Biggest Surprises?

[Cure]

Sort of the opposite to the biggest disappointments thread. What games were you not expecting much from, but were pleasantly surprised with? One game that surprised me a lot was Animal Crossing. I borrowed it from someone and wasn't expecting much, but it turned to be crazy addictive and just fun to play.

So what games were you all surprised by?

[Peanut]

Viva Pinata. Hands down.

[Barkworm]

God of War because it kind of came from nowhere (there was little E3 hype for it, at least as far as I remember).

[Krang]

A recent one that comes to mind is Ouendan. I didn't know much about it other than seeing a video and a few screenshots, but it turned out to be one of my favorite DS games.

[Ra]

Games blow me away all the time. Probably because I'm not like everyone else here and gets the oppertunity to by a game a week. But one of my biggest surprises came from Pokemon Diamond. I turned it on and started playing, and was just completely blown away at how things had come so far ever since that copy of Blue I got what seemed like a lifetime ago. Even now I'm still blown away by how everything has gotten more "3D" in terms of the world everyone walks in.

Then there is Okami. I've been playing the game as if it's the only thing to grace the PS2 and have been addicted...not just as a gamer, but as an artist. Never have I been so artistically inspired by a game before. The game's style has just given me a new outlook on art, and I like going there if I'm feeling uninspired or in need for a new angle on things. Heck, I've started the game five times just to see cursed zones disappear in awe. It definitely took me by surprise...no doubt about that.

[Mecha Cow]

Elite Beat Agents. Bought it on a whim because the wacky style seemed cool, and it turned out to be hands down the best game on DS so far.

But one of my biggest surprises came from Pokemon Diamond. I turned it on and started playing, and was just completely blown away at how things had come so far ever since that copy of Blue I got what seemed like a lifetime ago. Even now I'm still blown away by how everything has gotten more "3D" in terms of the world everyone walks in.

I'm not trying to make fun of you or anything, but are you serious? Maybe it's because I've played every installment of the series, but the changes to this game are almost completely superficial.

[愛]

Kingdom Hearts. I was expecting this game to be gay across the board. Disney characters with Square characters? Being a Square lover, I was feeling insulted that they'd do this kind of crossover. But upon playing the game, I realized that I was very wrong. The game is amazing beyond belief. And I <3 Utada Hikaru's opening theme.

[Janus Prospero]

The Operative: No One Lives Forever

Saw GOTY edition on sale for $20. The back had a picture of her sky diving while shooting people with a Walther MPL (http://world.guns.ru/smg/smg39-e.htm). I was like AWESOME! Never heard of the game before, but it was certainly one of the funnest and funniest games I've ever played.

I wish they would update this game using the engine of the sequel, because that would be orgasmic.

[Dr. Doom]

Ocarina Of Time.

I didn't have any real desire to play it when it first came out, because as I've stated elsewhere, I'd never played a Zelda game before it. My mom just randomly got it for me Christmas '98, and now it's my favorite game of all time almost 9 years later. I guess I wasn't exactly shocked that it was such a good game, since everyone had loved the Zelda games for years, but it seemed worth mentioning,

[Brodie]

Half-Life, before it was huge, I borrowed a copy, and stayed home sick for a week. No one knew what it was when I was playing it. Strange.

Shadow of the Colossus. I played a demo at Wizard World, then forgot about it for a year. Borrowed it from a friend for a year. To this day, I would buy a ps2 for that game alone.

[Ra]

I'm not trying to make fun of you or anything, but are you serious? Maybe it's because I've played every installment of the series, but the changes to this game are almost completely superficial.
Eh, it's cool. Everyone has different opinions on this. Like I said before, games blow me away all the time. I don't own many, and also since I'm an aspiring artist. Heck, my dream is to be a character designer for a video game company or something like that.

Because of that, I guess I don't take everything for granted. I mean, when I first was playing Diamond I could feel myself going "wow". I've played at least one game from each generation of the Pokemon franchise, but they still continue to amaze me graphic wise. Pokemon designs, however, are another story... :ohwell:

[Mecha Cow]

Yeah, a lot of the new designs are really bad. As for me, I'm just annoyed at how unnecessary the game's faults are (The touch screen functions are incredibly poorly designed for example). The series has so much potential, but it's like the developers aren't even trying and just keep adding meaningless fluff to their ancient, flawed engine.

Of course, I am part of the problem for buying this stuff.

[ThirdMarioBro]

Metroid Prime - I expected FPS Metroid to be ballz awful like everyone else, but was caught off guard with the best game of the last five years--again, like everybody else.

God of War - Like Barky said, it came out of nowhere. I bought it on you guy's good word and it just made me drop the controller and say "Wow".