Thirith on 31/8/2016 at 07:31
Which games have you played that suffered at release from overinflated expectations, but when you finally got around to playing them after the hype's over you found them to be surprisingly good? The kind of games that everyone was prepared to love, but they turned out to be okay at best - yet after you found them in a bargain bin or grabbed them for $5 during a Steam sale, you realised that they're actually pretty cool, perhaps with the added benefit of multiple patches and/or fan mods?
For me, Clear Sky was such a game, also thanks to the Complete mod. I loved the diamond in the rough that was Stalker: SoC, but pretty much everyone was disappointed by Clear Sky, so while I got it as part of a collection, I think I ended up playing it a couple of years later. I was surprised to find that I enjoyed the game in the modded version almost as much as SoC; it did feel like more of the same, but it's not like there were all that many games like Stalker to begin with, and the things that people disliked at launch had either been improved by patches and mods or I simply didn't bother with them.
Malf on 31/8/2016 at 08:15
Diablo 3's the biggest one for me. On release it was a hot mess, and I stayed as far away as possible. Then around the time they released the expansion, a ground-swell of good murmurings persuaded me to take a look, and lo, what I found was an incredibly accomplished ARPG that consistently adds more and more content at no extra cost to the player.
My interest in it has waned recently, as I think they're far to focussed on the whole "Season" thing, and there's only so many times I can level characters from scratch before I get bored with a game. I'd like to see them go back and take a look at how to make playing older characters more compelling, but I suspect that won't happen.
I'm hoping something similar happens with No Man's Sky, but I suspect Hello Games are too small a company to react to feedback and improve the game where it needs it. I also think their hands are probably tied thanks to jumping into bed with Sony. Don't get me wrong, Sony are usually pretty damn good at supporting interesting, original content as a publisher, but I think No Man's Sky will always be constrained by the limits of the PS4 platform.
TannisRoot on 31/8/2016 at 13:08
I didn't enjoy Diablo 3 vanilla until I played hardcore. Then I loved it.
The community was better (no bots). The auction house made more sense because inflation was controlled when gold and equipment left the economy due to character deaths. Basically it was all fun of diablo without the grind *and* made all the sweeter with the extra thrill of permadeath. I felt like it was an aha moment that this was actual way the game was intended to be played.
The thrill of having a close call or the crushing defeat of a character death (especially in a public game where your shame was broadcasted to the other players!) is indescribable. After acquiring some decent EQ, it only took about 2 hours to get back to level 20 and maybe 12-15 hours or so to get to 60. It was one of the best video game experiences I've had, but alas, the removal of the AH killed the fun for me. I'm not going to grind for +vitality equipment to avoid spike damage deaths.
I enjoyed Rage when it was released. It isn't a legendary shooter but it is fun.
Neb on 31/8/2016 at 13:50
If there was a thread called "Games you completely missed the hype for and as a result ended up really enjoying", RAGE would be my first choice.
catbarf on 31/8/2016 at 13:53
I'm apparently the only person in the world who enjoyed Duke Nukem Forever. Not to imply that I thought it was good, but it was enough mindless fun for me to finish the whole game and put it away never to be played again.
Speaking of Gearbox, I made the mistake of pre-ordering Aliens: Colonial Marines, played it thirty minutes on release, and uninstalled in disgust. Came back six months later, turned it into a drinking game with a buddy, beat it co-op, had a lot of fun at its expense.
fetgalningen on 31/8/2016 at 16:34
Quote Posted by Abysmal
Unreal II: The Awakening
Ultima IX: Ascension
King's Quest: Mask of Eternity
Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness
Dreamfall: The Longest Journey
Escape from Monkey Island
I could see where the disappointment was coming from, but that sure didn't stop me from getting sucked into these. Plenty of classic gaming moments all around.
Glad to see someone sum up my exact thoughts. Have enjoyed these immensely.
henke on 31/8/2016 at 16:56
Plenty of things, too many to mention. Most recently, The Order:1886. It was easy to see why the plain third person covershooter with a messy story and way too many QTEs would've been hugely underwhelming to anyone going in blind on launchday. But picking it up for a tenner, a year after release, having read the mediocre reviews, it was alright.
WingedKagouti on 31/8/2016 at 17:21
Most Sonic games are like this.
At least the ones that aren't buggy messes like '06.
EvaUnit02 on 31/8/2016 at 21:51
DX: Invisible War was actually a really well written game. Eg the Coffee Wars side-quests, the true nature of the virtual pop star. Look past the questionably streamlined gameplay systems, crappy graphics engine and cabin-sized levels separated by 10,000 loading screens. Literature wise IW is still a worthy entry to the DX canon.
Yakoob on 31/8/2016 at 22:12
Agreed, I actually enjoyed DX:IW on two playthroughs. The trick is not to take it too seriously.
And the Pop star series of diallogues were just brilliant - one of the best in-game AI characters imho.
