Forum > Gaming Discussion > What game caught you by surprise so far this year?
What game caught you by surprise so far this year?
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Sun, 29 Nov 2009 09:39:28
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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

Borderlands Picture

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

Batman: Arkham Asylum Screenshot

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

Deadly Creatures Screenshot

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

Torchlight Picture

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.

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Sun, 29 Nov 2009 11:30:54
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ASK_Story said:

 There has never been a good Batman game since the NES! 

The last good Batman games were Batman Returns and Batman and Robin. They were both on the SNES.

And my pick is:

Read form right to left.

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Sun, 29 Nov 2009 11:55:32
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Little King's Story. A hyped game that's actually good? Nyaa

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Sun, 29 Nov 2009 12:18:51
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phantom_leo said:
Ask, if you haven't decided to do so already, be ready to get to a store on Tuesday to get this game:



I got it today, and I'm pretty sure it's gonna be the Puzzle Quest of the 2009 Holiday season!

^ One more to add, in case you missed my comment in The Weekly News section!


Edited: Sun, 29 Nov 2009 12:19:19
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Sun, 29 Nov 2009 12:25:00
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For me it was Batman AA mostly because I'm more favourable towards Marvel but this game totally blew me away and is my most favourite super-hero game ever.

I still really need to pick up Borderlands soon.
Edited: Sun, 29 Nov 2009 12:25:43

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Sun, 29 Nov 2009 12:42:23
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Foolz said:
Little King's Story. A hyped game that's actually good? Nyaa

It was only hyped here. See, my hypometer is super accurate. Well not quite is was expecting around 8.0, but whore cares?! 

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Sun, 29 Nov 2009 12:51:28
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Iga_Bobovic said:

...but whore cares?!

Of course I care. I finished the game, didn't I?

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Sun, 29 Nov 2009 13:07:51
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rabbids-go-home-20090505034109375.jpg

Rabbids Go Home is suprising my currently. I think the minigames only previous titles may have tainted peoples expectations of this game.

It's a simple distallation of a concept that is then woven around fun, often clever and varied level design. The levels are polished (apart from a couple of tech issues) and it has bags of character and humour.

The levels are also huge, I mean if you put all the levels together it would rival a GTA size city in real estate terms only each area designed to be platformed through. Fun stuff.

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Sun, 29 Nov 2009 16:24:03
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Four games have really surprised me this year, for different reasons:



Borderlands: One, because I am surprised the concept turned out so well, but Two, because I have been able to have more patience with this game than any other in my life. Usually, if a game is buggy or glitchy, I'll trade it in in a day or two. I waited a good, solid month to discover the cause of the frame-rate problems for me in this game and endured long enough to see them resolved enough for me to be able to really, really enjoy it!



Sacred 2: Fallen Angel: Prior to Borderlands, this was the loot game that grabbed my attention the most this year, mainly because there's really nothing else like it available on the consoles. (In a strictly Diablo-clone sense!) I am still surprised no one else really talks about it. Very underrated!



Assassin's Creed 2: Wait a minute. The developers listened to complaints about the previous game --AND-- did something about it?! The most improved sequel to a game e-v-e-r ! ! !



Dragon Age Origins: I never thought I had it in me to enjoy a "Western" developed RPG this much. So much depth! So much fun! Great job, BioWare!
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Sun, 29 Nov 2009 16:56:03

I think I'm going to buy Assasins Creed 2 eventually. The question is will I have the cash to get my Christmas games, Spirit tracks and Batman?

Then Spring 2010 is crazy.

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Sun, 29 Nov 2009 17:57:27

phantom_leo said:

phantom_leo said:
Ask, if you haven't decided to do so already, be ready to get to a store on Tuesday to get this game:



I got it today, and I'm pretty sure it's gonna be the Puzzle Quest of the 2009 Holiday season!

^ One more to add, in case you missed my comment in The Weekly News section!


Wow! How did you get it? Maybe I can find it early too. But yes, I definitely want it. It's been on my radar ever since the first reviews came in, with Edge even giving it a 9!

And I need to check out LKS since everybody else here loves it!

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Sun, 29 Nov 2009 18:05:31

ASK_Story said:

phantom_leo said:

phantom_leo said:
Ask, if you haven't decided to do so already, be ready to get to a store on Tuesday to get this game:



I got it today, and I'm pretty sure it's gonna be the Puzzle Quest of the 2009 Holiday season!

^ One more to add, in case you missed my comment in The Weekly News section!


Wow! How did you get it? Maybe I can find it early too. But yes, I definitely want it. It's been on my radar ever since the first reviews came in, with Edge even giving it a 9!

And I need to check out LKS since everybody else here loves it!

Game Crazy was selling it yesterday.

Gotta love 'em: "Street Date? What's a Street Date?"

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Sun, 29 Nov 2009 18:07:15
Reprint of impressions I was giving some guys at GameFaqs:

"There are NPC's to talk to, but there aren't any town's, per-se...

You walk around from spot to spot on a map in each area. You'll see chests you can examine, resources you can gather, caves you can explore and people who will give you Bounties and Sub-Quests, etc.

There are random battles on the map occasionally, which can be avoided by hitting the "B" button, there are Monster "dens" where you can pay resources for more Deer or Druids, for example. The dens remind me of Heroes of Might and Magic the most, for some reason.

You can get artifacts to equip to your Hero that will Revive you with 25% Health should you die, Give you more Vitality or Power up individual units (like the Deer).

You have regular units like the Archers, Mages and Bears which are unlimited in number and you have your special units like the Deer and Druids which can be killed and need to be replenished if removed or eliminated in battle.

It has very intriguing and deceptively deep gameplay so far (I admit I haven't played too much yet though). You can Fuse units (like two green Archers and one Green Deer) to power them up. You can line units up horizontally to created Sylvan Walls (with the archers, again). Lining units up vertically creates an attack. You can link attack units (if they are set to release their attacks in the same turn, I believe)...

From the moment the credits begin at the opening screens and the somber music kicks in, it immediately brings Puzzle Quest to mind. If you like THAT game, you should REALLY enjoy this game!"
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Sun, 29 Nov 2009 21:49:17
Cool impressions! Thanks!

But I still don't understand how the puzzle mechanics are. I guess I just have to play it. I will pick it up this Wednesday since I'll be paid then.

Looking forward to it! I'm loving these RPG/Puzzle hybrids!

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Sun, 29 Nov 2009 22:14:39
It's not quite JUST a puzzle game this time.

You face off against one foe at a time. You are on the bottom screen. He/she is on the top. You take a turn arranging your troops, then they go. You and your enemy have hit points; it is the ultimate goal of each battle to deplete these and win.

You match troops of the same color (Archers, Bears, Mages) together either horizontally or vertically. Horizontal produces defense. Vertical produces an attack. You don't attack then and there though. Each troop has a charge time before they attack. Archers, for example, get grouped, then, after all of your commands, your turn ends, THEN your opponent arranges his troops, then in your next turn, the archers will fire. The more powerful the attack, the longer the charge time. Attacks will rip through enemies/allies that stand in front of your opponent or yourself before reaching the opposite side of the screen. Walls prevent this from happening, but ultimately your troops stand in front of you to protect you too.

Units have an attack value assigned to them which can be bolstered by fusing or grouping units together. This attack value also represents the amount of damage the unit can take from an enemy attack. The special units are significantly more powerful than the regular troops, but they can also permanently die. You regular troops return to your number of troops to be distributed (army) after their attack occurs or you remove them from the battlefield.

You move your troops like they are a puzzle piece, grabbing them then flicking them towards allies of the same color --OR-- you can simply remove them, returning them to your army's numbers until you send them out again. Removing your troops is pretty much the best way to set up a combo (a-la Tetris Attack-like row/column removal) which ALSO provides a Bonus Move to you during your turn.

This is a long and comlicated way of me saying: Your troops aren't JUST colored games to be matched and removed, there's a strategy element going on in this game too. Whom you match, whom you have attack or defend, where you place your troops, setting up combos and fusing the right units ALL comes into play. Does it sound more complicated than it actually is? Yes. It plays very simply, but you need to be clever too. You can't just make random moves like you did in Puzzle Quest and succeed.

I hope this clarifies things a little bit, but I suspect it's just gonna perplex you even more!

Edited: Sun, 29 Nov 2009 22:17:35
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Sun, 29 Nov 2009 22:21:43
Thanks. Yeah, it does sound complicated. But I can see myself understanding it once I actually play it myself. Even the videos don't make sense. I guess I need to play it and experience it first hand.

Looks like it'll be a game that'll extract hours from my life. I guess I'll lose some sleep over this! LOL

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Sun, 29 Nov 2009 23:22:32

Two that haven't been brought up were UFC 2009: Undisputed and Red Faction Guerilla.

I honestly wasn't expecting much from either game, and then I happened to try the demos for both games and found myself really impressed. UFC because I have a passing interest in the sport, and found that it was just a great fighting game. Red Faction because the Geo Mod stuff actually seemed to work well and just felt great to play. Oh, and basically being Saints Row 2 in Mars also helped.

Although it's not this year, but having played it this year, Red Steel 2. Definitely shaping up to be something. Also, Rabbids Go Home, for reasons already established.

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Sun, 29 Nov 2009 23:25:36
While all the other sandbox games were good (inFamous, Prototype and Red Faction), I was expecting them to be as good as they were. It was Assassin's Creed 2 that surprised me the most!
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Mon, 30 Nov 2009 00:49:16
I was a bit disappointed with Klonoa, but that's about it for surprises.  I think the only games that I got that were released this year were Klonoa, Wii Sports Resort and The Beatles Rock Band.

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Mon, 30 Nov 2009 03:13:52

Iga_Bobovic said:

Foolz said:
Little King's Story. A hyped game that's actually good? Nyaa

It was only hyped here. See, my hypometer is super accurate. Well not quite is was expecting around 8.0, but whore cares?!

Well if your hypometer is super accurate and it was wrong on this occasion, then it's a surprise!

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