games you've played that have surprised you

Recently I've picked up a couple of games that because of either critic or user reviews I just didn't think would be that good. Well, so far I've really been enjoying them. The first is Two Worlds 2. Sure, it's not perfect, but the giant world has tons of quests to do, making it a great game if you just want to explore/quest/loot/upgrade. The story is horrible and the voice acting and sound leveling for the voices is just pathetic, but who cares if you just go in looking for a good time in a giant world.

The 2nd is Final Fantasy XIII. Critics gave it really good scores, but users/players, well not so good. I actually am really liking this game. IDK why everyone says it takes 5 hours until you can get points to upgrade your stats, it only took me about 3 hours to get to that point (though I did skip most of the battles in the beginning because everyone said you don't get xp from it, so why do them?). Despite what gamespot says, Vanille is not that annoying; that honor goes to Hope, who just needs to never talk again in the game, all he does is complain, even the characters tell him to stop. I'm liking the modern feel of the turnbased battle system qutie a lot, especially since most rpgs now are western, and in turn not really turn based. Sure, it's linear in its path, but it does keep the story going, and after FFXII (which I never finished because of all the back tracking and getting lost) it's a nice welcome. I'm actually a fan of the cutscenes almost every ten minutes (I'm not that far yet, so idk if that changes) as it really keeps me invested in the story and characters (the cutscene with snow and serah inside the firework show was perhaps the most graphically amazing scene I've watched on the ps3). I'm liking that the voice acting is pretty good, though the dialouge has quite a few weak lines.

Oh, the ending of Enslaved: Odyssey to the West was the best ending of any game I've played this gen (well demon's souls was very good, but more due to the atmosphere than the actual story).

Anyone else play any games they didn't expect much from and were pleasently surprised?

*pretty much required postage about NieR*:D

Best $15 I ever spent.:P

NIER i thought it was gonna be good but it was great

Nier is awful...

Anyway, Enchanted Arms was surprisingly decent. I was also blown away by Lego Harry Potter.

WET, I got the game cheap just to add it to my collection before it runs out of stores. I tried it and fell in love with it, just too much fun.

Darksiders, though I was following from the very beginning and even got it on day 1, I simply did not expect it to be that good. Amazing artstyle and overall great game.

Killzone 2, I simply hate FPS and I did not expect much from it. After playing it for a while I was very hooked to it.

Oblivion, I thought it was going to be boring but it turned out to be one of my favorite games this gen. Also terraria suprised me as well

Demons Souls, was skeptic about spending 60 bucks on a brand new ip, fortunately it paid off big time

CoD4 on release...i was so sick of the previous ww2 shooters, when they said modern warfare i said what the heck and bought it day of release

Red faction Guerrilla, bought this on a wim for 20 bucks, found it to be quite fun, fully worth it

Most recently; Dragon Age II & Infamous 2

Sonic Unleashed. I bought the game for PS3 despite the fact that everyone said it sucked. It was the best damn game released in 2008. It's a real shame that Sonic Unleashed doesn't get the attention and appreciation that it truly deserves. Sonic Unleashed was Sonic's true comeback.

Red Dead Redemption. It didnt really appeal to me when it first came out/was announced but when i finally bought it and gave it a shot, i was pleasantly surprised.

Interestingly enough the games are the ones I've enjoyed the most are the ones that have surprised me. Red Dead Redemption was a game I hadn't even heard of until it released, and after seeing a trailer I decided to just pick the game up for the heck of it. And man I'm glad I did.

Other games that surprised me were Demon's Souls (best RPG ever) and Mass Effect 2.

Interestingly enough the games are the ones I've enjoyed the most are the ones that have surprised me. Red Dead Redemption was a game I hadn't even heard of until it released, and after seeing a trailer I decided to just pick the game up for the heck of it. And man I'm glad I did.

Other games that surprised me were Demon's Souls (best RPG ever) and Mass Effect 2.

Vari3ty

Gotta like Demon's Souls (though, best rpg, idk about that, I'd put it in close 2nd to ES: Oblivion). I still consider DS to be a western rpg more than a jrpg simply because it plays and feels like one, and that being said, I think there are better jrpgs this gen (FFXIII is really surprising me so far).

I must be one of the few people who really did not like RDR, especially after playing the awesome, over the topness of Red Dead Revolver (that was a great game). I really only liked RDR's mp, so I may get undead nightmare for that since it has a lot of the extra mp content and zombies are kind of neat.

"BioShock 2" was a sequelI was looking forward to it and then I started reading all the mixed reviews and really didn't want to give it a chance. Then it hit $9.99 so I figured "why not?" and found it too be a really decent game (not a great as the first BioShock, but not bad either). A pleasant surprise for sure!;) another is "Bayonetta". I heard it was good, but I really didn't know it was VERY good until I played it!:o

red faction armageddon(ps3) really is amazing smooth graphics and best shooter I've tried this year. Infamous 2 really dont deserve any score below 9 just an amazing game

Dark Sector, got pretty bad reviews but I still picked it up cheap. Enjoyed the hell of it. It's basically a poor man's version of Gears mixed with a poor man's version of Resident Evil 4 with a sweetass weapon. It's not a triple A title, but it sure as hell was a blast to beat.

"BioShock 2" was a sequelI was looking forward to it and then I started reading all the mixed reviews and really didn't want to give it a chance. Then it hit $9.99 so I figured "why not?" and found it too be a really decent game (not a great as the first BioShock, but not bad either). A pleasant surprise for sure!;) another is "Bayonetta". I heard it was good, but I really didn't know it was VERY good until I played it!:o

Koi-Neon-X

This game was great, I actually preferred the main antagonist better in it than in the 1st game.

Someone else mentioned RFA, I completely forgot about that game, but after playing RFG I do eventually have to pick this one up.

Bulletstorm, im not a huge FPS fan but i played that and loved it, very unique!

I didn't expect much from Shadows of the Damned, but it turned out to be completely awesome, and one of my best games this year.

Vanquish also surprised me with how amazing it was, and it was completely thrilling from start to finish.

MOH, i was surprised how bad it was, at least i got it cheap

Shadows of the Damned came out better than expected, kinda short though

Has anyone played Just cause 2?

suprized me the most, i was expecting absolutly nothing of it. so i rented the game. wow it was so much fun i loved it :) try it out .

other great games that wasnt thinking much when i picked em up : Batmen AA, Dead space ,

most dissapointed far cry 2 it just sucked , too slow for me.

some others that didnt meet my expectations at all : little big planet ( yeah i don't like it) fear 2, dead rising 2 , prototype

Batman: Arkham Asylum - I didn't think it was going to be good game. Hell, I didn't expect it to love it. I thought the only reason it got good reviews was because it was riding on The Dark Knight's hype, but I admit I was wrong. It's an awesome game. It has a few flaws and weak points like the boss battles, but everything else was great, imo. Can't wait for Arkham City.

NieR was another surprise. I was expecting a terrible game due to all the reviews it got, but I thought it was good. The dialogue's pretty funny, and the characters are also hilarious and well-developed. Also loved the mix of different genres and of course, the soundtrack.