Gaming Which game was most surprising?

[Gelgoog Pilot]

When I say this I mean which game when you first heard about it and saw it looked like a big steaming pile? Personally mine was Kingdom hearts. I think the whole disney thing tied in with it made me think ugh. Being like 17 at the time I bought it this would make sense, reguardless I bought it used and played it. Wow, did I end up loving that game, sure there are alot of those damn disney characters in it, but then again being of the generation that grew up with that stuff I could recognize a ton of them and i dunno, reminise I suppose. SO what about all of you? :D

[xYakux]

[COLOR=DarkSlateGray]I agree Kingdom hearts has surpised me the most so far, when it came out i really wanted to play it, but i didn't have enough money and rented it instead. i was glad i didn't buy it though because i don't really think it was all that good. I mean, i really hate donald and goofy and i thought you could get rid of them when you got sora and riku, but i was wrong and that was kinda annoying, i had a game that had donald and goofy as two of the main characters, however i thought it was quite a good storyline so i didn't mind too much, i tried to imagine they weren't, donald and goofy, just a dog and a duck. yes a dog and a duck.[/COLOR]

[Shinmaru]

I don't think any one game has surprised me more than Eternal Darkness has. I wasn't expecting the game to be [i]awful[/i], or anything, but I definitely wasn't expecting it to be as amazing and enjoyable as it was. I think a lot of media outlets ([i]especially[/i] EGM) really underrated the game, because I thought it was very, very good, possibly my favorite game on the GameCube.

The Sanity effects, which I expected to be nothing more than a really fun gimmick, really added something to the gameplay, since they directly affected your character's control and ability to fight. I also got a very good story out of the game, with a ton of well-acted, exciting cutscenes ([spoiler]I was absolutely floored at the end of Paul Luther's chapter - that cutscene was great[/spoiler]).

Add to the equation realistic controls (none of this moving like a tank crap, like in Resident Evil), gameplay that encourages you to beat the holy hell out of every monster, good puzzles, fun levels and some really good atmosphere (even if the characters themselves look a tad cartoonish) and you have an awesome game on your hands.

Eternal Darkness was definitely a case of expecting a good game, and getting a [i]great[/i] one, instead.

[Semjaza]

What does one's age have to do with the enjoyment of Disney characters? I'm twenty-two and I love Disney films. Hell, it was the only reason I bought the game in the first place.

I don't know what can be surprising about it though, because in my opinion, it was a big steaming pile. Stupid story, lame outside characters, poor usage of the Disney license, flawed battle system. Most of all, some of the worst level designs I've seen in the past decade. Awful game.

I guess the biggest surprise was Dragon Quarter. I think the Breath of Fire series is decent, but it had never been something I loved. The original was too slow paced, the sequel was a localization nightmare, three was decent and I never bothered much with the fourth. However, Dragon Quarter is just amazing.

It's totally different than the other games in the series. It actually penalizes you for using the dragon form. The battle system is excellent, the characters are interesting (they're not insanely complex, but they somehow manage to feel more real than most game characters).

Great game.

[BlueYoshi]

I wasn't a big fan of Eternal Darkness, but I liked the way the chapters were arranged so as you weren't stuck playing as Alex all the time. Change is good, heh.

For me, I was incredibly surprised by the lack of dungeons and lifespan in TWW. I mean, come on, I was expecting a load more from it seeing as it was the first LoZ game to be released for the GameCube, and judging by the quality of LttP and OoT, I'd expect it to have [i]some[/i] replay value. I always felt that the time spent looking for the Triforce shards could've been invested into more dungeons, just so as the game would end up on-par with the other LoZ games, or at least make it just as timeless. I suppose I'd be even more hysterical had the dungeons been underachieved, but they were reasonable enough.

In my view, the never-ending sailing and the many, many bonuses and secrets that TWW had to offer seriously overshadowed the main aspects of the game. Hopefully, Paper Mario 2 won't wind up like it, as the two have such a sheer resemblance in looks, but you never know lol.

[Ninjaman]

Dragon Quarter surprised me too, but not the same way as Semjaza. To be honest, just thinking about that game really annoys me. Battle system was great, the graphics were different but nice, and how dungeons worked (traps and so forth) were cool. What turned me off? Save tokens for one. I absolutely despise having to pay something in order to save. And I'm one that has to save a lot. Okay, I might have missed it, but were there no inns in the beginning? Now that really turned me off even more. The farthest I made was meeting Nina. After that I couldn't make it far because monsters were beating me. That game really frustrated me and turned me off really fast. I'm glad I rented it first because I was originally going to buy it first but changed my mind. It's a shame too, I really was interested.

I expected Kingdom Hearts to be a good game and it has (for me at least), but it isn't anything great. From what I've heard Kingdom Hearts 2's battle system will be better and there's going to be added things as well so I'm looking forward to that.

Anyways, the game that surprised me on a good note has Tales of Symphonia. I actually wasn't going to get this game at first, but something drew me to it. Good thing too, I wasn't expecting a game to be really addicting. The story isn't the best, but everything else seems to do a good job at making up for it. So yeah, money well spent.

[Guest ScirosDarkblade]

I was most surprised by the new Ninja Gaiden. Seeing as the DOA series pretty much had nothing to offer besides great visuals, that's the most I expected from NG. But instead the game turned out to be a very well-polished and deep action game, by far the best action game I've ever played. The ONLY problem I have with the game is extremely minor -- the X button is used for both combat AND interaction with objects, and that sometimes leads to problems. None fatal, but still.

And now with the Hurricane packs, Team Ninja is only ensuring that NG rules the action genre for a long, long time.

I've never been as pleasantly surprised with a game before.

[Semjaza]

[quote name='digitalshadow']Dragon Quarter surprised me too, but not the same way as Semjaza. To be honest, just thinking about that game really annoys me. Battle system was great, the graphics were different but nice, and how dungeons worked (traps and so forth) were cool. What turned me off? Save tokens for one. I absolutely despise having to pay something in order to save. And I'm one that has to save a lot. [/quote]

Well, I guess I can understand that. There's really no reason to save constantly though. I use Save Tokens when I felt I made it far enough that it was worth backing up. Otherwise, quitting and using the temporary save completely sufficed. Besides, the game expects you to die in order to get new cutscenes and items anyway.

Not for everyone, I suppose. I loved it.

[Sol-Blade]

The game that really took me by surprise this summer was definitely, hands down, The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay for XBox. Mostly because well, most games based off movies...er...suck. But that game was probably the best looking game i've played in awhile and was really alot of fun. Talk about production value, lots of innovative gameplay...enough to break-up the usual run-n-gun action (which is actually quite absent through half of the game, for reasons you learn). The game had it's unique parts and the storyline was better than I thought it was going to be. It had a few plot twists and the story drew me with it's dark, eerie attitude. Vin Diesel actually fits the role perfectly, and his attitude and voice really lend alot to the atmosphere. It was by far the best game based off a movie...ever.

Who knew escaping from prison was so fun? :D

[naota]

[COLOR=Teal][SIZE=1]I have two games that were most surprising for me.The first one was Kingdom Hearts of course.My brother borrowed the game and I thought it would stink because it has Disney in it.But when I played it I was very surprised by how good it was!I gotta say that was one of the best games that I have ever played but it is already the best rated E game I have ever played.

The second game that surprised me the most was Fighter Maker 2.I bought that game thinking it was good and I played it and it stank!Atleast to me......that was the worst game I have ever played.I recommend that no one should ever buy that game. TO me that game is complicated and is just plain boring.[/SIZE][/COLOR]