TransientDreamer
Neo Member
Between the gameplay, beat-em-up action, character selection, and campiness, this game was way better than it deserved to be.
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Pleasant surprise games
- Thread starter sn00zer
- Start date
psychotron
Member
Dark Sector. Game was bashed everywhere I looked, but newegg had it for $10 on sale, so I bought it. I loved every second. To date it's my biggest surprise.
Downloadable budget title from a no-name developer that's a God of War clone selling for $0.99 during last Summer sale. Just the fact that it's not terrible and is surprisingly competent perplexes me to this day. The game's pacing and the scale of the environments is unbelievable considering what it is.
BouncyFrag
Member
The Darkness. I had so much fun getting back into gaming in the middle of the last gen since I hadn't gamed since the 16-bit era and was able to find gems like this in bargain bins. I'd be remiss if I didn't bring up one of the most unexpected, wonderful moments I've ever had in gaming.
Are we restricted to games we only mildly enjoyed? If so, Torchlight. Someone gifted it to me on steam for my birthday, and at the time I really didn't like top down, Diablo-esque games.
I ended up playing it for hours without even realising it. Next thing I knew I was being called to get ready to go out for dinner when the last thing I knew is that it was still about 10am.
If we're counting all games? Hoo boy. Persona 3 Portable, for sure. I picked it up while I was in the US for a holiday since I had some money, but really wasn't expecting much from it, since I really disliked turn based games. Then I played it when I got home and...well. It's no possibly my favourite video game series.
Another one is Devil Survivor Overclocked, and I guess Fire Emblem at the same time. I got FE pre installed with my DS, and DeSu since I needed something else to play. I played a few hours of each, took a step back to think about it, and then realised how much they'd blown my mind. I hated strategy games before these two, but I was absolutely in love with them both. I've rarely been as completely satisfied with a video game as I have with DeSu and Fire Emblem.
The most recent would probably be...Danganronpa 2. I bought the first one, got hyped, and ended up really disliking it, for multiple reasons. Why I wanted the second one I will never know, but I'm glad I bought it. I'm only on Chapter 4 so far but I've been won over. I never thought that would happen.
I ended up playing it for hours without even realising it. Next thing I knew I was being called to get ready to go out for dinner when the last thing I knew is that it was still about 10am.
If we're counting all games? Hoo boy. Persona 3 Portable, for sure. I picked it up while I was in the US for a holiday since I had some money, but really wasn't expecting much from it, since I really disliked turn based games. Then I played it when I got home and...well. It's no possibly my favourite video game series.
Another one is Devil Survivor Overclocked, and I guess Fire Emblem at the same time. I got FE pre installed with my DS, and DeSu since I needed something else to play. I played a few hours of each, took a step back to think about it, and then realised how much they'd blown my mind. I hated strategy games before these two, but I was absolutely in love with them both. I've rarely been as completely satisfied with a video game as I have with DeSu and Fire Emblem.
The most recent would probably be...Danganronpa 2. I bought the first one, got hyped, and ended up really disliking it, for multiple reasons. Why I wanted the second one I will never know, but I'm glad I bought it. I'm only on Chapter 4 so far but I've been won over. I never thought that would happen.
fvng
Member
Recently played through beyond out of curiosity, and while it has a lot of problems, it was really enjoyable the whole way through. I kept wanting to know what happens next and just when I thought the game couldn't do something to surprise me it did.
There are a lot of neat scenarios here.
Also it's easily the best hobo simulator ever made.
Definitely
fvng
Member
Isn't every MGS game canon?
Crab Milk Mickey
Member
Lethal League, especially after thinking it was only "neat" after being shown many years ago (albeit in an incomplete state) during a big fighting game tournament.
It turned out to be a formula I never knew I wanted: Battle Pong with parries, super moves and characters who all have different attributes (jumping arc quirks + swing range + ball trajectories etc.) to distinguish themselves from the rest. The devs were also sensible enough to have its online multiplayer run on rocksolid GGPO netcode unlike Niddhog, Towerfall Ascension or Samurai Gunn and it's also cheaper than all three of those, to add insult to injury. What makes this game so surprisingly good is that it has a lot of nuanced depth to it despite its (at first glance) simplicity as it's continuously ratcheting up its pace; charged swings heavily increase ball speed and reduce hitlag to near zero IF you can time it right, bunts have the latter advantage too but increase meter gain at the risk of the enemy being able to intercept it (with the benefit of 4 directions to choose from), parries deplete all of your super bar upon use no matter how full, you can stun the other player by clashing with his swing, ... The list goes on and it all adds up to precise, mindgame-centric dueling as soon as you're aware of a given characters possible angles (with hitlag timing displayed at the bottom of the HUD) and all the relatively minor intricacies.
The way it ramps its speed tends to be on the ridiculous side too, moreso during 4-player FFA's or 2 vs 2 team fights.
It turned out to be a formula I never knew I wanted: Battle Pong with parries, super moves and characters who all have different attributes (jumping arc quirks + swing range + ball trajectories etc.) to distinguish themselves from the rest. The devs were also sensible enough to have its online multiplayer run on rocksolid GGPO netcode unlike Niddhog, Towerfall Ascension or Samurai Gunn and it's also cheaper than all three of those, to add insult to injury. What makes this game so surprisingly good is that it has a lot of nuanced depth to it despite its (at first glance) simplicity as it's continuously ratcheting up its pace; charged swings heavily increase ball speed and reduce hitlag to near zero IF you can time it right, bunts have the latter advantage too but increase meter gain at the risk of the enemy being able to intercept it (with the benefit of 4 directions to choose from), parries deplete all of your super bar upon use no matter how full, you can stun the other player by clashing with his swing, ... The list goes on and it all adds up to precise, mindgame-centric dueling as soon as you're aware of a given characters possible angles (with hitlag timing displayed at the bottom of the HUD) and all the relatively minor intricacies.
The way it ramps its speed tends to be on the ridiculous side too, moreso during 4-player FFA's or 2 vs 2 team fights.
Alex_Mexico
Member
Resident Evil 4.
You see I used to hate the franchise prior to that game so I had no reason to keep tabs on RE4's development. When I tried it I was surprised by how much of what I hated it lacked and how much I was enjoying it.
You see I used to hate the franchise prior to that game so I had no reason to keep tabs on RE4's development. When I tried it I was surprised by how much of what I hated it lacked and how much I was enjoying it.
A-Dark-Injection
Member
Alien Zombie Megadeath (PS3, Steam)
While I already played this game's predecessor (the PS minis 'Alien Zombie Death', thanks to pre-IGC PS+), Alien Zombie Megadeath vastly improved on all aspects. It's a 2D shoot-em-up where you fight againts alien zombies. It's a very challenging game and collecting all medals is extremely difficult.
http://pompomgames.com/alienzombiemegadeath.htm
Chime Super Deluxe (PS3), but Chime is available on Xbox Live and Steam
This game was part of EU's first month IGC. Relaxing game that combines music with puzzle. Had a lot of fun playing it.
http://www.chimegame.com
Fuz
Banned
Welcome to the club. Now, go get that Baldur's Gate saga and Torment!
Yeah it was a really decent licensed game. Way better than the movie. Also, Captain America: Super Soldier is pretty good too !
Nimmermehr
Neo Member
Never heard about the series before i got it on the DS.. really enjoyed the funny story and traditional gameplay.
ichtyander
Member
Renegade Ops
An arcade vehicle twin stick shooter with a cheesy G.I.Joe theme and terrible voice acting. Developed by Avalanche (Just Cause). You can destroy pretty much everything with gloriously smooth explosions and screams of tiny burning soldiers. It's probably the most fun I've had in recent years.
An arcade vehicle twin stick shooter with a cheesy G.I.Joe theme and terrible voice acting. Developed by Avalanche (Just Cause). You can destroy pretty much everything with gloriously smooth explosions and screams of tiny burning soldiers. It's probably the most fun I've had in recent years.
After being burned badly by the 3DS version and not hearing fantastic things about the Wii U version, I got this for christmas, tried it out and it ended up growing on me. It's not amazing and it does fall apart near the end, but it's got a few stages I come back to every now and again and the Zelda DLC was a nice bonus.
thewhitehawk
Member
After being burned badly by the 3DS version and not hearing fantastic things about the Wii U version, I got this for christmas, tried it out and it ended up growing on me. It's not amazing and it does fall apart near the end, but it's got a few stages I come back to every now and again and the Zelda DLC was a nice bonus.
What's wrong with the 3DS version of it? I was considering getting it at some point.
My most pleasant surprise game was Guardian Heroes. I still remember being very young and visiting El Corte Ingles in Gran Canary island, for those who do not know it's a large megastore with one floor dedicated to completely different departments. Once we reached one of the top floors, it was filled with games and toys. I was ecstatic to say the least, and since the Saturn was the console I owned I asked how many games I could get and I was given permission to grab 4 or so. So I grabbed what I think was Diablo 2 and the expansions, Wipeout... don't remember what the third one was and then there were slim pickings for my fourth game, I picked Guardian Heroes because it seemed like a nice beat-em-up and I missed playing the genre and it ended up being the game I probably played the most on the Saturn.
jufonuk
not tag worthy
despite the Negative reviews, I didn't mind too much playing Kane and Lynch 2, it was by no means polished as hell, but it was nice in some parts.
EDF 2017 could be , but I played this after reading about it on GAF and seeing it mentioned online.
most other games I play that I enjoy usually have a good rating already or are loved by others.
Bangai-o spirits? maybe or soul bubbles.
yeah soul bubble expected a generic puzzle game but was really surprised how well constructed and thought out it was
EDF 2017 could be , but I played this after reading about it on GAF and seeing it mentioned online.
most other games I play that I enjoy usually have a good rating already or are loved by others.
Bangai-o spirits? maybe or soul bubbles.
yeah soul bubble expected a generic puzzle game but was really surprised how well constructed and thought out it was
TheSlySoul
Member
Velocity 2X surprised me by combining two genres perfectly, making it accessible (never have I been angry at the game) and making it very satisfactory. Getting through a level? Easy. Getting a perfect? Not so easy, but so, so, so satisfying. I'm not usually one to go back and perfect missions, but I think I will with 2X.
Yeah, Velocity 2X was a big surprise considering I had zero hype for the game.
For my entry, it has to be this game...
Gamestop was selling the LE cheap, so I decided to pick it up on a whim after looking up review scores. It plays much like a mix of Crash and Tales. A very pleasant surprise considering it came out of nowhere.
Solemn_In_Berlin
Member
Yup. And while we're in the subject of movie tie-ins, I'd say The Amazing Spider-Man
Cozmogramma
Member
Mini Metro.
Saw a post in the Steam-thread about it getting an early access-release. Looked interesting so I tried the alpha-demo on the website and was hooked. Bought it with my remaining Steam money and so far I've been playing it for 18 hours.
From the Steam store page:
Saw a post in the Steam-thread about it getting an early access-release. Looked interesting so I tried the alpha-demo on the website and was hooked. Bought it with my remaining Steam money and so far I've been playing it for 18 hours.
From the Steam store page:
Hmm, I'd say 999 - I've never really played a VN before so I didn't know what to expect but a lot of text. After the brutal bomb explosion described in bloody detail in the beginning I was hooked and then quickly got all 6 endings. Great game and I bought the sequel upon release without hesitation.
Pro from Dover
Member
One Finger Death Punch
First saw this game on XBLIG for a buck. Of course I thought it looked stupid with its restroom icon man characters, but tried the demo because I loved the name. HOLY SHIT is this not one of the most fun and addictive games I've ever played!
First saw this game on XBLIG for a buck. Of course I thought it looked stupid with its restroom icon man characters, but tried the demo because I loved the name. HOLY SHIT is this not one of the most fun and addictive games I've ever played!
Just recently Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures has turned out much better than I expected.
Bought just because it was on sale and it's something I can play when my daughter is around but I've been playing it even after she's went to bed.
I've considered giving that the shot but the terrifying box art always scares me off. But on the topic of ugly things that turn out alright,
Skylanders wasn't actually that bad. I'd never pay for it but I played the first one in co-op and it's rather fun. I was ready to completely trash it when it first got revealed.
I consider it to be Dimps's worst Sonic game. The first few stages are good, but past the first world it becomes a mess of shoehorned in wisps that aren't fun to use and often rely on poor motion control, awful level design involving instant kills, grind rails over pits and every level being way longer than it should be and it does the Sonic Heroes thing of having lots of enemies with big life bars that take way too long to kill. It's also pretty glitchy. I just wouldn't recommend it.
Oh wow. That's kind of cute. Will try out.
PseudoViper
Member
This game on Steam called Bionic Heart.
It's not bad, it's not bad.
It's not bad, it's not bad.
Do people think they're cool when they just drop a picture with no description in to these threads? Should be bannable.
Clockwork5
Member
Got to agree with the Velocity 2x shout outs in this thread. Definitely a sleeper hit for me.
Shadowrun Returns
From what I heard before playing it the game the game was decent with some flaws, but I really liked it. I'm not a fan of western rpgs, but I enjoyed it for its nice and well integrated battle system, its (linear) story and the quality of the backgrounds. Definitely worth the time and the money.
From what I heard before playing it the game the game was decent with some flaws, but I really liked it. I'm not a fan of western rpgs, but I enjoyed it for its nice and well integrated battle system, its (linear) story and the quality of the backgrounds. Definitely worth the time and the money.
Kid Icarus: Uprising
Dear god that game was long. And good. I wasn't expecting such a value!
It's a shame that the weapon system is such an obtuse pain though. Why did Sora LTD. think it would be a good idea to give a shump a Diablo style loot system, and then hide all the stats?
Dear god that game was long. And good. I wasn't expecting such a value!
It's a shame that the weapon system is such an obtuse pain though. Why did Sora LTD. think it would be a good idea to give a shump a Diablo style loot system, and then hide all the stats?
Never played a Shining game before in my life but I was surprised at how much this clicked with me.
The interesting part is that most of the people who played the previous Shining games absolutely hated this one, because it's so different than the others (the previous games were mainly turn-based strategy games; Tears is an action RPG).
Let the haters hate, I say. Shining Tears was one of my favorite PS2 games, and definitely on my list of pleasant surprises.
I'd also add Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light to everyone's list. I've been playing games in my Steam backlog (just to try them out, mainly - I have over 1000 at this point). I'm not a huge Tomb Raider fan in general, but I really like the quick paced, arcadey gameplay of this one. I intended just to play it for a few minutes to try it out, but I've actually spent quite a bit of time with it so far.
When i first tried the freeware version i dropped it at the Egg Corridor because i hate playing platformers with a keyboard but i immediately saw the right stuff in that game, as soon as i tried the CS+ with the controller support i discovered one of the top 5 games i've ever played.
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When i first looked at the game (few seconds of a video) i thought it was some indie crap that is flooding the market nowadays and essentially put it in the mental trashcan, after watching the character sprite then a lot of people told me that if i liked Cave Story so much i would have surely appreciated the game so taking advantage of a Steam sale i bought it and... man what a fantastic and hard game.
Jakoozie89
Neo Member
Sleeping Dogs was a big one for me. And max payne 3 . Thr hate people had for the direction of the game made me think the game was mediocre, but it turned out to probably be my favourite third person shooter ever, in terms of single player. And I actually disn't mind the cutscenes.
walkmetothelake
Banned
Deadly Premonition.
Never thought I would've enjoyed it at all let alone enough to probably fit into my top 10.
Never thought I would've enjoyed it at all let alone enough to probably fit into my top 10.
efyu_lemonardo
May I have a cookie?
Zack & Wiki
This turned out to be a very enjoyable little experience.
Was thinking the same thing. Quite a turnaround for the series after the cartel themed retail stinker. Pretty much the idea mid-budget major studio digital game along with Far Cry Blood Dragon.
Werewolf Jones
Gold Member
This year for me?
Probably Assassin's Creed IV and most recently 100% Orange Juice.
Probably Assassin's Creed IV and most recently 100% Orange Juice.
PetriP-TNT
Member
I was playing RE: Revelations for past two weeks and it blew my mind. It was just so fun to play, surprisingly hard, even somewhat scary at points and the story was dumb as hell but just enough dumb. It was just a great action game that I couldn't really care about anything else.
I didn't enjoy RE5 but I have played the classics billions of times, played Zero and Outbreaks and even played through Dead Aim, Survivor, Gaiden and shit.
I didn't enjoy RE5 but I have played the classics billions of times, played Zero and Outbreaks and even played through Dead Aim, Survivor, Gaiden and shit.
TimeShift from 2007 was one for me. Very satisfying gunplay with time control abilities. Even though it was rated mediocre, I loved it.
Then, there is also CoJ Gunslinger. After the Cartel abortion, I thought the franchise was done for, but here comes Gunslinger, a downloadable game with a great artstyle and gunplay satisfying enough to make it one of the best games I played last year. The other FPS I enjoyed greatly in 2013 were Metro LL and Bioshock Infinite, but when it comes to pure shooting mechanics, none can match Gunslinger.
Then, there is also CoJ Gunslinger. After the Cartel abortion, I thought the franchise was done for, but here comes Gunslinger, a downloadable game with a great artstyle and gunplay satisfying enough to make it one of the best games I played last year. The other FPS I enjoyed greatly in 2013 were Metro LL and Bioshock Infinite, but when it comes to pure shooting mechanics, none can match Gunslinger.
Violence Jack
Member
Crackdown. So many people bought it for the Halo demo, while I enjoyed the game on its own.
Saints Row: The Third. I thought it would be another GTA clone, and now I enjoy Saints Row more than GTA.
Saints Row: The Third. I thought it would be another GTA clone, and now I enjoy Saints Row more than GTA.