I love finding Diamonds in the Rough

[Goldenboko]

I find, that playing a game that you had absolutely no expectations to be good and having it surprise you, is better than playing a big name game. Playing a game like MGS4, I expect the world handed to me on a silver platter and often I say, "Oh well this is good, but not really what I expected going into the game."

Case in point? On the same exact day my brother purchased Mass Effect 2, my friend loaned my Valkyria Chronicles. Now, on Valkyria Chronicles I saw the words "Sega" and instantly my expectations where grounded, as I had played so much as a decent Sega game since Sonic Adventure 2. Now, by the time I got to CH3, I was enthralled and Mass Effect 2 has collected dust ever since. My friend may just have to tear this game from my cold, dead, fingers.

Favorite/latest unexpected diamond you've uncovered?

[Slothy]

Congrats on finding the joy that is Valkyria Chronicles.

I wasn't really sure what to expect from Way of the Samurai back when I first picked it up, but I hold it up as the best example of giving players the ability to choose how the story plays out that I know of. It had a pretty cool battle system with a lot of variety and depth to it too. I probably played through the game a dozen times at least trying to figure out every possible way story path, and loved that every time was a different experience.

I also remember not expecting much from the first Silent Hill other than for it to be an RE clone. I'm glad I took a chance and rented it though because it made calling RE a horror game laughable.

The only more recent example I can think of is Pixeljunk Monsters. I was just expecting a simple tower defense game to entertain me for a few minutes at a time whenever I wanted to play something quick. I wasn't really expecting something that required as much strategy as it did, or that was that much fun. $10 well spent if you ask me.

[Madame Adequate]

I didn't expect much of Jumping Flash way back in the day, but it remained unsurpassed as a first-person platformer until Mirror's Edge came along twelve years later.

I can vouch that Way of the Samurai was awesome and underrated, and I really wanna play VC.

I also knew little about either Vandal Hearts or Suikoden before I first rented either; both turned out to be beautiful. Suikoden especially got a lot of credit later, and it's hard to find people who have played them and don't credit the series as excellent.

[JKTrix]

This is what I thrive on in video games today. I still keep up with the worthy new 'big things', but seeking out those smaller games that don't have AAA budget/advertising is what really keeps me an avid fan of the medium. I'm also much more forgiving of one of these 'little games' having big flaws than a 'big game' having similar flaws.

These games are actually pretty frequent on the Nintendo systems these days. I can't say I'm really surprised by any of them because I do follow them pretty closely. Like Sky Crawlers on the Wii, I knew it would be a little rough to start out with, but once you get to a certain point in the game it is a much better experience. Next up for me is Shiren the Wanderer 3.

Way of the Samurai 3 is on my list of games to get when I next have a chance.

[Bolivar]

Now, on Valkyria Chronicles I saw the words "Sega" and instantly my expectations where grounded, as I had played so much as a decent Sega game since Sonic Adventure 2.

One of the best examples to me over the last few years.

I knew it was a SRPG, I knew the music was by Hitoshi Sakimoto from Final Fantasy Tactics/XII, I knew vaguely about the story, and that was about it. I was totally expecting a generic JRPG experience, and was fine with it. But as time goes on I was continuously surprised at all the themes they touched on, how great the scenarios and ambience are, and at that point I realized just how attached to the characters I had become and how truly amazing the art style is.

It's one of the best games on the PS3 and arguably the best RPG of this generation.

The Godfather is another. I was expecting it to be average and preparing myself for the possbility that it sucked. I was pleasantly surprised to find that it's above average and pretty great sometimes. So, not a diamond in the rough, but a pretty cool rock nonetheless. The voice acting was pretty good especially with some of the original actors. It had a cover system before it suddenly became innovative to have a cover system. The mechanics are all just very well done, it's game I love to play every year to see how fast I can get through it.

[Madame Adequate]

Oooh, good catch on The Godfather, Bolivar. I forgot about it but it really was a fun sandbox game.

Also I neglected to mention in my last post one of the greatest games on the 360: Earth Defense Force 2017. I'm sure I've raved about it before, but it's incredibly fun. It's basically a very old-school shooter translated into modern 3D gameplay. It's ropey, the voice acting is so bad it's superlative, and it is a game where a shoulder-mounted rapid-fire homing missile launcher can reasonably be considered a sidearm.

[Momiji]

Gunbird 2. <3

[Iceglow]

Dropship This game was amazingly good and I'd heard very little of it at the time of it's release I had a whole ton of fun trying to get through the games challenging missions I especially liked how you would get so many varied roles in missions from flying escort to dropping units/supplies to bombing runs and aerial dogfighting all within the same level. Also the car levels were fun and challenging.

Also in a strange twist of fate Front Mission 3. FM3 was a brilliant piece of work but in the UK even though I worked at the time part-time for a game store I had never ever heard of it. It had received and I mean almost no attention from the mags of the time or the press. I brought it because at the time I thought Square could do no wrong (I hadn't played Erghiez or Driving Emotion Type S by that point, proof that Square ought to keep it to the RPG game genre by all means) I was right with this and it was amazing and I love playing the game even now (it's still a challenge and a half)

I also agree with Suidoken being wonderful but under advertised in the uk.

[Raistlin]

Best examples for me: Lunar SSSC and Suikoden II, two games which I just picked up randomly at the store just because they looked interesting. Ended up being two of my favorite RPGs ever made. Breath of Fire III was another one.

Outside of RPGs, though, I haven't been playing many games, so I tend to only get the ones I have reason to believe will be good.

[Mo-Nercy]

Okami. Sure, it was a game that everyone heard good things about, but in actuality, very few people bought it. Admittantly, I turned my back on it as well when it came out. It wasn't until many many months later when my girlfriend complained to me that she was sick of FFXII and needed something new that I recommended Okami to her. It took us ages to find it, but we've both played it now and love it.

[Slothy]

Just remembered Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon for the N64. I bought it on a whim without even hearing about it before and it's easily my favourite N64 game ever solely for being so damn wacky.

[Dreddz]

This doesn't really happen with me. When I buy a game I make damn sure that its a game I'm going to like. And in most cases, it is. Although I remember buying Blood Omen 2 expecting the worse as it was hammered by most critics. Turns out it ended up being my second favourite game in the Legacy of Kain series (only behind the first Soul Reaver).

They need to make another Blood Omen. Excuse me for going off topic.

[Slothy]

I wanted to like Blood Omen 2, but since it was filled with glitches including one that prevented me from loading my save file after I was more than half way through the game I had to ditch it. I just wasn't willing to put up with that crap and start the entire game over hoping that it didn't happen again. It's a shame since it had a pretty good story as I recall and some good ideas that were executed rather well.

[I Took the Red Pill]

Brave Fencer Musashi way back in the day. Also I remember thinking I was going to hate the first Kingdom Hearts when it came out but it was actually pretty sweet.

[~*~Celes~*~]

Morrowind. I first picked it up when I was 12 and was like "wow this is boring." Picked it up again later and it turned out to be better than I thought, but I didn't want to put a lot of work into it. Picked it up again about 2 years ago and I loved it. Still do In fact, I'm hoping to pick up Oblivion for 360 soon.