What game has been your biggest surprise so far this year?

With games like Modern Warfare 2, New Super Mario Bros. Wii, or Uncharted 2, we know it'll be good and worth getting. We expect great reviews, huge sales, etc.

But what is that one game (or games) that caught you (or all of us) by surprise? I guess these are games that got less hype or performed better than expected. It could even be games that nobody cared about, didn't sell, or that didn't get good reviews yet you personally enjoyed them.

For me, it has to be Borderlands, Batman Arkham Asylum, Deadly Creatures, and Torchlight.

Borderlands

Because this game really had no hype. I remember making a thread about this questioning why nobody was talking about it. I remember a lot of replies being sceptical about it and wanting to wait for reviews. I think most of us were thinking that this is the type of game that will either fail or be average at best. But it was surprising how good this game really is! It sure caught me by surprise! Like Cliffy B said, Borderlands is a great modern-day Diablo re-imagination for the FPS generation.

Batman Arkham Asylum

Superhero games usually never turn out well. I guess it's because most superhero games are terrible, movie tie-in games. And especially for Batman. There has never been a good Batman game since the NES! So it was a HUGE surprise when Batman AA was getting "AAA" reviews! I think it got everyone's attention! I know it got mine. I honestly believe all of us didn't expect this game to be so amazing!

Deadly Creatures

I picked this game because it is unique for the Wii because the system is so full of shovelware. This game looks like a shovelware and even the title sounds like it. But it isn't a shovelware game by any means. It's disguised as one! And it got good reviews. And surprisingly enough, the game is pretty good too.

Torchlight

I picked this because there have been so many bad Diablo-clones. But this one is a very good one and totally worth every penny. It's a budget-priced game which makes it all the more better. This was also a surprise hit for me.

Borderlands and Batman were my biggest surprises. I never expected Batman to be an exploration game, which is my favorite type of game. I never expected to love Borderlands as much as I do.Travo_basic

Demon's Souls. I knew it was gonna be good, but i was so addicted to this game!

[QUOTE="Travo_basic"]Borderlands and Batman were my biggest surprises. I never expected Batman to be an exploration game, which is my favorite type of game. I never expected to love Borderlands as much as I do.ASK_Story

And I'm another one. Batman was amazing and I didn't see it coming at all. Borderlands not so much because I was extremely excited for it and knew I'd enjoy it.

And I really want Deadly Creatures as well. Seems really cool, but doesn't seem to be availabe on Amazon. That's my only option right now... or Gamestop when I go home for Christmas.

Add another vote for Batman.... What a great game. Didn't think I'd like it but... woo!

I have to say Batman as well. I knew the game would be great but I didn't think it would be as great as it was. MadWorld (that came out this year right) also surprised me.

For me it was Batman AA mostly because I'm a bigger fan of Marvel so when it turned out to be my favourite comic book based game it was very surprising.

I still need to pick up Borderlands sometime soon and from the sounds of it it will be another surprise favourite of mine.

For me it was Batman AA mostly because I'm a bigger fan of Marvel so when it turned out to be my favourite comic book based game it was very surprising.

I still need to pick up Borderlands sometime soon and from the sounds of it it will be another surprise favourite of mine.

Batman AA, I haven't played it but I didn't think it would get good reviews.

Gotta go with Dragon Age. At the beginning I was watching it, but then I thought it was looking like crap. But wow, was I wrong.

I have yet to play Batman though, but I suppose it wouldn't be that big of a surprise now that everyone's talking about it.

Beatles RB

I thought it would just be another tock band game that everyone would spend more money on. Turned out to be a pretty solid game.

I haven't really had a chance to play all of the games that I've wanted to this year. But the main game that was a big surprise as far as how simple but fun it is, is Battlefield 1943. I didn't download this right off the bat because it didn't look that appealing to me. But after seeing the good reviews that it got I decided to download it and I was not dissapointed. It is a really simple game but has fun gameplay and offers great replayability.

Easily UFC 2009 Undisputed. My expectations of the game couldn't have been much lower, but it turned out to be one of my favourite fighting games ever. Before this game I'd probably seen something like three UFC fights ever, but since this playing this game I've never missed a UFC event. For me this game is a great surprise in two ways. It's a brillliant game that surpassed my expectations by miles and it's also brilliant because it introduced me to the fantastic sport of MMA.

unfortunately i haven't yet played the games that were mentioned most frequently in this thread (especially batman and borderlands), so my surprise of the year is shadow complex...there was hype building for it but i really didn'trealize how good the game was until i actually played it...nothing against the other d/l titles on live or psn but shadow complex trumps them all in my opinion...

Borderlands. I don't like it but I've got many friends who do and it wasn't on any of their radars until it was released.

Dragon Age. I knew it was anticipated but I didn't expect the top notch experience it is.

Batman. There's not been a game that's become my GOTY that wasn't on my radar at all before release. It came out of nowhere and has surpassed all of my other potentials, even Uncharted 2, which is no small feat. I sincerely hope they're working on a sequel RIGHT NOW.

Bionic commandodakan45

[QUOTE="Travo_basic"]Borderlands and Batman were my biggest surprises. I never expected Batman to be an exploration game, which is my favorite type of game. I never expected to love Borderlands as much as I do.ASK_Story

tropico 3

The only real surprise I could think of for me is Final Fantasy Dissidia. I didn't think I would get so into it when I bought it, yet I did! :o

Bionic commandodakan45

Probably the most underrated game of 2009. I loved every minute of this game despite some rough edges and I lament the death of GRIN.

Not only is Borderlands my biggest surprise, it's also my personal GOTY

Edit: How could I forget Dragon Age, I knew it would be good, but it turned out to be AMAZING

What the hell is Torchlight? That looks sweet, I gotta find out more. Never heard of this game before.GodModeEnabled

Has to be a 3 way tie for me

Boarderlands,Batman AA and Little Kings Story

i knew batman aa was gonna be a good game when everyone else thought it was a crappy beat em up. graphics can tell alot about a game before it comes out.

Demon's Souls by a long shot. I'm probably sounding like a broken record at this point, but this is the most unique and challenging game I've played this generation. Great boss fights, brilliant level design and really tight combat. It is one of the only games from this year that I will still be playing years from now.rragnaar

I'm going to echo you. I've only fought a small handful of the bosses, but each one is rough and each one demands a very different strategy to beat them.

What the hell is Torchlight? That looks sweet, I gotta find out more. Never heard of this game before.GodModeEnabled

I just finished playing The Darkness and gotta say it was a big surprise. The story was simply amazing. The gameplay, graphics, voice acting and atmosphere were top notch. For a game that came out 2 years ago, it exceeded my expectations.

[QUOTE="GodModeEnabled"]What the hell is Torchlight? That looks sweet, I gotta find out more. Never heard of this game before.ASK_Story

[QUOTE="ASK_Story"][QUOTE="GodModeEnabled"]What the hell is Torchlight? That looks sweet, I gotta find out more. Never heard of this game before.GodModeEnabled

Easily Borderlands.

Who would have thought that a FPS with RPG elements would be so much fun?