Probably still my all time favorite game. I remember getting it on Xmas day and trying to play it on my old HP and getting about 15FPS but just couldn't stop playing it. Went back about 6 months ago and played it again still holds up even with the dated visuals.
Games that surprised you
- Thread starter robbw77
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Probably still my all time favorite game. I remember getting it on Xmas day and trying to play it on my old HP and getting about 15FPS but just couldn't stop playing it. Went back about 6 months ago and played it again still holds up even with the dated visuals.
Yeh Dying Light seemed to come out of nowhere.
Defiantly a nice surprise that one...
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The original Max Payne. It was quite revolutionary at it's time. Introduced bullet time but also had some great incidental effects such as tiles breaking off walls under gunfire. I was very surprised by this game as I wasn't expecting such good quality.
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This for me too, played it near release and wasn't expecting much but it was a nice surprise - excellent game
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*cough* stole from The Matrix
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The last game that relay surprised me (ie being much better than I was expecting) was Farcry 3 and FTL. Maybe DooM as well.
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In terms of more recent AAA titles, Dying Light is definitely up there. Coming from Dead Island which I personally thought was absolutely awful in so many ways, I was so surprised but just how solidly built the game felt. Nothing ground breaking or anything special by any means, but just a good game.
Fallout: New Vegas is one of my favourite games, but I'm surprised by just how much I enjoy it. Again, coming from 3/previous entry, I wasn't expecting great things at all (at least it was Obsidian that time round and not Bethesda) especially since from early trailers it looked like an expansion more than anything since the engine look pretty much exactly the same. And while this is all still true ...
(the sub-par shooting mechanics, dated graphics, schlocky performance, bug galore, etc.) the game is pretty much better (bar a few exceptions) across the board.
Fallout: New Vegas is one of my favourite games, but I'm surprised by just how much I enjoy it. Again, coming from 3/previous entry, I wasn't expecting great things at all (at least it was Obsidian that time round and not Bethesda) especially since from early trailers it looked like an expansion more than anything since the engine look pretty much exactly the same. And while this is all still true ...
(the sub-par shooting mechanics, dated graphics, schlocky performance, bug galore, etc.) the game is pretty much better (bar a few exceptions) across the board.
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Been surprised by a few games over the years for both good and bad reasons. More recent ones that stand out (for positive reasons) are:
Dying Light: Agreed on this one. Loved the mechanics in this game, just felt so smooth and satisfying to play. Story was also pretty decent up until the expansion introduced daft spiritual/cult elements to the story.
Mark Of The Ninja: Genuinely brilliant 2D game with stealth mechanics that could teach some AAA games a thing or two. loved the way you felt more like the hunter than the hunted and could use your intelligence as well as your tools to creatively clear a room however you wanted. Played it through a few times and did virtually everything slightly different each time.
Doom 2016: The most recent on the list but this was a franchise I was never a huge fan of so I was amazed when I pretty much fell instantly for this game. One of the most smooth and fluid gaming experiences of recent years. Looks gorgeous, runs like a dream, and fast frenetic fun throughout. I even liked the bosses.
Portal 2: I'd guess most people would pick the original and I can see why but this was actually the first of the two I played and as much as I love the first game this one is just something special. Ellen McLain as GLaDOS and Stephen Merchant as Wheatley were both phenomenal and had me chuckling throughout. Added to the already brilliant game mechanics it was a winning formula and created one of my all time favourite games.
Dust: An Elysian Tail: Bought in a sale as a bit of a time killer it shocked me how much I actually ended up enjoying this game. Sure it was hardly original but it had an addictive quality and I was hooked almost from the start.
Life Is Strange: I honestly thought I would hate this game. Set around two students and on a University Campus....seemed like it would be everything I hate but I was absolutely gripped through the entire story. I even grew to care deeply for the characters who were voiced to perfection. One of the biggest surprises of my entire gaming life and one I'd put alongside any of the Telltale games.
Ori & The Blind Forest: Finally this one I thought would also be a good way to kill a few hours whilst I wasn't playing anything else. Cute platformer I thought...only this was far more. Everything from the hand painted look of the game to the gorgeous soundtrack was pretty much perfect. I also loved the Metroid element to the platforming and though the escape sections were a little frustrating they didn't in any way ruin the experience. Beautiful game!
Probably one or two more but my brain is a little fried today so nothing else really comes to mind.
Dying Light: Agreed on this one. Loved the mechanics in this game, just felt so smooth and satisfying to play. Story was also pretty decent up until the expansion introduced daft spiritual/cult elements to the story.
Mark Of The Ninja: Genuinely brilliant 2D game with stealth mechanics that could teach some AAA games a thing or two. loved the way you felt more like the hunter than the hunted and could use your intelligence as well as your tools to creatively clear a room however you wanted. Played it through a few times and did virtually everything slightly different each time.
Doom 2016: The most recent on the list but this was a franchise I was never a huge fan of so I was amazed when I pretty much fell instantly for this game. One of the most smooth and fluid gaming experiences of recent years. Looks gorgeous, runs like a dream, and fast frenetic fun throughout. I even liked the bosses.
Portal 2: I'd guess most people would pick the original and I can see why but this was actually the first of the two I played and as much as I love the first game this one is just something special. Ellen McLain as GLaDOS and Stephen Merchant as Wheatley were both phenomenal and had me chuckling throughout. Added to the already brilliant game mechanics it was a winning formula and created one of my all time favourite games.
Dust: An Elysian Tail: Bought in a sale as a bit of a time killer it shocked me how much I actually ended up enjoying this game. Sure it was hardly original but it had an addictive quality and I was hooked almost from the start.
Life Is Strange: I honestly thought I would hate this game. Set around two students and on a University Campus....seemed like it would be everything I hate but I was absolutely gripped through the entire story. I even grew to care deeply for the characters who were voiced to perfection. One of the biggest surprises of my entire gaming life and one I'd put alongside any of the Telltale games.
Ori & The Blind Forest: Finally this one I thought would also be a good way to kill a few hours whilst I wasn't playing anything else. Cute platformer I thought...only this was far more. Everything from the hand painted look of the game to the gorgeous soundtrack was pretty much perfect. I also loved the Metroid element to the platforming and though the escape sections were a little frustrating they didn't in any way ruin the experience. Beautiful game!
Probably one or two more but my brain is a little fried today so nothing else really comes to mind.
In the age of the internet, can't say as any game has surprised me.
Genuine surprise would be blind boxing it back in the day. For that Panzer General would be the one. Never a turn based or a war game fan, in truth never even realised the game was one. Came at a time I was buying every new game released on the 3DO that week.
Became an addict.
Slight second would be the original colin mcrea rally.... just another racing game on the ps1 to add to the 15 odd I already had. Gran turismo aside, turned out to be the best.
Genuine surprise would be blind boxing it back in the day. For that Panzer General would be the one. Never a turn based or a war game fan, in truth never even realised the game was one. Came at a time I was buying every new game released on the 3DO that week.
Became an addict.
Slight second would be the original colin mcrea rally.... just another racing game on the ps1 to add to the 15 odd I already had. Gran turismo aside, turned out to be the best.
Well when Max Payne appeared in one of the early 3dmarks, they based the sequence off the lobby scene in the Matrix, so it's not exactly a secret. It was however the first time it appeared in a video game.
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Rage really surprised me. I had read it was a flop but picked it cheap to try it out. Loved every minute of it. Yeah it kinda ended all of a sudden but still a great game. Been playing it again on my new X34 monitor - looks stunning at that resolution.
Also Devil May Cry (the reboot). Hadn't played any of the previous ones and thought the intro was one of the wonderfully cheesy but coolest I'd ever seen in a game!
Also Devil May Cry (the reboot). Hadn't played any of the previous ones and thought the intro was one of the wonderfully cheesy but coolest I'd ever seen in a game!
I really hope they remake RAGE one day - some of the extra content being in there from the start would have made it a better game (if you got into it later then it probably had some of that content in by then) - there was a lot of good stuff in that game let down by poor pacing (i.e. getting weapons and equipment or the upgrades for them at the end of a segment - which are fun to use in that segment but by the time you get them there is little left to do and they aren't particularly useful in the next segment of the game*) and some of the parts with potential not being fleshed out i.e. how quickly it ends just as you get into a new environment.
* Given the number of unused doors and level deadends that looked like they'd be designed to go somewhere I'm guessing a lot of stuff got cut that would have fleshed that stuff out.
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I concur. I am terrible at it but it's so much fun to play I don't care!
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Mad Max without a doubt was the one that surprised me when it got released , even too this day it seems to get slated so much but for me its one of the best games I've ever played.
Yes the story is a little short but the driving around and upgrading your car over time and collecting other cars is great and the landscape and weather ! WOW ...... I feel a lot of people that have played this really haven't given the game a real go , If this game was multiplayer it would be without a doubt one of the best games on the market.
Yes the story is a little short but the driving around and upgrading your car over time and collecting other cars is great and the landscape and weather ! WOW ...... I feel a lot of people that have played this really haven't given the game a real go , If this game was multiplayer it would be without a doubt one of the best games on the market.