocre at best, and I'm not all that impressed with Mario anymore.

 

[krazykidd]

Surprises ;

Alpha protocol ( seriously , this is a better Deus Ex game than Deus Ex: Hr)
Alan wake ( beautifully written game )
Ni no kuni ( wow , i didn't expect this game to be THIS good )
Demons's/ Dark souls ( holy shit this game is hard and addictive , favorite gamt his gen )

Regrets:

Diablo 3 ( this game was terrible and yet polished )
Final fantasy 13-2 ( i hated this game with a passion)
Madworld ( this game was so repetitive )
Record of agrest war : zero ( this game could not be more complicated and boring )

 

[thesilentman]

I was pleasantly surprised by Human Revolution and Dark Souls, like many people. I guess I needed something that wasn't exactly what video games were at the time. Nice pure fun, with a little bit of brains behind it. Dark Souls is now one of the games I am going to make my kids play, the highest honor in my book as of this time. Here's to hoping that Dark Souls II continues this.

Now, my regret: Skyrim. Skyrim failed me. It tried to paint an epic world with some awesome organic experiences. It just didn't do. It just wasn't as great as people were making it out to be, and that saddened me. It could have been so much more, but no. I'm talking vanilla here, as once you can mod something, of course you can get fun out of it.

 

[Luca72]

Biggest surprise: Natural Selection 2 - I hoped beyond hope that this game would be good, and followed it for awhile, but I was always sure it was going to fail. The game was incredibly ambitious, built by a handful of people, and further patched together by a dedicated community under little cohesive management.

And it. Is. Amazing! Consistently patched and updated with one of the most transparent development cycles I've ever seen. I absolutely adore this game.

Biggest disappointment: Tribes: Ascend - The bigger they are, the harder they fall. I'm aware that Ascend is less of teh hardcorez than the original Tribes or Tribes 2, but it's more or less the fastest FPS experience out there. It's smooth, it's unique, and, not to overstate the point, it's fast! In an age where gritty modern warfare games have plodded their way to a near monopoly on the FPS market, that is the most welcome thing in the world!

But Tribes isn't what it should have been. Tribes needs a good ranking system and voice chat. Instead, the focus was put on a just barely inaccessible free-to-play model. By the time they started giving people full weapon packages for $30, most of the fanbase had already left it for other things (probably Planetside 2 more than anything). There are so many games to choose from today that once you lose a big portion of your fans, they're gone. Unfortunately, Tribes has lost so much steam that it seems like it'll never be what it could have been (again).

 

[MeChaNiZ3D]

I am leaving out all the games I bought expecting them to be good and then finding they were good.

(Pleasant) Surprises:

Dark Souls
Bayonetta

Regrets:

Mass Effect 3
Assassin's Creed 3

I was disappointed by Armored Core V, but I don't regret buying it, and I got DE:HR fairly late fully expecting it to be good (although the ending was crap, but can't have everything I suppose).

 

[scorptatious]

Surprises:
Valkyria Chronicles
Fallout: New Vegas (took a second playthrough to help me realize it, but still)

Regrets:

Sonic fucking 06. ugh.
Mirror's Edge (Cool concept, less than stellar execution imo)
Mass Effect 3 (Still a good game, but that ending...)

 

[Triforceformer]

Surprises: Mass Effect Trilogy, Dota 2, Brutal Legend, Spec Ops, Serious Sam 3.

Regret: Bioshock Infinite. Just cannot be bothered to slog though the rest of that game for a 20 minute info dump that tries to make up for the previous shortcomings.

 

[Richard Holloway]

Huh... Most of what I'm listing is on PC... Start of a trend, perhaps?


Pleasant Surprises:

Spec Ops: The Line (Can we get a check on what the definition of "Pleasant" is?)
Metro 2033 (Nothing to add at this time)
Binary Domain (Think "Bladerunner" meets "I, Robot")


Regrets:

Mass Effect 3 (Surprise, surprise)
Dead Space 3 (Bought it because 1: I like the universe; and 2: I wanted to see where it ended up; ultimately underwhelming)
(Buyer's Remorse, thy name is Aliens: Colonial Marines ('Nuff said)

 

[null_pointer]

Surprises:
-Fire Emblem: Awakening. If you have any kind of access to a 3DS, play this game. You won't regret it
-Spec Ops: The Line
-Sleeping Dogs
-Metro 2033
-Saints Row: The Third
-Bioshock: Infinite

Regrets:
-Battlefield 3 <- Worst game I have ever played, hands down. I refuse to buy another Dice game until they release a public apology for this steaming pile of design flaws.
-Call of Duty: Black Ops 2
-Resonance of Fate
-Two Worlds 2
-Mortal Kombat
-Assassins Creed Series

 

[sextus the crazy]

Suprises:
-9 hours 9 persons 9 doors/virtue's last reward
-Saints Row 2 (so goddamn fun)
-Fire Emblem Awakening
-Bioshock
-Battlefield Bad Company 2
-Company of Heroes (if it counts)
-The World Ends With You
-team fortress 2
-Left 4 Dead
-Call of Duty 4

Regrets:
-Empire: Total War
-Dragon age: Origins
-Battlefield 3

 

[Tom Oliver]

Surprises: Mass Effect Trilogy, Spec Ops: The Line, Red Dead Redemption, Just Cause 2
Regrets: L.A Noire, Fable 3

The Rest just kinda met expectations one way or another