Games I was shocked to love, or shocked to hate

[larrytrain]

You'd think by now everyone would know video game reviews are generally useless - they aren't the same as movies, you know?

So here's my list of games I thought I'd dislike/had no excitement for, but really delivered an enjoyable gaming experience:

Deus Ex
XIII
Halo
PGR 2
Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
Shenmue II
Wrath Unleashed
KillSwitch
Prince of Persia

And games I really wanted to enjoy, but just didn't for one reason or another:

ESPN NFL 2K5
Metal Arms
Robotech
Rallisport Challenge 2
True Crime
Otogi
Counterstrike
Splinter Cell (first one)
Elder Scrolls III GOTY
Soul Caliber II
Spawn Armageddon

What about everyone else?

[mmn]

I'm having trouble getting into Full Spectrum Warrior, even though I heard it was a great game. I'll give it another shot eventually.

A game I loved that I didn't think I would is KOTOR. I'm not a big RPG player at all and have never really liked Star Wars.

[evilmax17]

Games I wanted to enjoy but couldn't:
Shenmue 2
Devil May Cry
EDIT: Gunvalkyrie

This is not to be confused with the games that I pretty much knew I wouldn't like, and didn't.

[Chris in Cali]

Loved, despite what I thought..

Shenmue II
Deus Ex: Invisible War
The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
Animal Crossing
Mario Kart: Double Dash!!


Games I hated despite the fact I was sure they'd be good...

THUG 2
Smackdown vs. Raw
Halo 2
Zelda: The Wind Waker (didn't hate, but I was dissapointed)
Soul Calibur II

[Jaket]

i thought i would hate but loved:
katamari damacy
fire emblem

thought i would like but hate:
feel the magic XY/XX
GGX2#reload
Jak and daxter

[cheapass Gundam]

I am surprised to see Soul Calibur 2 mentioned twice on the hate list. What system was yours on, PS2, Xbox or GC?

[Kaijufan]

I could never get into Elder Scrolls III GOTY because I wasn't a fan of the combat (but I am looking forward to the next one) or the GTA games. I've tried twice to get into Deus Ex, but I haven't been able to. I think Ill try again since I ordered Deus Ex: IW for the PC.

[jrutz]

I HATED the first RalliSport Challenge. It was supposed to be the best racing game ever when it was released and it turned out to be an exercise in frustration. The fact that you had about four tuning settings per option made it IMPOSSIBLE to properly tune a car without having severe problems. I played that game to death and was ready to throw it out the window at the end.

Gunvalkyrie was another that was just so friggin' impossible to play. I said this before, it was like trying to pilot a plane with your left hand and conduct a symphony orchestra with your right, all at the same time. I wish I was better at this game, but I think it was made for aliens or people with two brains.

The one game I thought I'd hate but actually liked? That would probably be Halo. Although it got all the hype, I just wasn't into it until I started playing. Then I realized...

Jeremy

[Chris in Cali]

I am surprised to see Soul Calibur 2 mentioned twice on the hate list. What system was yours on, PS2, Xbox or GC?

I had the GC, and Xbox version. The whole game just seem to have no point to me. I didn't like the combat either, it wasn't a combo system, or a special move system. The graphics were fantastic though.

[Duo_Maxwell]

I thought I would hate but loved:

Crimson Skies
Beyond Good & Evil
Mechassault
Simpsons Hit & Run
Fatal Frame
The Thing

I thought I would love but hate:

DBZ Budokai
Stuntman
True Crime
SW Rouge Squadron III

[chris mrozek]

I though I would love:
Fable ( Was really dissappointed )

Was expecting much but really liked:
Primal

[Abdullah2]

+wanted to love:
-mario sunshine (not revolutionary)
-shadow hearts 2 (story seems like kid wrote it)
-fatal frame (not scary like sh)

+surprisingly good
-okage shadow king (music and art )
-way of the samurai (music and concept )
-morrowind (i never played a REAL RPG like this before, when they told me FF isnt really a rpg, also good music but not enough)

[False Hope]

I was sure THUG 2 would be excellent due to THUG's success, but THUG 2 just sucks too much. I'm also having a hard time getting into Dead or Alive 3 because I was convinced it would be good.

I also thouht I wouldn't be interested in SOCOM II or Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, but they're both great games.

[jimbodan]

I thought I'd hate but ended up loving

Voodoo Vince
Okage
Ace Comabt 4
Super Smash Bros. Melee


Games I thought I'd like but hated

ICO
Bloodwake
Jet Grind Radio (GBA)
Sim City 2000 (GBA)
Silent Hill 3
Viewtiful Joe
Final Fantasy Tactics Advance

[PenguinMaster]

Expected to be good, weren't:
Halo 2
THUG 2
Buffy: Chaos Bleeds (after playing the great first game)
Syphon Filter: Omega Strain

Didn't expect much, but were good:
XIII
Psi-Ops
Red Dead Revolver
Buffy
Zelda 4 Swords Adventures (Favorite Zelda Game)
Resident Evil 4
Kill.Switch

[zionoverfire]

Thought I would love but don't:
Halo 2
Fable
Front Mission 4
Breath of Fire Dragon Quarter
Suikoden 3

found I loved:
Star Ocean 2
Morrowind
Breath of fire 1
Freedom Fighters
Kingdom Hearts

[JebusMcLucifer]

Thought I would like, but don't:
Halo 2
Final Fantasy XI
THUG 2

Thought I'd hate, but I don't:
Greg Hastings' Tournament Paintball
Mercenaries
Resident Evil Outbreak

[dinovelvet]

Games I was sure I'd like, but didn't:

Spider-Man 2 (Xbox) - Liked, and completed, the first game. This one was fun for 24 hours then it got unbelievably repetitive. Traded it.

Rogue Squadron 3 (Gamecube) - Loved Rogue squadron 2, and I'm not even a Star Wars nut, particularly. The on-foot missions were just HORRIBLE. No skill involved, you just mash the fire button as best you can and hope you hit everyone. They should have done the foot missions as FPS...I gave up on the Yoda swamp mission, you had to do all these precise jumps, ugh, it was just completely frustrating.

Alias (PS2) - I'm a fan of the show, and I didn't have high standards for this game, I figured a Splinter Cell-lite game would be decent, but this was just outrageously bad. Controls were poor and frustrating, combat was silly, and the split-screen gimmick was just confusing and added nothing. A good licence flushed down the crapper.

Games that surprised me

Chronicles of Riddick (Xbox) - I don't like Vin Diesel, and I didn't like the demo. But I eventually got this game in a trade, and WOW, it blew me away from start to finish, and is probably the third best Xbox game I've played (behind Halo and Splinter Cell).

Crimson Skies (Xbox) - I don't know how excited I was about 1930s airplane game, but I tried this one out on Xbox Live and damn, I was hooked. I must have put in 100 hours on this one, and I've barely even touched the single player campaign!

Second Sight (Xbox) - With a quick drop to $20, I suspected this might be lame, but I loved it from start to finish. Excellent atmosphere, story, and voice acting.

Blade II (Xbox) : For a $10 buy, I wasn't expecting much, but I really got into it

[JohnnyDrama]

Splinter Cell is a game that I thought I would definitely like, but in the end it just frustrated me so much. I just preferred the MGS games more.

[Xevious]

Burnout 2 was a game I thought I would hate - Thats because I dislike racing games but I ended up liking it alot. I do plan to buy Burnout 3 when the price dips.

[SadieDee]

Games I love, but thought was going to hate:

Harry Potter: COS - GBC
Yoshi's Island
Need for Speed Underground


Games I hate, but thought I would love/like:

CIMA: The Enemy
Pokemon (any game except pinball)
Harry Potter: SS (GBA & GBC)
Super Mario 2
Twisted Metal 4
Final Fantasy Tactics - PS

[Mr Durand Pierre]

Impressed by:

-Star Fox Adventures
-Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy
-Viewtiful Joe
-Rogue Leader

Dissapointed by

-RE 0 (first RE game I ever played. I HATED it, but RE 4 still rules.)
-Animal Crossing (too simple and repetitive.)
-Zelda: Majora's Mask (hated the time/save system.)
-Zelda: The Wind Waker (not bad, but dissapointing.)
-Mario Sunshine (again not bad, but inferior to 2D mario.)
-Eternal Darkness (all around overrated)
-F-zero GX (also overrated)
-Rebel Strike

[Rozz]

I thought I would love Beyond Good and Evil but I hated it. I sold my copy.

[Zingela]

Thought I wouldn't like, ended up liking:
Onimusha
Castlevania: Lament of Innocence
most DDR titles :)
Toejam & Earl 3
Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy
Kingdom Under Fire
Pikmin

Thought I would love, but ended up disappointed:
Super Mario Sunshine
Jak & Daxter
Lost Kingdoms
Mortal Kombat 3 :P

A lot more than that, but that's all that comes to mind currently.

[hiccupleftovers]

Games enjoyed that I wasn't expecting to.

XIII - Actually this one I sort of knew that I was going to enjoy but was still astonished at how much I enjoyed it.
Wrath Unleashed
Prince of Persia
Viewtiful Joe
Katamari Damaci
Beyond Good and Evil
voodoo Vince
Ico

Games I was absolutely appalled by

Superman 64 - Enough said it tops any list and ends any list.

I could go on and on. I really value games for being games as well as their concept and A.I>, graphics etc. Not in a reviewers way but more in a way of studying a game. I find that a lot of the playing I do, be it good game or bad, is just preparation for when I become a Programmer/ and or designer so I don't see too many games I hate.

[Parathod]

Love:
Assault Rigs - early PSOne game (old box) that was simple yet very fun.
Hate:
Marvel vs. Capcom 2 - most people think this is the best in the "Vs." series. I think it's the worst. In fact, since then, it's been hard for me to get into any 2d fighter and that lack of interest lead to me selling my Saturn and Dreamcast.

[Parathod]

Games I love, but thought was going to hate:

Harry Potter: COS - GBC
Yoshi's Island
Need for Speed Underground


Games I hate, but thought I would love/like:

CIMA: The Enemy
Pokemon (any game except pinball)
Harry Potter: SS (GBA & GBC)
Super Mario 2
Twisted Metal 4
Final Fantasy Tactics - PS

Twisted Metal 3 was so dissapointing that I had no expectations for 4.

[Ebraum]

Games I love, but thought was going to hate:

Paper Mario
Ghost Recon 2 (Xbox)
Red Dead Revolver
Mr. Driller (DS)

Games I hate, but thought I would love:

Driv3r
NAM "67"
Madden 00/01/02/03/04. Buy it & return it almost every year.
Tekken 4
Metroid Echos
LOTR the Third Age
Ninja Gaiden

[OutlawJT]

Games I love but thought I'd hate -
Donkey Konga (I used to hate all rhythm games till I got this)
FFX2 (I know, I know.......let me just call it a guilty pleasure)
Manhunt (horrible reviews for the most part but what can I say? I'm a sucker for stealth killing!!)
Crimson Skies (got it in a buy 2 get 1 free deal out of desperation. Had my doubts when I started the single game but as soon as I got on Live with it, it became my favorite game)
SSX Tricky (I was a huge fan of the original 1080 and was sure another snowboarding game could ever be any good. then I played the Tokyo Mega Complex)
Ghost Recon (I like RB6 a lot better but GR is the game that taught me I like the strategic shooters)
PN07 (this game was just downright fun, even if it was repetitive)

Games I hate but thought I'd love -
the GTA series (once I got past the novelty of the supposed freedom [only being able to go into 1 out of 50 buildings is not freedom] I realized how much these games truly suck. Props to the licensed soundtrack though and this doesn't include San Andreas as I never even gave it a chance based on my experience with it's predecessors)
Gunvalkyrie (I so wanted to love this but the controls were just too frelled to get into it)
RE Outbreak (what dumba$$ let Capcom release an online game where you can't even type to, let alone talk to, your bloody teammates? Heck, where you can't even tell your teammates apart from the damn AI unless you scheduled ahead with your friends. cool stopwatch promo, though)



There are many many more games for both lists but these are what comes to mind right now.