What games were unexpected treasures? (1 Viewer)

[Dave F]

As a counterpoint to the What games have you regretted buying lately? thread, what games have you picked up lately that have been unexpected treasures?
For me:
1) Frequency - It seems like everyone that tries it, loves it. But it's almost impossible to get someone to try it. For those that make the plunge, it's an intense & addictive game. Sore wrists and fingers for weeks.
2) Beach Spikers - I rented it out of sheer boredom, and sunk hours and hours into this game. Fantastic graphics, smooth as silk gameplay, and the upper levels are tough.
3) Buffy the Vampire Slayer - I was really looking forward to this game, but had my hopes set pretty low. 99% of the time, games based on tv licenses suck with a capital S-U-C-K. So I was hoping for a halfways decent game that didn't dishonor the show. The game ended up being a fantastic 3d brawler with an incredible fighting engine. Now I have high hopes for the Indiana Jones game, which is using the same engine.
-Dave

 

[Sean Moon]

Einhander on the original playstation. That game kicks ass on so many levels.
Timesplitters was an unexpected surprise when it came out.

 

[Matt Birchall]

Rez.

 

[James Zos]

Daikatana would have to get my vote. There was almost no hype built up for that game before it was released, so one had ever really heard of it before - and then all of a sudden it came out of left field and blew everybody away with its incredible gampla - no, wait a minute, that wasn't Daikatana. I was thinking of another game I can't remember the name of.

 

[Sean Moon]

James...that was great. I almost took you seriously until you said it had no hype!

 

[Chris Flynn]

I was all set to blast that Daikatana post until the 3rd line.

 

[Camp]

LOL!!!

 

[John Bryant]

NCAA Football 2003-I knew the game was good, but not this good.
NBA Inside Drive 2002-Well worth the $15 I paid for it.
ICO-$6 for this masterpiece? You're kidding me, right?

 

[GlenHaag]

DDR for me.

I looked at it and thought, that has to be the worst idea for a Video Game ever. I'm over $100 bucks into this game and the pads needed to play it. That and the cost of importing in the Japanese versions of the game.

It's still great fun to me... even though I'm not much good.

Glen

 

[Mark Evans]

DDR for me, though arcade only, I'm a tall lanky guy, and the smaller home pads are an impossibility for me. But honestly, a friend and I were at the theater and we dared each other to try it. Eventually we ended up trying to see movies at that theatre just to play DDR .
SimGolf. Wow, this sounded like the dumbest idea ever, then the reviews were good. Then I bought it. Then I played, and played, and played. Loved it.
System Shock 1 & 2. Scary enough to have such an instantly classic (well, if enough people had played it, sigh) first installment, but to have your second one very, very nearly measure up? One of my faves.
Gabriel Knight II. Only good FMV-based adventure game ever.
Freedom Force. Superhero games are supposed to suck aren't they? Well, not anymore .

 

[Joe Szott]

I tend to get into games a little later than most folks. So usually a friend will bring over a Half-Life or Metal Gear Solid and just demand that I play through it.
* Advance Wars for the GBA, I still play that silly little game constantly. Ever since Military Madness, I've looked for another hex and turn based strat game that has good gameplay but isn't overpowered with stats. AW is just insanely fun and addicting!
* Half-Life for the PC. I played HL like 2 years after it originally came out when my bud insisted I try it. I expected to hate it, but it was one of the best PC experiences I've had to date.
* DDR (any version). My wife and friends were dancers for years. When we saw a DDR machine in Las Vegas, they were playing it for hours. I am a *terrible* dancer but they convinced me to try it. Even though I sucked, it was (is!) an incrdibly fun game. Someday, I need to find an older arcade DDR machine and put it in our basement
* MGS for PSX. Man, how could I have been prepared for how cool this game was?
* Mark of Kri for PS2. Same bud made me play it, I didn't want to. Turns out to be like a Disney movie mixed with a little Clockwork Orange Ultraviolence and Conan storyline. A pretty twisted game really but just loads of fun (playing this one now.)

 

[Andre F]

Jet Set Radio - I just got this as part of the bundle from the Xbox. I just can't seem to get enough of this game. The best part is that is was free!

 

[Dan B]

Andre, if you like Jet Set Radio Future, then I recommend picking up the original on the Dreamcast. Afterall, you can buy a new Dreamcast & a copy of Jet Set Radio for $50 total if you look around. I think the original is slightly better than the Xbox sequel.
Here's a thread I started back when JSRF came out...those of you who just picked up the game in the Xbox bundle might find it interesting: http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htfo...threadid=48224
I can't really think of any unexpected treasures right now, but I suppose that's because I spend so much time researching games on the internet before I buy.
-Dan

 

[Oscar Saenz]

I would have to say that REZ for the Dreamcast was completely unexpected. I had heard good word of mouth but didn't really know what to expect. I was hooked from the first level!

 

[Joseph Young]

Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2 (PS2 version devloped by Black Box only)

Sounds like just another lukewarm racer? I thought so. Then I played it. It's even gotten high marks all around (again, just the PS2 version), even from the pathologically critical Gamespot.

An arcade racer through and through, not intending to be the next Gran Turismo. Elements of SF Rush, GTA3 (yes, gta3, you heard me), and Metropolis Street Racer. Long, gorgeous, varied tracks, lots of options and replay value.

I was definitely surprised by this one.

~j

 

[Matt MacFarlane]

Pikmin - I figured it was going to be very much geared to kids and too simple to enjoy, but when I started playing it I realized just how innovative the game was. It had an incredible amount of depth and it was challenging. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

 

[JamesH]

When the PS2 first came out, I was pretty concerned with the lack of quality games. However, one evening with a sweet little gem known as X-Squad and all was right with the world.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

Hmm...I'm not sure if I really have any unexpected treasures. Most games that I get are because I have read something about them or played them and enjoyed them a LOT. If I had to choose, I'd say ICO and Frequency.

 

[ChrisV]

Rez, definitely Rez.
Frequency too, how long 'til Frequency 2?
I also came late to the party on Metal Gear Solid. I had heard that it was the best game ever, but I really didn't expect it to actually BE the best game ever. I'd been playing PS2 games and this old PSX classic turned me right around. Wow! Now I play it on my DC.

 

[PS Nystrom]

Animal Crossing . Stupid game has sucked more than one entire night of sleeping from me. Getting started, settling in, running errands, trading items online, farming, catching fish and insects to donate to the local museum, collecting paintings and digging up fossils had me running around my town like a madman. And there was still more to do. Planting flowers to make the town pretty, setting the town's theme song, choosing what to wear each day, decorating and expanding the house, visiting other towns, playing the 'turnip' market, getting it on with old-school NES games, on and on.

However, now that things are the way I want them the game only takes a good half-hour of my life each day to check in and make sure nothing is out of order. Check the mail, dig up fossils, browse the aisles at Nook's, do a little fishing, a little tree-trimming and fruit collecting. A great beginning to what I hope will be a great Animal Crossing 2 (online, easier to navigate menus, more intelligent conversations with much less repetition).

Pieter