Pleasant suprise of the year?
Friday, December 5th, 2003 - 9:52pm
In contrast to the biggest dissapointment whats your biggest suprise?
For me hands down..
Wolfenstein:Enemy Territory.
Never have I had so much gameplay and fun from a free game. And not just free in the way of Counterstrike or DoD (which still required half-life) but actually free..completely.
Add mapping tools and you got endless playability.
Aint nothing new about the world order..it's been playing since the day they put George Washington on a quarter
85's face the truth you're too dumb.
Definitely, Call of Duty. While waiting for HL2 and D3 I heard about this game about the same time the first demo came out. The first demo was great. Then the next demo level came out and was even better. I preordered it. It shipped on time and was a great game that I didn''t hear about 2 years before it came out.
Of course this is except for the Pavlovs House level. Damn that Pavlovs House level. It stresses me just thinking about it.
BF2
BF2142
I know it didn''t come out this year, but I played Timesplitters 2 for the first time, not expecting much, and was amazed to find that it''s one of the most enjoyable FPSs I''ve ever played. Really polished and with a vast amount of bot-based gameplay modes. If you haven''t played it yet, you owe it to yourself to pick it up. It''s even cheap now!
Same goes for Aggressive Inline. I have no idea why folks passed up these gems when they first came out.
Everything can be debated, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's debatable.
--Chuck Klosterman, Fargo Rock City
Definitely, Call of Duty. While waiting for HL2 and D3 I heard about this game about the same time the first demo came out. The first demo was great. Then the next demo level came out and was even better. I preordered it. It shipped on time and was a great game that I didn''t hear about 2 years before it came out.
Of course this is except for the Pavlovs House level. Damn that Pavlovs House level. It stresses me just thinking about it.
BF2
BF2142
Even though they all didn''t come out this year, I was surprised by:
#5 Jane''s F/A-18 (I didn''t think I''d get into a flight sim that was a few years old, but whadya know)
#4 Medieval: Total War (I''m still trying to figure out who my favorite nation is; it''s a three-way tie between England, the Holy Roman Empire, and Egypt)
#3 Command and Conquer: Generals (Initially, I thought this was going to be a stinker, but it blew my socks off)
#2 Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy (How could LucasArts top Jedi Outcast? By releasing this game, that''s how)
And the number 1 surprise of 2003? Galactic Civilizations. On the surface, it seems like a severely stripped-down Master of Orion type game, but there''s more depth and replayability in it thanks to its customization and support from Stardock.
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come on down to Rat Boy's nest!
light up a stogie, and soon you'll see
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'I'd hit it!'" - HP Lovesauce
For me, the biggest surprise was Max Payne 2. I didn''t finish the first one, so to pick up the second was a lark (though the fact that I found it in the bargain bin helped). The improvement in graphics from the first one alone would almost be enough on its own to push it to the front of the list, but the story and delivery of said story definitely push it up to the front of the list for pleasant suprise of the year.
Money can't buy you happiness...but it can buy you a boat big enough to sell right up next to it!-David Lee Roth
Knights of the Old Republic. It hadn''t even really been on my list of games to watch since I had originally planned to just wait for the PC version but someone loaned me a copy for my Xbox and I (much like just about everyone else) had a blast and wound up buying it for the console. I did pick up the PC version and am having a blast again playing the dark side.
I agree! X takes the square!
GalCiv is a fun, stable game that has had outstanding support from Stardock. If they make a sequel -- and I''m sure they will -- I''ll have it on my ""must buy"" list.
I started my own blog so when I feel the need to make an ass out of myself, I won't have as far to go.
Mario Kart Double Dash.
I honestly didn''t think I''d enjoy it that much after the hundreds of hours my dorm-mates and I put into Mario Kart 64, since Double Dash has in many ways stripped down the gameplay.
However, that''s because the game isn''t all that great on paper. I''ve been very pleasantly surprised by how much I actually enjoy the game, though I still wish there were more varied and creative tracks. Still, when it comes to Mario Kart, I''ve always wanted that!
Heh. My newest son. But as far as gaming goes, I''d have to say KOTOR as well, especially since I''m not usually into RPGs.
But now I''ll have to check out GalCiv too.
Xbox Live: hubbinsd
Suprise? Enemy Territory and FFXI. Both came out of nowhere and I enjoy playing them both. Maybe it''s better to just jump into a game instead of reading about it (hype) for weeks beforehand.
Mafia for me. (late bloomer i know). Lost Heaven continued to blow my mind from start to finish. And the cars / traffic model are insanely cool.
KOTOR coming up a close second.
The long string of battles vs the Dark Jedi/Sith Troopers/Turrets on board the Star Forge is incredible
A note left at the scene simply read: "Pwn3d" - Hubbinsd
KOTOR was my biggest suprise. Like Dokujin mentioned, it wasn''t on my radar either and then I started hearing all this gushing praise for it and picked it up. Game of the year for me.
Advance Wars 2
The game hands down, bar none f*cking owned me! I got more playing time out of this little gem than any other 2 games combined this year. And it totally came out of nowhere for me so it was an amazing suprise.
KotOR
Just about the best rpg ever IMO. They got just about everything right.
Runner-up,
Call of Duty
Another nice suprise since I was not looking forward to this game at all until I tried that first demo.
"Beer is proof that god loves us and wants us to be happy." - Benjamin Franklin
I would have to say xbox live....and my xbox in general.
I''ve had the xbox for a year and have been really unimpressed with it, but starting with KOTOR and Crimson skies and rainbow 6 and soul calibur(i know technically that doesnt count) its made an amazing turn around in my attitude towards it.
SteamId = RevenantKel
Jedi Academy hands down.
I have refused to play anything Star Wars due to the high percentage of crap released.
I still wont buy anything Star Wars that isnt legos but JA was a dam fine game.
Being fangoriously devoured by a gelatinous monster.
Are you and phragged related? You guys look somewhat similar. Hadn''t noticed it until you posted so close to each other... /badjokeoff
I didn''t buy Neverwinter Nights this year and I was pleasently surprised by it. I plan on getting the final expansion at some point. Also Diablo II, which I got in the ""Diablo Battlechest.""
It''s been a lot of fun and I''m going to start playing on Nightmare with my Necro and running a Druid through his paces in the normal mode.
I was also surprised because I was carded at Target when I tried to purchase the Diablo compilation. I''ve never even been carded for alcohol or cigarettes!
I disagree with what you say, and I will deny, to your death, you're right to say it. - Bucky Katt
I''ll make it short: GalCiv and Vietcong.
Call of Duty. I played the demo ands was just amazed by how fun it was.
"Anakin, as embodied by [Hayden] Christensen, is the kind of needlessly moody kid you might see getting punched out in a Dairy Queen parking lot."
"”Paul Tatara on SW:Episode II
Played KOTOR?
Xbox Live: Kooter06
Final Fantasy XI Online, C&C: Generals and Project Gothem Racing 2!
Xbox Live: Nei HD | Playstation ID: Nei_GWJ
Neverwinter Nights
I purchased the expansion only a couple of months ago after giving up on SWG and I love it. I play on a pure PvP server and besides some of the immature kids that get on it''s most enjoyable. I''m defintely going to give Hoards of the Underdark a try.
First: Just how FRICKING AMAZING KoToR (the PC version) is! I expected it to be good but THIS GOOD! pass me my SW crackpipe please!
Second: Planetside I only really bought this as a side diversion and honestly really only expected to play for a month or two Max. Six months later and I just renewed my sub for another 6 months.
Third: Galactic Civilizations. Sleeper hit of the year award, again like PS expected to play for a month or so before becoing bored. This has turned out to not be the case.
MUST...STOP ...PLAYING ....SWG! MUST GET REAL LIFE BACK AGAIN!
First: Everquest. When I quit the game after the aptly named SoL expansion came out, it sucked. When I tried it again this year, it blew me away. It was like a completely different game. Adding instanced dungeons (about time) was icing on the cake.
Second: Galactic Civilizations. I would have bought it just for the game, but after I used the stardock system they had a customer for life.
Third: Links 2004. Is it wrong to enjoy golf this much?
KOTOR wasn''t really a surprise for me. I had expected Bioware to put out a near-perfect game, and they did not dissapoint.
I never minded piracy. Anyone who minds about piracy is full of sh*t. Anyone who pirates your game wasn't going to buy it anyway! -Warren Spector